The Vanishing Complex

Chapter 10

*TORONTO*

Josh paced back and forth in the empty hallways of the Toronto Tribune. There were two maybe three early bird employees working on their pieces before the eight o'clock deadline. Josh hadn't been able to sleep for the last two nights and decided there had been enough waiting. At four in the morning, Josh threw on the most decent clothes he could find in the dark and arrived at the Toronto Tribune offices in a flash. He'd done the math, Sofia had been gone for three days, and had yet to reach out. At this point he didn't know if she'd even made it Detroit, let alone checked into her hotel. As for the assignment, he shuddered at the thought.

The Chamber of Soundness was a force to be reckoned with. The front office doors opened with Tara on the other side. In her hands were a large ice coffee and a bag of Timbits she still did not want to share. Josh descended upon her like a vulture sweeping down on its dead prey. Tara shielded her little bag of goodies, a look of murder in her eyes when she realized it was only Josh. He'd rehearsed what he was going to say several times. Tara was not one for dramatics and any level of panic guaranteed she shut down. Still, he wanted to convey a sense of urgency. Sofia was as good as missing, and something needed to be done. 

He took a seat in front of her and picked up her legal pad. Josh drew one long horizontal line across the paper and started writing in dates. She watched him, eating from her bag of Tim Bits. His hands were shaking as he wrote in the last date, the day that Sofia left for Detroit. He drew a question mark then slid the legal pad to Tara. She picked it up disinterestedly and shrugged, clearly not finding the connection.

Now Josh was a calm man. Being an investigative reporter had taught him patience but had also instilled determination like nothing else. His patience today was shot dead and he lit up a tone that had never before been used on Tara. Sofia was missing and it was her fault. She hadn't taken the time to note anything down about where she was going to stay, where she was going to be, and who she was going to meet. He leaned back in the chair, allowing for it to finally settle for Tara. It was gradual, as she finished her Tim Bits, then she pursed her lips and picked up her cell phone. Her fingers tapped over the screen then she placed it face up on the desk. Josh spotted a name at the top, Tom. With the phone call on speaker, he heard the line trilling. Many questions were popping into his head.

Who was Tom? Did he have Sofia? The first call went to voicemail. Panic rose up like bile in the back of his throat. Tara ended the call and shook her head, asking him to wait five minutes. The ticking on the clock was echoing in his ears. Five minutes was the equivalent of five eternities, but right on the dot, the cell phone lit up with a phone call from Tom. Tara answered quickly, putting it on speaker. Her eyes darted to the door to make sure it was closed before she replied to Tom's greeting.

"Hey Tom, I have you here on speaker." She said.

"You're not turning on me, are you?" he asked.

"Would I tell you if I was?"

There was a pause as he thought it over. She made a good point.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"I wanted to check in on Sofia." She said.

Josh saw a fleck of guilt cross her eyes. She hadn't checked in on her at all. Tara caught the accusatory glare but ignored it and focused on her conversation with Tom.

"I haven't heard from her since she came to see me." He told her.

"You must have some information. Where was she going? What was she doing?" Tara continued.

"Well, isn't that something you should know? She was here on a work assignment, wasn't she?"

Josh wanted to smile. Good, Tom, drill it into her head that she messed up.