Chapter 12: Missing

Chapter 12: Missing
Caden's voice was wrapped in desperation and anger as he barged into Chyler's house like he owned it. He pushed past her, ignoring her question, stomping through the living room. "Capri!" he bellowed, heading for the stairs.

"Hey!" Chyler was on him in a second, grabbing his arm and spun him back towards her. He yanked against her grip but she planted her feet and shoved him back with more force than he had expected. Caden staggered back, blinking at her like she had suddenly grown twice her size.

"You need to watch yourself! There is a kid sleeping upstairs and I swear to God if you wake him up, I'll show you what it means to regret your actions!" she warned. It wasn't a threat but a promise.

Maybe it was the way her shoulders squared, or the ice in her eyes, or the superiority that came with her cop persona, but something in her voice made him freeze. He lowered his voice slightly.

"Where is she?"

She straightened up and crossed her arms. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since yesterday."

"Bullshit!" he hissed, his jaw flexing. "She told me that she was going to stay at her parents' but I stopped by earlier and she wasn't there. No one is there. The place is like a damn ghost town."

Something sharp and cold slipped down Chyler's spine. She dropped the kitchen knife she had been holding as an uncomfortable feeling rose up her gut. She could have easily asked him why he would think she was there but instead, her mind and eyes shifted to the file she had just been looking at. The murders. The killer. Classmates. And now Capri was missing?

Her heart thundered. She tried to keep her voice steady but it cracked slightly. "What time did you see her last?"

"What?" Caden frowned. "This morning. She left the house after we argued and said that she was going to her parents'. But I figured she was probably running to you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Chyler asked, her voice rising.

He stepped forward again, his fists clenched. "Don't play dumb! I have noticed how you have been hanging around her since we got to town. Got her thinking that you are better than me." A bitter smirk curled at the edge of his mouth. "You think I don't see what's going on? You planned this. You got us to stay in town just so you could rawl into her bed but guess what." He scoffed. "She didn't choose you back then and she is not going to choose you now because she is not a fucking lesbian!"

"Are you serious right now?" Chyler's voice was sharp, her eyes locked on his. "You think that I'm after your wife? Capri is missing and the first thing you think about in all the cuckoo going around is that she is cheating on you?"

"I know your type!" he spat. "Always chasing what doesn't belong to you."

"She doesn't belong to anyone!" Chyler hissed, losing her patience. "She is not a thing, Caden. She is a fucking human being and you don't own her just because you married her!"

His smirk darkened. "Then why do I have a legal document that says otherwise?"

That was it. Chyler'd had enough of his arrogant obsessive ass.

"Get out!" she said coldly.

"What?"

"Get out of my house before I throw you out myself!" She pointed at the door. "You ever set foot in here again, I swear I'll do worse than throw you out."

Caden scoffed. He hesitated for a second then turned. Before he could get to the door, he tossed one last grenade over his shoulder.

"Tell Capri that I'm not done with her," he said. "She can run and hide from me but she won't run forever. She is stick with me!"

The door slammed hard behind him, the echo of his words lingering in the air. Chyler exhaled hard, her chest heaving with fury. She tried to find her breath, wrestling against her anger while Brye finally managed to collect his jaw from the floor where it had fallen through the whole exchange

"Wow," he said. "You attract a very specific brand of disaster."

"He is a damn lunatic!" Chyler huffed.

"No arguments there," he said stopping beside her. "The guy is a walking control freak with a macho complex. You okay boo?"

Chyler shook her head. "No. Not even close."

She grabbed her phone, her fingers trembling as she pulled up Capri's number. All the while, her thoughts kept bouncing back to the previous day with Capri at the park. She had said she would call her but she hadn't. What if something had happened to her? What if she was the next victim?

Chyler fought the thought away and dialed the number. The phone rang twice... thrice... four times... Just as it was about to go off, it was answered but no voice came through. Only noise— strange noise like static and something scraping on metal. Then a clang.

"Capri?" she called out, her instincts flaring. "Capri! Where the fuck are you?"

There was no response. Several seconds passed, then just above the noise came a ragged voice. Weak and broken. "Help me..."

Chyler's world tilted. "Capri?" she shouted. "Say something damn it! Where are you?!"

The line went dead. She tapped on the phone urgently as if that would bring her back then sighed in frustration. She didn't think, she just moved. Her car keys were on the counter She grabbed them and bolted to the door.

"Chy, wait!" Brye called running after her. "Where the hell are you going? You don't even know where she is?"

"I'm not going to stand the trying to figure it out, Brye. I have to find her," she said yanking the door open. The cold slapped her in the face but she didn't pay attention to it or the fact that she didn't have a jacket on.

"Should I call someone for backup? He Captain?" Brye asked, wide-eyed standing at the car door in pyjamas.

"No, not yet!" she shouted as the engine roared to life. "Go back inside, tell June that I'll be back and nothing about what we found out earlier. And keep your phone on."

"Okay, please take care."

She peeled away from the curb, tires screeching into the street. Her mind was racing, her heart hammering beyond control. She had no location, no lead where to start. Just a damn voice that was enough to run her blood cold. Capri was missing and Chyler had a sickening feeling she was already on the killer's list.