“That was three days ago. Why hasn’t the roommate thought it was odd that Natalie hasn’t returned yet?” I question.
“From what I gathered, both Natalie and her friend are residents at Lavender Falls Hospital, so it’s not unusual for them to not cross paths. When Natalie isn’t working at the hospital, she works evenings at Cedar and Sage. It wasn’t until Ms. Tizzy stopped by that she realized she hadn’t seen or spoken with Natalie since her date.”
“Do we know who this date was?” I ask.
“No. Her friend says it’s someone she met at work. I had the friend check the resident schedule, and Natalie wasn’t on shift all weekend. I thought maybe, since she wasn’t scheduled to work, she was just spending time with the date still, but I called and spoke to a waitress at Cedar and Sage and Natalie never showed up for her shifts Friday and Saturday night.”
“Fuck.”
“It ain’t looking good, boss.”
“Garrett,” I call out.
“Yeah, boss?”
“I want you to go to Cedar and Sage. Talk to Natalie’s coworkers. Find out anything you can that may help.”
“You got it.”
“Ian,” I say, turning my attention back to him. “You go to the hospital.”
“On it.”
“Cade, go speak with the roommate. You know what to do.”
The hours pass, and the only new information we have is that Natalie did in fact have a date Thursday night with a guy she met from the restaurant. One of the other waitresses described the man as tall and lean with shaggy dark hair. She said it was almost as if he kept trying to hide his face, and she didn’t like the vibe he gave off. Apparently he’s been in a few times before speaking with Natalie, and he would always just sit and people watch. Another waiter said Natalie and the guy actually had their date at Cedar and Sage Thursday night, and he was the one to wait on them. He said from the looks of things, the date was going well.
Video footage shows Natalie and the mysterious guy entering the restaurant at 5:40 and leaving an hour later. It didn’t skip my attention that both times, the guy had his face angled just enough that the camera couldn’t capture any defining details. It’s like he knew they were there and didn’t want to be seen.
The owner handed over all footage available to Cade, and he’s going to watch through them from the first day this guy came in until the last time he was there. We should be able to see his face at least once.
Ms. Tizzy is offering up a reward, and the friend is going to hang up some posters.
I just hope to God we can find Natalie well and alive.
It’s officially been a week and one day since someone has last seen Natalie, and the entire town is on edge waiting for news
I haven’t seen a lot of West this week. He has been so busy working this case, but he has given me a ride every morning and twice in the evenings. Nothing more has happened since the barn, but we have made out a couple times in his car. My blood warms at the memory of us against the barn.
Speaking of West, I’m busy stocking the display case when the door chimes and he enters with his brother, Cade.
“Morning, beautiful,” he leans across the counter, giving me a quick kiss.
“Good morning.” I smile, warmly.
“Morning, Jade.”
“Good morning, Cade. What can I get you fellas this morning?” I turn back to West. “We have more of the horns.”
“Definitely those.” Both men nod.
“Sounds good.” I giggle at their excitement. “And your usual black coffee?” I ask West.
Cade’s brow furrows. “Usual coffee?” he questions West.
Sensing there’s some kind of secret brother communication going on when West glares back, I wait for one of them to say something.
Cade finally peels his gaze away from his brother and gives me what I can only describe as a cheeky smirk then says, “I’ll take one medium coffee, and West here will take an extra-large today.” He pats West’s shoulder, and I’m feeling like I’m missing something here as he rolls his lips into his mouth, stifling a laugh.
