Ultimate Nyssa Glass, H. Burke [cat reading book .TXT] 📗

my desk … the scratches on the door. Something did happen here last night.

He cleared his throat. “Look, I know you sneak detective novels when you’re supposed to be reading your schoolbooks.”

Theo’s cheeks reddened. “Nyssa said I could.”

“Sure she did.” Ellis managed to smile. “Either way, you know about clues, right? We’re going to look for some and see if we can piece together where Nyss got to.”

“Where do we start?” the boy asked.

“Why don’t you check her room again? She may have left a note.”

“Okay.” Theo shot out the door.

Ellis hesitated. While he suspected the items on his desk had been disturbed, he had sat there without noticing any obvious clues. He went to the counter to examine Nyssa’s belongings. Other than the screwdriver O’Hara had been fiddling with, every tool rested within its painted outline, in perfect order, waiting for its adoring mistress. However, the nail from which her satchel and goggles usually hung was empty.

Chances are she left willingly then. I can’t see a kidnapper being polite enough to grab her favorite possessions on the way out. Okay, Nyss, please tell me you left some sort of sign?

He rolled to his desk and fingered her notepad. It was definitely out of place, and the way a page had been ripped from it, leaving ragged shreds of paper sticking from the binding, was so not Nyssa. He ran his fingers back through his hair, then took a pencil from a drawer and rubbed it lightly over the blank page. As a partial message in white appeared within the field of gray, a smile crept over his lips, followed quickly by a perplexed frown.

… risk losing … evidence … is dangerous, but I promise I will be careful, and if they really can help me prove my innocence, it’s worth … you even notice I’m gone … I love you … your handheld communicator with me.

“Evidence? What evidence?” He fumbled in his pocket for his handheld, praying she’d figured out how to switch hers on. After turning the dial to the correct position, the device snapped open, revealing a round screen and a small switch. He flipped the switch. White lines crackled and static popped. No, the signal wasn’t reaching the other unit. Either she hadn’t turned it on, or she was out of the five-mile range.

Why would she have written me a note only to rip it out? No, add that to the scratches on the door … someone else was here last night. Someone lured Nyssa out of here, then came in and destroyed evidence. But who and why?

Theo tramped back into the room. “I didn’t find anything upstairs. What now?”

Ellis slipped the notepad into his vest pocket. “Go tell Mrs. H I’m going to be out for a bit.”

“Can I come?”

“No, stay with Mrs. H.” Ellis started towards the door.

Theo grabbed him by the arm. “You did find something. Is Nyssa okay? Please let me come, Ellis! I need to help her if she’s in trouble.” Tears welled in the boy’s eyes. “Please, don’t leave me behind.”

Doubt crept through Ellis. What if we find her and something’s happened to her? Theo shouldn’t see her if … No, I can’t believe that. She’s fine. We’re going to get her back. “All right, you can come.”

“Where are we going?” Theo dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve.

“The police station. We’re going to file a missing person’s report.”

Chapter Five

Ellis pounded his fist against the sergeant’s desk. Beside him, Theo quivered, but the middle-aged police officer barely glanced up from his paperwork.

“I’m telling you she wouldn’t just leave,” Ellis said for at least the fourth time in the hour they’d been at the station.

“Yet, you also said she left a note.” The officer ticked off a few more boxes on whatever report he was working on.

“No, well, she did and she didn’t. The note was ripped out.”

“So she started to leave a note then changed her mind.” The sergeant shrugged. “Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No, it’s not like that. I think someone broke into the shop.”

“Really? Did they take anythingbesides the note?” The officer raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no, but there were scratches on the lock.” Ellis leaned forward, trying to force the man to look him in the eye. “She’s been gone since some time last night.”

The police officer glanced at the clock. “It’s not even noon yet. I can’t file a report until she’s been gone at least twenty-four hours unless we have some reason to suspect foul play.”

A dull ache throbbed behind Ellis’s eyes. Gripping the arms of his chair, he considered his options. Call in a favor from Nyssa’s friend, Amara, and force the police to cooperate? Try to do this on his own? Argue with this lazy idiot some more?

Theo tugged on Ellis’s sleeve. “Ellis, this is taking too long.”

Ellis put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Patience, Theo.”

Theo sighed then trudged over to the bench on the side of the room.

Impatience boiled within Ellis’s chest. He needed to do something, but he didn’t know where to start. The police had the resources to search the island, perhaps investigate O’Hara … on his own, things would be much slower and harder.

The sergeant cleared his throat. “I suggest coming back tomorrow if she hasn’t shown up.”

Ellis counted to ten before responding. “Just let me fill out the paperwork so you have it on hand, and it wouldn’t hurt your men to keep an eye out for someone matching her description, since they’ll be going about their rounds anyway. This is my videophone frequency.” He pulled a card out of his pocket with the contact information for their repair shop. “If I’m not there, my housekeeper can take a message. Please. This is my …” He stopped. Girlfriend didn’t seem strong enough. Fiancé hadn’t happened yet. Since they’d come to the island, they’d pretended to be married. It made them more invisible as no one was searching for them as a