24. SAMUEL

Leo told me he was only going to be out for a few hours, and I was apprehensive about that since there was no saying what was going on. I'd been out for a while too, and I assumed he would be back at the flat before I arrived.

He wasn't.

I wrapped my arms around the huge teddy, almost as tall as me. It was a surprise for him, I knew there were a few of them in the toy store, and sure, it had a previous life of smuggling objects in and out of the country, but now it was going to get a home.

Since my new phone was all set up. So, I called his number as I walked around the flat, searching. There were places for him to hide, under the bed, or a blanket, but he wasn't anywhere. And even if he was a world class hide and seek champion, Leo was a giggler, I would've heard him.

Leo knew to keep his phone on him and on. He'd seen what had happened to my hands last night. He saw the danger of this world.

I called Preston to get him to track Leo's phone. He gave me hell for wanting to track my assistant and laughed about giving him the day off.

"Wait," he said. "Are you fucking him?"

"Jeez, what's it to you?"

"No, it's not my business," he chuckled. "I'll see where he's at. You need back up?"

"From you?" I forced a laugh. "After last night, I'd rather not."

"Oh, so now you're blaming what happened last night on me?"

"All I'm saying is, you went in with the aggression. You know, you can be aggressive, but it must be controlled," I'd already explained this to him. "Anyway, run the number, see where it's at, and text me the location."

"I'll get my guy on it."

I hung up and checked to see if I had any missed calls or texts from Leo. I had the same number, so he should've been able to contact me. I checked his things to make sure he hadn't left, but it was all there.

Pacing the flat, I wanted to hit a wall, or the speed bag in the gym, but my knuckles weren't in any shape to hand another punch out.

The phone rang in my hand. I answered immediately. "Preston?"

"No, Chris, from the lab," she said. "I'm calling about the results you had me do on the animal hair."

"Right, right. What's the news?"

"Well," her voice perked. "It's from a white pomeranian. But the results weren't all from the same dog. There's three, I'm waiting on results from another couple hairs, but there could've been more."

I wracked my brain to think of anyone I knew who had a white dog. They were small, fluffy dogs. Thinking about it made my skin itch, and I wasn't allergic like my father.

I got on the phone to my mother. "Pomeranians," I said.

"Cucumber," she replied.

"No, pomeranians. That's the dog."

"Oh, I thought it was an odd way to start a phone call," she chuckled. "Well, I don't know anyone who even has a dog."

"If you think of someone, let me know. More than one, like a herd of them, or whatever a bunch of them is called."

"I will do. Want me to ask your sister? She's getting Daisy from school and coming back here for the night. I'll ask her then."

"Yeah, maybe she knows someone," I said. "Talk later. Love you. Bye."

"When you find them, you know what you've got to do," she said, adding in a sound effect of someone's throat being slit.

I knew exactly what needed to be done. And when I found them, they'd pay in blood. I still had to find Leo; he wasn't missing until he was missing. Maybe he'd lost his phone, or put it down, perhaps he was still at a very late lunch with his friend.

Preston texted me the address of the phone. It was at a café close by.

Wasting no time, I headed to it. Nerves powered me, telling me all we needed to do was set eyes on him and everything else was fine. The last thing I wanted right now was for someone else to disappear, especially someone I'd been the most raw with in a long time.

Through the window, the café seemed quiet. There were people seated and a girl behind the counter, drawing with chalk on the menu board. But there was no Leo. After a moment of checking myself out in the window reflection, I walked in.

"Hi," the girl said. "How can I—"

"I'm looking for someone," I told her.

"You're Sam, right?"

"Yes, and you—you must be Susie." I stared at her flustered face as she shuffled around on her feet.

"Leo told me about you."

"Well, he's not told me anything about you," I said. "In fact, I am looking for him."

Her eyes looked everywhere, but at me. "He was here," she said. "But he left a couple hours ago."

"Then why does his phone's location say he's here?"

"Oh." She dug a hand into her apron and pulled Leo's phone out. "Someone brought it in. It was on the floor outside. I—I didn't see him drop it or anything."

This wasn't good. "Where was he going?"

"He said he'd come back for my lunch break, but he didn't."

Then it was just as I feared. Someone had taken him as well. I knew there was a possibility of it happening, but I didn't think it would. I had only been seen with him a couple times, someone had to have been watching me closely to even know we were connected in anyway.

"Can I take that?" I laid my hand on the counter for the phone.

"I—" Her eyes scanned my hand, staring at the bandaged palm.

"I'll take it."

She laid it flat in my hand. "Do you think something bad happened?"

"I have no idea," I said. "Can I speak to your manager? I want to view the security footage."

Susie lulled her head. "The security cameras aren't wired. It's just for show," she whispered.

Useless. "Then tell whoever needs to be told that they should do a better job," I said. "There's a camera with a view of the door and the street. If it was wired and working, we might've seen where Leo went." I gave her a final look of disdain before leaving.

I could assume now, whoever took my uncle, had also taken Leo. Whoever it was, they knew to leave their phones behind. I looked up and down the street in search for working security cameras. They weren't stationery cameras, which probably meant they didn't catch Leo.

This wasn't the time for people to play games. I needed to know where Leo was, I bet whoever had pomeranians was behind it. Which also prompted me to think about how I hadn't seen them on the street security footage. Unless they hadn't gone through the front of the house.

Elias called me up as I was on my way back to see my mother. I didn't want to visit her neighbour without her. She hadn't said which side of the house they'd seen the dogs come in through.

"Preston said you needed some help," he said.

"I'm fine. Unless you know someone with pomeranians."

"Yeah. That's why he told me to call you," he continued. "Anyway, I saw Aunt Adeline a couple weeks ago in the gallery. I don't know what she was looking for because she didn't buy anything. I think she was just coming to talk with me. It was weird, actually, because she was asking how the firm is doing."

Adeline was my dad's twin sister. We barely saw her. She married and moved out into the country. I had two cousins I rarely met on that side too, but I knew they existed, and my father had always told me to treat them like part of the family, but without the voting power.

"Fuck. It's her, isn't it?"

"I don't imagine her doing something like that though," he said. "She was nice. She always sent cards at Christmas, and my dad always said we sent them money."

"Did we continue sending them money?" I asked him. He was the wrong person to ask. The only person I could've trusted to know that information was laid on a metal table as a coroner ran tests to figure out what had caused his death. They had given us a basic answer, but my mother was forceful when she wanted to get her way. "It doesn't matter. I'll check the books and see. Do you know where her house is? Last I remember it was in some countryside."

"No. She's moved closer. Her husband died last year, or at least I think that's what she said."

It was making sense now. But why would she kill my father, her twin? I didn't understand what she could gain from his death. Especially if it was something to do with not being given the money she used to get.

Changing course, I hung up on Elias and went toward my office. I called my mother this time. If Aunt Adeline had been near, she would've visited, or called.

"She's in the countryside, you know she was never a big fan of the city," my mother answered my questions. "As for the money, your father was generous, but he knew when to stop, especially to people who weren't putting in any work."

"So, she hasn't been to the house?" I asked. "Apparently she's back."

My mother clicked her tongue in thought. "No. Wait one second, I'll ask Borley, but I'd been told if she came by. Well, I tell a lie, she was supposed to visit a couple months ago, no, maybe a year. Not sure. Her husband had died or something, and your father couldn't travel given his condition. Anyway, that's a long way around no, she hasn't been. But give me a second." She placed her phone down. I could still hear her as she called out to the butler.

I knew he wouldn't have kept her visit a secret. Borley had been in the family for years; he was completely loyal. She came back to the phone with the answer I'd predicted. I asked her to talk to the neighbours about which direction the kids saw the dogs, if it was the backdoor, then that might have gone to prove Adeline had been there. Nobody used the back of the house, mostly because it was impossible to get to unless you had a key, and only family members had keys, or at least knew where the spare was hidden.

As soon as I arrived at the office, I approached the accountancy office to speak with Michelle. She organised the finances and she had done for many years. She was an older woman, dressed in a sweater vest and carried a vape around with her since she couldn't smoke indoors, and hadn't been able to for many years.

"What's up?" she asked in a croaky gravel of a voice.

"I need everything you have on Adeline Maxwell," I whispered.

"Westly," she replied. "She doesn't go by Maxwell." She sucked on her vape, the crackle of the vaporiser, followed by the smell of toffee popcorn was a strange combination, almost like she had a popcorn machine in her hand. "We don't have anything recent on her. We stopped sending her cheques maybe a year and a half, two years ago."

"That's after they put me in charge," I said. "Fuck. I stopped them?"

"No, no," she chuckled into a coughing fit. "Your father, God rest his soul, he put a stop to them himself. He wouldn't elaborate, just told me not to cut anymore cheques."

"Ok, what was her address, do you have that?"

She nodded. "I'll bring it to you."

I went back to my office, my phone clenched in my sweaty palm, waiting for a call or text to say they'd found Leo and my uncle. Or better yet, something from my aunt to tell me what's going on.

Kelly came into the office with a coffee. "Did he like the teddy?" She asked, placing the coffee on the desk.

"I have no idea. He wasn't there when I got back," I said. "It'll be there when he gets in and he'll love it, I'm sure."

"And how's your mum?" she asked. "Tell her those cakes were delicious. I might've saved a couple before the vultures got them."

"Will do."

"Let me know if you need anything else."

Michelle brought me the address she had on file.

Unfortunately, it was sold months ago for five million pounds.

Wherever Adeline was, she was close, and I had to find her before she broke my promise to Leo, the promise that I'd protect him.