The Secret (Watty Award Winner) | ✔️

Thirty Four - Steven

Ch34 - Steven

Sitting in the detective's office, Steven held the cold, clump of metal in his hand, unable to believe what he was looking at.

"One of my boys found it in the woods behind your house, or at least what used to be your house," Detective O'Reilly snorted. "Do you recognize it?"

Of course he recognized it—it had belonged to Sarah's father, and she'd refused to give it up. It was his antique compass. How many times had he asked her to throw that piece of junk away? If she had felt the need to own a compass, he would have gladly bought her one of quality, not some piece of crap metal, tainted by years of greasy fingerprints and God only knows what else! But stubbornly she refused, insisting that as her father's much loved treasure, it held sentimental value. Whatever. He really should have put his foot down harder with her when he'd had the chance. Show her who the boss really was and that she needed to obey him. After all, he knew what was best for her.

"Yes, Detective," Steven said through gritted teeth. "That belonged to my wife."

"Well now, that's very interesting, isn't it?" the fat man exclaimed pompously. "Looks to me like maybe she was seeking direction. Perhaps, searching for a way out of those woods? It was pretty dense back in those trees. That area may be only four or five miles deep, but it's several miles wide. It would be very easy to get lost, especially if you didn't know your way around. The trees and brush were very thick, someone could get turned around and lose their way if they weren't careful."

O'Reilly stifled a belch and absentmindedly reached for his crotch. Seriously, did the man have no social graces? How in the hell had he made it this far in life, acting like some back-woods hillbilly? The sight of him made Steven's skin crawl. He wondered when the fat bastard had last bathed?

But he's getting the job done—a job that is taking the authorities much too long to work on. What a bunch of idiots! O'Reilly might cost an arm and a leg, but it will all be well worth it in the end. Once I get my hands on that lying, ungrateful wife of mine! If Sarah only knew what she had coming...

"Well, I guess she was careful, wasn't she?" Steven asked, almost to himself.

"Yeah," the detective laughed loudly. "Until she dropped the damn thing!"

Agitated, Steven ran a hand across his chin, annoyed by the feeling of stubble. It was so unlike him to not be properly groomed, but he'd been very distracted lately. Damn Sarah and her childish antics! What had she been thinking? White hot anger began to race through him, causing the vein near his left temple to pulsate. Up until this point, the idea of Sarah running away from him had only been a theory, but it was beginning to look more and more like reality.

"What's the next step, Detective?" Steven asked, his voice shaking with contempt.

"I've already gotten to work, retracing her steps. You said she really has no friends to speak of, so she must have acted alone. Unless you think maybe she hooked up with someone. A boyfriend, maybe?" the detective asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

But Steven shook his head, "Impossible. There's no way she would have gotten away with that, not living under my roof."

O'Reilly looked skeptical but carried on. "It's not likely that she would have had an escape vehicle, which leaves the airport an improbable mode of transportation simply because it's half way across town. She would have needed to act fast. How would she have made it all the way there without a car, or the intervention of someone else? Of course, my guys are still looking into it. I will leave no leaf unturned, Mr. Austin," he bragged. "However, the bus terminal isn't terribly far from where your house once stood. In fact, it's roughly six miles South West. Do you know where that puts us?" the detective asked smugly.

Steven wasn't an idiot. He knew how to tell direction. "On the other side of the woods," he responded coldly, as realization set in. It was all starting to come together and make sense - like the pieces of an intricate puzzle. After setting the fire, Sarah must have ran through the woods, toward the bus station, dropping the compass in her haste.

Un-fucking-believable! Steven seethed. How dare she do this to me!

"I want you working on this case exclusively, I don't care how much it costs me," Steven began eagerly, watching the greed form in the detective's beady eyes. "I want Sarah found and I want her found quickly. I don't care if you have to go to Timbuktu to do it."

"When I find her, and believe me I will find her—what would you like me to do?" the detective asked, licking his thick lips, almost as if he were getting off on the idea of locating Sarah. "I could make a citizen's arrest. It wouldn't be too difficult to prove that she is potentially dangerous to the public, what with the stunt she just pulled off," he suggested with a grunt.

But a plan was already forming in Steven's mind, and if he wanted it to work everything would have to go smoothly. Very smoothly.

"No, no. Don't do that," Steven explained. "Once you track her down, I want you to call me immediately and tell me exactly where she is. Where she's staying, what name she is going by - surely it's not her real name. I want to know everything you can find out about her." Irritation crept into his voice and his jaw was set tight. He could feel the tension creeping up his back and into his shoulders and neck, causing a sensational headache. A headache that would only be relieved by sweet revenge.

Steven watched the detective in distaste as the fat man lit a cigar and chewed on the end of it. Didn't he know how dangerous it was to smoke, not to mention the second hand chemicals he was spewing out everywhere? Steven stifled a cough and fought the urge to remove the disgusting object from the detective's mouth.

Maybe at least he will buy something tasteful with the money I am paying him, instead of smoking these cheap pieces of tobacco. For heaven's sake, it smells like he lit up a soiled diaper!

Although, Steven could think of a few other things that would be advised should O'Reilly decide to spend his money wisely, like a clean suit that fit properly and maybe some liposuction. It really was hard for Steven to accept that some people would let themselves go the way the detective had. The body was a temple and should be treated as such, not blatantly abused.

He forced himself to turn away from O'Reilly and focus on the task at hand.

Sarah had no idea all of the trouble she had caused, but she was about to find out. Steven would stop at nothing to make her pay.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I'm afraid Steven's getting closer to the truth! If you liked this chapter, please give it a vote, and thank you so much for reading The Secret.

I update this story every Tuesday and Friday. :)

This chapter is dedicated to a very sweet reader, @whitney_mareee. She is so kind and always thanks me for my updates, but I must thank her for coming back to read them!