Downtown, Zander's fingers caressed his keyboard quickly, noting any bugs he found, and sending them off to Infinity. The beta was not tested yet, but had plans for that. As the deadline to publish his findings was rapidly approaching, he became anxious about the first test, which had been scheduled a few days from now. He chose to work on the program in a busy coffee shop just outside the Silvergrove city limits. It was a calming area with blooming cherry blossom trees and lilac's along the roadside. A beautiful blonde waitress with piercing blue eyes walked over and picked up his cup to refill his tea with a smile.
"Thank you, Love." He tipped his cup to her as a sign of thanks before looking back down at his laptop. The numbers and letters displayed on the screen were a strong indication that he could wrap the program in a neat package with a bow sooner rather than later. His fingertips sent off an email to a few infinity members, before closing the laptop and putting the cup to his slips, sipping his drink happily leaning back in his seat. Looking through his phone, he took notice of her not opening the app as of yet but was not in a hurry to make it happen. Placing his cup on the table, he punched in her number and began typing to her;
Hello Love,
It was nice meeting you the other day and I apologize for my behavior. I was not aware Silas was going to bring you and it surprised me. I'd like to get to know you better and if you wanted, maybe we can get dinner tonight and talk about what happened to your parents. Speak to you soon! Ciao!
Z
He clicked the send button and smiled as he saw the message as "delivered" and placed the phone back into his back pocket. She wouldn't be able to resist him much longer and he would do what he could to get her into his world, whatever the case may be. He smiled and looked up curiously when he heard the chimes of the door open, two detectives approaching the counter ordering their own drinks, the barista pointing over him as he began to pack his things into his backpack. The man approached me first, "Zander Roberts?"
He zipped his bag." Depends on who is asking."
The man pulled out his wallet, showing him his police badge before sticking it back into his coat pocket. He wasn't shocked but took a glimpse at it. "Silvergrove P.D?" The man sat on the other side of the table in front of me, crossing his leg.
"So, what're you doing back in town?", he asked curiously.
Zander shook his head, placing his bag on the floor. "None of your business. I haven't broken any laws here, not even before I left this stupid town. No laws were broken." Lieutenant Cooper scoffed as his partner came and sat next to him, putting their beverages on the table and pulling out a small notepad. "What are you two doing here?"
"We are investigating Juniper. Her parents went missing a year ago and we're looking into new leads. They disappeared shortly after you left town. Do you know anything about that?" His partner began to scribble things on the piece of paper in front of her.
"No, I don't. I don't even know Juniper. Maybe talk to her friend Silas, he'll probably know more than I would, considering I just got to town a few days ago", he pointed out as he stood up to leave, grabbing his belongings. "As I have stated, I don't have anything to do with what happened to Julie and Seth. I told you that the first time you questioned me. Maybe think about looking into Silas. Have you not noticed how he is always around?"
Cooper scratched his chin as his partner continued making notes. He was not wrong about that. As Zander headed toward the door, he leaned over his shoulder and whispered, "If I were you, I recommend dropping it before someone gets hurt." He snarled as he handed him a business card. "Contact my lawyer for any further questions." He straightened himself out and smiled, waving as he walked out the door. "Nice seeing you again!"
I was growing impatient. These incompetent police officers were not taking my concerns seriously; just like a year ago. All the questions, odd looks, and whispers of what could have possibly happened were making my blood boil. Silas and I were standing in my father's office in the basement printing off Missing Person for the second time, hoping this time we would get leads somewhere. My hands rubbed my temples in a circular motion as page after page came through with a fresh coat of ink, displaying my parents' photos and my contact information. Silas took the pages out as they finished printing and put them in a pile, banging the bottom on the desk to straighten them out.
With a sigh, Silas placed the flyers flat on the desk and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You will be okay, June. We'll get it handled. Just have to have a little bit of patience and faith. Like my mom always says; Faith and Patience are better than no patience at all!" He smiled at me.
I smiled back and laid my head on his shoulder. My phone began to buzz in my back pocket and I pulled it out and looked at the screen and did not recognize the sender. I unlocked my phone and clicked on the message icon and tilted my head in confusion. "I got a text from Zander." I said out loud.
Silas shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Seriously? What did he say?"
I shrugged and skimmed over the message, hovering my fingers over the keyboard, debating on responding. Before I knew it, my fingers were moving across the keyboard quickly.
Hi.
Thank you for your message. It was nice meeting you too. I appreciate the offer to help, we could use all the help we can get right about now. If you'd like, you can meet me at my place and help us pass out and put up more flyers. To be honest, I don't know about dinner. I don't really know you like that and Silas may not like it, however, I am not opposed to the idea. I am home with Silas right now, you're welcome to stop by anytime. See you soon.
J.
I moved my phone back into my back pocket and looked over to Silas. I was not expecting to hear from Zander after how weird the first visit was. I did think he was handsome and well-spoken, but he was not my normal type as far as dating potential was concerned. Silas said nothing while he placed the flyers in a folder on the desk. "Silas, I was not expecting him to text me. I didn't even give him my number."
He shook his head and opened his mouth to say something as a pound on the door interrupted him. Placing a new stack of papers down on the desk, I moved to the front door and opened it swiftly to see Lieutenant Cooper and Detective Sanchez standing with their arms folded with two police officers at their side. "What can I do for you guys now? Here to throw more accusations at me?" Lieutenant Cooper held a piece of paper up and smiled. "We have a warrant to search the premises and your car." I took the paper and opened it, Silas coming up from the office and holding the door open with his foot, folding his arms and leaning against the frame. He leaned over and took the warrant from my hands as the officers pushed me aside to get into the house.
I turned to them. "I had nothing to do with this. You have no right."
Lieutenant Cooper gestured Silas and I to head outside. "We will let you back in when we're finished. Where are the keys to your car?"
I pulled them out of my pocket and handed them over before moving down the steps to sit down. I could not believe this was happening again. Turning to Silas, I shrugged. "What could they want in there? Nothing has changed since the last time they tore my house and car apart."
Silas too shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They're just doing their jobs. It's not a big deal, but you need to cooperate." He handed me a pop. "I swiped it for you before they went in. You need to drink it and when they're done, give me a call and we'll get the flyers put up. I need to get going and check on my mom, let me know how it goes with Zander."
Almost on cue, I spotted Zander walking up my parents' driveway and up the steps. He put one foot on the bottom step and nodded to me. "Is this a bad time, Juniper? What's with all the police officers? Hey, Silas." Silas didn't even look in his direction, putting his headphones on and walking towards the street.
Zander plopped next to me on the porch. "What was that about? What's going on, Juniper?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea, but I intend on finding out." I handed him a copy of the warrant and he looked through it. "They're going through your things?"
"Looks that way, they think I have something to do with my parents' disappearance, but I think I am being set up."
Zander handed me the warrant. "Who would want to set you up? Do you have any enemies?"
I shook my head. "None. Not even my parents had enemies. We were all well liked in this town before all this happened."
Zander turned to the door. "Is there anything I can do?" He almost seemed genuine. A concerned tone to match his bodacious ego to match.
"No, thank you. There is nothing that can be done now. They are going to think what they think no matter what, but I need a lawyer."
Zander took my hand and held it tightly, giving me reassurance that everything was going to be fine. I squeezed his hand as the officers came down the stairs holding boxes and carrying my computer down the steps as I stood up. "You have no right to my computer, it's not listed under the warrant."
Lieutenant Cooper lit the pipe in his mouth. "Be very careful what you say. You need to get a lawyer and come down to the station immediately."