Crystal nodded again.
“Do you know what time he left?”
“Right at six. We were supposed to go—”
She cut herself off, but not before Baz got the gist. He had a feeling Crystal was closer to Cedric than anyone else in this building. A little too close for a married man, perhaps.
“Crystal, I want to find Cedric, but I can’t do that without your help. I’m not here to judge, but I need to know where to start looking for him.”
Once again, her gaze shifted beyond him but came back quickly. “He stayed with me last night,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “He stays with me several nights a week. We were supposed to go out to dinner, but he changed his mind, wanted to eat in, so we did.”
“And after that?”
“We watched some TV, then went to bed.”
“What time was that?”
She gave a slight shrug. “Ten? Maybe eleven. But he wasn’t there when I woke up this morning.”
“Is that normal?”
Crystal shook her head vigorously. “No. He’s usually there in the morning.”
“So he didn’t tell you he was leaving?”
“No. When I woke up and found him gone, I figured he had come into the office early. He does that sometimes. When he can’t sleep, he’ll come here, but he always tells me first.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “But he wasn’t here when I got here.”
“Are you the one who called the police?”
She shook her head. “No. Abby did. His secretary. She was expecting him for a six o’clock conference call. He never showed.”
“Is it unusual for him to miss a call or a meeting?”
Crystal’s eyes widened as she nodded vehemently. “Oh, definitely. Mr. Hawkins is meticulous about work. It’s his life. He’s always early. For everything.”
Baz was afraid she would say that.
“Is there anywhere he might go? Somewhere he likes to frequent if he needs to clear his head?”
“No. This is his safe haven. He loves it here. Cedric … I mean, Mr. Hawkins, he loves what he does.”
Baz nodded as though understanding.
He heard Allison’s voice getting louder, and he recognized it as a warning.
“Did Mr. Hawkins get any phone calls last night? Did he seem off in any way?”
Crystal stared back at him as though thinking, and then her eyes widened. “I think he got a phone call last night. I don’t know for sure, but now that you mention it, I had a dream that he was talking on the phone. Maybe it wasn’t a dream?” Her eyes glittered with renewed hope. “Maybe he got a call and answered it while I was sleeping?”
That was a very good possibility. And it would explain why he left when he didn’t usually.
Baz pulled out his card, passed it to her. “Call me if you think of anything else. And if there’s anyone here who has information, I’d appreciate if you’d urge them to call me, too.”
She nodded, her eyes glistening once again. “Please find him.”
“We’re gonna do our absolute best,” he promised.
“Mr. Buchanan!” Joel called from behind him. “I asked that you not speak to anyone without my permission.”
