Page 56 of Asher's Assignment
The officer sighed. “Ma’am?—”
Again, Esther held up a hand. “Please? I’m worried. This isn’t like him.”
Chewing on the corner of his mouth, the officer stared at his phone, then sighed. “Fine. But I can’t promise you he’ll do anything yet.”
Relief flooded her veins. “That’s fine. At least I’ll have the ball rolling.”
The man picked up the phone and dialed an extension. A moment later, he spoke. “Hey, I’ve got a woman up here wanting to file a missing person’s report. I think you need to hear her out.”
A beat of silence passed, then he nodded. “Thanks.” He hung up and looked at Esther. “You can come back.” He reached for the wall, then the door to her left buzzed.
“Thank you.”
Esther walked over and pulled on the handle to let herself in. She paused at his desk on the other side.
“Fill this out.” He pushed a clipboard toward her.
She wrote her name and other information on the paper, then handed it back. He gave her a visitor’s badge, then stood up.
“Follow me.” Rounding the desk, he led her through a metal detector, then down the short corridor to an office, where he rapped his knuckles on the semi-closed door.
“Enter,” came a muffled male voice from inside.
The officer pushed the wooden door inward before he stepped back and motioned for her to precede him. Esther moved forward, getting her first glimpse of the mid-fortyish detective with salt and pepper hair behind the metal desk.
He rose, revealing a tall, lanky body that said he ran a lot, and offered her a tired, but polite smile. “Come in, ma’am, and have a seat. I’m Detective J.D. Stroud.”
Esther tried to return his smile, but knew she failed. It had probably looked more like a grimace. She sat down, folding her hands in her lap. “Esther Campbell.”
The door returned to its semi-closed state as the officer left.
“Officer Weyland said you want to file a missing person’s report?”
“I do. And I want to ask that you hear me out before telling me it’s too soon. Also, I promise you, I’m not crazy.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You know, most people who are crazy say they aren’t.”
Esther let out a soft huff. “Please?”
His mouth flattened. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Not waiting for him to change his mind, she launched into a thorough but condensed version of why she thought Asher had been abducted and hadn’t just left. Starting with her sister and how Edie knew Asher, she moved on to why he’d come to Oregon and what had happened since he’d been here. She also touched on the mystery surrounding the Tylers. By the time she’d laid everything out, Detective Stroud’s skeptical expression had changed to one of concerned curiosity.
“So, he just disappeared on you this evening? Car and all?”
“Yes. Edie told me to mention he was in a rental car. That you might be able to use that.”
“It’s possible. Do you know where he rented the car?”
“Portland Airport.” She named the company whose sticker she’d seen in the corner of the windshield.
The detective wrote it down. “Give me a description of your friend.”
“Um, he’s tall. Maybe six-two or three. Dark hair. Brown eyes.”
“Age?”
“Thirty-three.”
