Page 4 of Awakened By Time
Chapter 2
San Francisco, California - 2017
Where on earthcould she be? Zeke paced back and forth across his living room. His sister, Sara, was supposed to be back a week ago and he hadn’t heard from her. The river cruise she’d booked a spot on had returned to port, but she had not. According to the cruise line, she never made a reservation. He’d argued with them through several phone calls, but they stuck by the fact that she hadn’t made a reservation and had never boarded their ship. That meant only one thing. She lied to him. Why would she do that? What purpose could she possibly have had for making up a trip she never intended to take? Only one he could think of. She was doing something he wouldn’t have approved of and she was afraid to tell him because she knew how he’d react. Just great! Now he had absolutely no idea where she was or how to find her. His reflex was to call the cruise line again, but just as he was about to dial the number, his phone rang.
“Hey, Zeke,” Wade’s voice came across his speaker phone. “Are you coming in today?” Wade was Zeke’s right hand man at his medieval martial arts studio.
“No. I won’t make it today.”
“Is everything okay? You don’t sound right,” Wade observed.
“I’m worried about Sara. She’s still not back.”
“You haven’t heard from her?” Wade’s voice took on a concerned tone.
“No. Not a phone call or a text. Not even an email. I’m really worried about her, Wade. I’m about to call the cruise line for the hundredth time to see if they have any information on her. If they don’t, I don’t see that I have much choice, I’ll be heading to Europe to see if I can find her myself.”
“Can’t you call the FBI or something? What about Interpol? It seems like a daunting task to go to Europe alone to search for her. You might need some professional help.” Wade was making a lot of sense.
Zeke had no idea where she was, so he didn’t have a clue where to begin. “I’ll make some phone calls, but I’ve got to find her. I’m really worried. This is so unlike her.”
“If there’s anything I can do, just let me know,” Wade said.
“I’ll need you to run the studio while I’m gone,” Zeke said, while searching the internet for phone numbers for the FBI, Interpol, and Scotland Yard.
“If you go, I’ll be happy to do that for you. You never know, she might show up at home any moment now.” Wade’s voice conveyed an optimism that Zeke wasn’t feeling.
“Thanks for mentioning that. I just thought of something. I should really go check to see if she’s at her apartment. I haven’t done that yet. It’s possible she got back and went right home and something happened. She might be sick or something.” A new wave of worry washed over him. If she did make it back to San Francisco, why hadn’t she called from the airport for a ride home as they’d agreed.
“Let me know what you find out and what your plans are. I’ll be here at the studio all day.”
“Thanks, Wade. I’ll be in touch.”
* * *
Zeke poundedon Sara’s apartment door. “Sara, are you in there?” Still no answer. He’d been standing here in her hallway for at least fifteen minutes, alternating between pounding and yelling. He lifted his fist to pound again when a door down the hall opened and Sara’s landlord Mr. Donovan came out.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. I’m looking for Sara.” Zeke said. “I’m her brother. You probably don’t remember me.”
“I know who you are. Sara isn’t here.”
“I’m trying to find her. She went on vacation and she was supposed to be back by now. I haven’t heard a word from her.”
“I’m not sure where she is, but I can tell you that she paid her rent for the next six months. She said she was going on an extended research trip and she might be gone awhile.”
Zeke shook his head, confused by this. “Research trip? She never said anything to me about that. And she didn’t say where she was going?”
“I’m afraid not. I hope she’s alright,” he said.
Zeke’s mind was racing, searching for answers. How could she have done this? Why had she done it? He was her brother. Didn’t he deserve to know the truth? He was shaken to the core. Sara had never done anything like this. She’d always confided in him and now here he was with absolutely no idea how to solve this riddle. “Is there any way you can let me into her apartment. Maybe I can find something there that will help me locate her.”
“Sure. I’m not supposed to do this without her permission, but you are her brother and I can see that you’re really worried.” He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
Zeke entered and Mr. Donovan followed him in. The place was pretty clean. It seems his sister had gotten her world in order before she left. He explored each room. He went through papers she left out, magazines on her coffee table and notes on the refrigerator, but nothing told him anything about where she may have gone.
“Thanks for doing this for me,” Zeke said. “If she comes back or if you hear from her, can you call me?” He grabbed a scrap of paper from her counter and wrote his number down. He handed it to Mr. Donovan.