Leo De Luca stopped at his shoulder.“Chloe says you’re doing your broody computer thing.Thought I’d check in before you punch a wall.”
Kayne exhaled slowly.“I’m reviewing Oliver Pearsall, the possible hire.Nothing actionable yet, but my instincts aren’t thrilled.”
Leo grimaced.“Chloe said the same thing, which means we listen to her gut and yours.”
“Exactly.”Kayne closed the file.“You stay here with her.”
Leo’s brows lifted.“That bad?”
“Potentially worse.”Kayne stood.“Robin not showing up isn’t sitting right with me.Anja and I are going to check it out.”
Leo didn’t argue.“I’ll keep Chloe busy.And distracted.”
Kayne nodded once.“Appreciate it.”
Anja drove.Kayne preferred it that way right now.Letting someone else handle the wheel gave him space to think, to line up facts and instincts, and to see how the pieces were starting to lean toward something darker than coincidence.
Robin’s house sat in a quiet subdivision that screamed normalcy.Her lawn was neatly trimmed and raked free of leaves.There was a porch swing with a faded blue cushion, and one potted yellow mum, starting to die from neglect.She didn’t have a garage, nor was there a car in the driveway.
Anja cut the engine, and they slid out, splitting up without discussing it.Anja checked the perimeter while Kayne went to the door.He knocked hard enough to be heard, long enough to still qualify as polite.
No answer.He tried again.Still nothing.
Anja rejoined him, expression grim.“No signs of forced entry.No neighbors out.”
Kayne tested the doorknob.Locked.The windows were intact, and nothing looked disturbed.
“She could’ve left voluntarily,” Anja said, though her tone betrayed her.
“Could’ve,” Kayne allowed.“But she didn’t show up for work, isn’t answering calls, and her car’s gone.”He pulled out his phone.“I’m calling Tyler.”
Tyler picked up on the second ring.“What’s up, buttercup?”
Kayne wasn’t in a playful mood, so he got straight to the point.“I need you to trace Robin Day’s phone.You ran a background check on her the other day.I want the last ping and current status.”
There was a pause, then the faint sound of furious typing.“Give me thirty seconds.”
Kayne paced, his mind already mapping worst-case scenarios.Anja stood watch, arms crossed, eyes never still.
“Got it,” Tyler said.“Last signal dropped about four hours ago.Location ...hold on.”Another pause.“Well, that’s not good.”
“Where?”Kayne asked, his voice flat.
“Dumpster behind a strip mall off Kingshighway.”
Kayne closed his eyes for half a beat.“Send the coordinates.”
They were in the car before the call ended.When they reached the dumpster, it reeked of old coffee and bad decisions.
Kayne didn’t react to either.He lifted the lid while Anja stood watch.Inside, sitting right on top as if it had been placed there deliberately, was a purse.Robin’s.Her wallet and keys were inside.Her phone was cracked, dark, and lifeless.
There was no blood on her things, and nothing suggested a struggle.
Anja’s voice was quiet when she said, “This wasn’t random.”
“No,” Kayne agreed, staring down at the phone.
He straightened, cold resolve settling into his bones.Robin hadn’t quit, flaked, or changed her mind because Mercury was in retrograde, as Chloe had joked.
