Page 3 of King of Malice

“Bright Side Insurance,” a receptionist, who is not Cadence, answers.

“Hi, this is Ava Tantor from Temps For You. I’m calling to speak with Walter, please.”

“Mister Cartwright? He’s not in yet. Can I take a message?”

“Please.” I give her my information and then I take a quick breath. “But also, we placed the last girl in your position. Cadence.”

“Oh yeah. I heard about her. Left suddenly…”

My heart starts to pound in my chest. “Any idea where she went?”

“No.” the girl on the other end of the phone sounds skeptical, like it’s weird that I’m asking. “Why?”

I clear my throat. “She left incomplete paperwork here at the temp agency,” I quickly cover. “Trying to track her down.”

“Oh,” she sounds relieved. “Right. All I know is she came in last week and said she needed three weeks off. Mister Cartwright refused so she quit and then he hired me. I’m his niece.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. “Thank you so much. And if you could, please give him the message I called.” I hang up, the knot in my stomach so tight I feel like I might be sick.

Picking up the phone, I dial another number I know by heart.

“Steve Imperian, investigator for hire.”

Steve is a guy we use here at work pretty regularly. If a temp files a complaint against an employer, we do our due diligence to find out who is actually at fault before we proceed.

But I’ve used him privately to track Cadence on a couple of occasions.

I make good money for my age, and I live pretty simply. Small apartment, no car, thrift my clothes when I can.

I save half of my income every month in order to protect myself from any kind of disaster.

But on more than one occasion, I’ve used that money to bail out Cadence. From hiring investigators, to paying off some drug dealer she’d gotten herself in deep with, to sending her to rehab that she didn’t have the insurance to cover.

She hates it when I spend my money on her, so I try not to offer unless the situation is really bad. Cadence sees my helpas a red line under her personal failures, I think, but it’s not true. I’m not trying to highlight her mistakes, just ease her suffering.

She’s my only family, and she had it way tougher than me. But also, and we both know this, if shit were really going down, Cadence is the one who’d save my ass. We’re a team.

“Hey Steve, it’s Ava from Temps For You.”

“Hey, gorgeous, good to hear from you. How’s it going? Did you change your mind about having dinner with me?”

“I’ll get back to you on dinner,” I answer, my voice laced with the tension I’m barely able to hold in. “I’ve got a problem that I’m hoping you can help me with.”

“Cadence again?” I hear his chair squeak as he sits up. “What is it this time?”

With a sigh, I tell him the little I know.

He listens silently, hearing everything I’ve got to say before he taps his finger on his desk. “Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“You think?”

“I’ll look into it for sure, I’d do anything for you, and you know I’ll get you answers, but hear me out. If she asked for time off, planned something in advance, she’s fine.”

His words really do make me feel better and the knot in my stomach unwinds. “You’re right. Maybe she just fell in with a group who decided to tour the country on a bus, or is taking a trip to Ibiza, or…” I trail off as I try to think of another adventure she hasn’t been on that could take a month. “Gone on safari?”

Steve laughs. “I’ll get you answers. Same rate as always.”

“Thanks, Steve.”