His security men's missed calls were the first thing he saw.
Then he swore when he saw Officer Guy's missed call as well.
He saw a message notification sign at the top of the screen as he dialled Officer Guy's number back.
"Hello": he said as the officer picked up the call. "Sorry, I missed your call. I wasn't with my phone."
"It is fine, we found the van."
"What, where? Is she…"
"No, she is not there. Not much clue here either. They strip it down. I am beginning to think we are dealing with some professionals here."
"But the van, plates and everything. It can lead you to…"
"Yes, that was our initial thought as well, but we just released the van to a very happy grandfather a few minutes before you called. It was stolen, Mr. Rohan. They stole it from the man's grandson, who decided to test his driving skills without telling the old man. It was reported stolen in another district the same day they kidnapped the girl. So it was a one-stop job."
They stole the car, then drove straight to steal the child. Fuck.
"What about the boy? Was he able to identify anyone?"
"Yes, he confirmed there were two people. A male and a female. He was accosted from the back though. They grabbed him and threw him to the floor while commanding him to keep his eyes on the ground. He confirmed catching a glimpse of the female's hair though."
Hair? How will that help them with anything?
But then Maxwell quickly asked "What kind of hair? What colour?"
"A short bob, he said. Black colour."
Maxwell swore under his breath. For a moment there, he had held out hope.
It dawned on Maxwell that he had hoped it would match any of Susan's descriptions.
"Damn, has it come to this?" he thought as he sank heavily into his chair.
He had been denying it right from time, but somehow he had come to believe that Susan might be behind it.
D***s could make anyone do anything after all, not that she had any stellar character to begin with.
Thomas's visit and statement must have finally nudged him in that direction too.
"Then it could be a wig, for all we know. Anybody can have any hair these days, so it is not of much help." Maxwell heard the man say.
"Oh, are you sure he is saying the truth though? Do you suspect foul play on the boy's part?"
"No, I don't think so. He looked very scared of what happened. Scared and wounded too. I don't think he will get behind any wheel in a long time either way. He was that terrified. What he was guilty of was getting behind the wheel without a license or proper training."
"Have you found anything else about her? On Susan?" Maxwell asked what was on his mind anyway.
"Nothing new, Mr. Rohan. Your step-sister seems to have burrowed deeper than a squirrel, but we are working on it. Your new set of hands are coming in with vital information too. I have a feeling we will nail them soon. Still no calls?"
"None", Maxwell answered, knowing it was a redundant question.
The police would have found out anyway.
"What about your phones? We didn't link your cellphones because we expect you to do what is necessary. You have not received any calls?"
"None but yours," Maxwell said tersely.
"And your wife?"
"None"
"Okay then. I need to go. Keep us posted if you notice anything at all."
"Okay. I think she got some help."
"Who?" Officer Guy asked.
"Susan. You might want to look into that. I don't think she could have stayed hidden all this while if she was alone."
"Yes, we are looking into that angle too. Do you have anyone in mind that she could have gone with?"
"Maybe a man? It just makes sense, right?"
"Nothing makes sense until we find the truth. We will get back to you, Mr Rohan. Stay close to the phone and ask everyone to be extra careful."
When the phone disconnected, Maxwell sighed and dropped the phone on the table.
Of course, he knew that she had left with a man.
That was one of the things Don was pissed about.
But telling them specifically would only make them think he knew more than he did. All he knew was that she had left with one of Don's men, and promptly put a tag on her back.
Now they had a man and a woman robbing a kid of his grandpa's truck and a female driver at the scene of a crime?
Maxwell was beginning to think that Reyona was right in her first thought after all.
"Reyona," he thought, as he quickly stood up.
He snatched the phone off the table and headed outside.
He needed to share the news with her.
As disappointing as the news might be, it was something at least, something that might give her some hope.
Something to make her worry less.
He could hear Junior's voice from the dining room.
As he got to the base of the stairs, Celia came out too.
He remembered the notification he saw the other time.
"Oh, I was coming to get the both of you. Our mister here had to start without us. We are waiting for the two of you. How is she?"
"Still sleeping, I think. I have not seen her." His brows furrowed in confusion as he saw that the message was from her and that it was a link.
"What is it?" Celia asked as she saw his expression.
"I don't know. She sent me this... thing about an hour ago."
"An hour? She should be asleep by then." Celia said behind Maxwell.
He was already taking the stairs even as he clicked on the link.
He knocked on the door as he stared at his phone in confusion.
After the link loaded, it simply went back to his home menu.
Nothing at all showed.
What was the point of the link? He thought as he called out her name while opening the door. "Reyona"
Her opened bag on the very empty bed made him wonder.
"Reyona!" he called more loudly.
No sound was coming from the bathroom, but he headed there while checking out the dressing room on his way.
Nothing!
Nothing!
"Reyona!" Maxwell called this time with panic in his voice.
"What is going on?!" he heard Celia's voice as he hurriedly unlocked his phone to call her.
"She is not here!"
That was when he saw it.
The GPS location tracking icon blinking over and over in his notification bar.
That link!
With his heart in his mouth, as he barely heard Andrew's question, Maxwell clicked on the icon.