Disappearances Can Be Deceiving

**Immediately follows "An Unexpected Alliance"**

"Be careful who you trust;

the devil was once an angel."

Unknown

CHAPTER 1

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Mr. Houston isn't taking any new cases at the moment." Chris Chase tapped her pen on the message pad and looked up as the elevator chimed. Her bosses, Matt and CJ Houston stepped into the lobby hand- in-hand as usual. "Can you hold a moment, please?" She pushed a button on the phone. "Boss, would you please talk to this lady? This is the eighth time she's called since yesterday afternoon."

"Sure." He handed his daughter's carry seat to CJ and went on into the main part of his office, turning to the left and picking up the cordless phone on the bar while reaching for the ever-present pot of coffee. "Houston."

"Oh, thank you for taking my call." The lady on the other end of the line sounded panicked.

"Well ma'am, I'm sorry but…"

"I know your secretary said that you weren't taking any cases, but I need your help…please." She began crying.

"What exactly is the problem?" The PI poured himself a cup of coffee and walked across the office. Stepping over the back of the couch he sat down and took a sip as the woman began explaining.

"It's my husband…"

Grimacing, Matt shook his head. He couldn't count the number of phone calls he had received that started with the same words, but decided to hear her out.

"I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Cecelia Lloyd. My husband is Senator Cade Lloyd."

"Yes ma'am, I've heard of him." Matt hated politics of any kind – and politicians even more so.

"Well as you know, the state senate is in session now. Cade keeps an apartment just a few blocks from the capital, but there have been some electrical problems in the building and it's been undergoing an extensive remodeling. It's very noisy with all that construction going on which makes it hard for Cade to concentrate. He called me last Thursday and told me he was going to be elsewhere over the weekend. I haven't heard from him since and he wasn't present Monday morning when the Senate reconvened. It's like he just dropped off the face of the earth. I need your help."

"Have you spoken with someone in his office? An assistant or…"

"Yes. Carlos Mendez has been his assistant for almost ten years. He called me to see if Cade had been home over the weekend."

"He didn't tell Mr. Mendez where he was staying?" To himself Matt thought Red flag, lady. He's probably got a girlfriend.

"No, he wanted to be left alone. He's been working on a very important piece of legislation and didn't want to be bothered by anyone." There was quiet on the other end of the line. "Please, Mr. Houston."

"Have you spoken to the police in Sacramento?"

"Oh, heavens no! Cade would be furious. It would look scandalous."

"Uh huh, well…" He sighed. If she didn't sound like such a sweet lady it would be easier to tell her no. "I guess talking to a private investigator in that area would be out of the question?"

"Most certainly."

Damn. "Alright…" He stood and walked into CJ's office. She and Chris were grinning at each other. "I'll need to get a few details from you and then I'll need you to speak to my wife about a contract." He rolled his eyes as CJ held out her hand to Chris and the secretary slapped a dollar bill into it. Grabbing a legal pad and pen off of her desk he sat down on the loveseat and started getting the information that he needed to begin working. "I want to make sure that you understand that I can't promise results."

"I'm not worried, Mr. Houston; I know you'll find him."

Matt put her on hold and looked across at his wife. "A whole dollar, huh?" As he stood and went toward the stairs to the gym to pack a bag, the snickers from both ladies could be heard. He sighed as he went down the stairs. "So much for concentrating on your schoolwork, Mattlock."

Several minutes later he emerged with a bag on his shoulder. Going into CJ's office he watched as she pulled the signed contract from the fax machine. "You're all set, hon."

"Uh huh." He pulled her into his arms. "You could come with me."

"I don't think you want Catey and one of her dirty diapers tagging along on an investigation." The pair kissed. "We'll start in on researching the senator for you. His wife is accessing his credit card accounts as we speak and will be sending us a copy."

He kissed her again. "Love you, Babe."

"Love you, Cowboy. Have you got everything?"

"Yep. My vest and holster are in the truck." Walking over to the playpen he leaned over and gave their daughter a kiss on the top of her head. "Keep Mama out of trouble for me, kiddo."

Once he had gassed up the truck, Matt hit the road for Sacramento. He was hoping that the information that CJ received on the credit cards would send him in the right direction and get the case wrapped up quickly.

As he drove along the PI though about how politicians often ended up amidst scandal, due mostly to power. It wasn't unusual for someone with political aspirations to end up on the front page of the newspapers or gossip magazines. Matt wouldn't take cheating spouse cases but there had been a few times when other cases he had taken had ended up that way.

An hour into his trip CJ called and he hit the speaker button. "Hi Babe – whatcha got?"

"Not nearly what either one of us was hoping for I'm afraid. Senator Lloyd got a cash advance of $3,000 on one of his credit cards Thursday. There haven't been any transactions made on any of them or his bank accounts since then. But I did find something interesting."

"Oh?"

"Uh huh. He had a savings account with $113,674.39 cents in it up until last Monday when he closed it. It was given to him in cash."

"Oh boy, not good. Does the wife know about it?"

"She does now. I called to check with her and that was the first she knew about it."

"What is this guy worth, CJ?"

"About six million give or take."

"If he's planning on dropping off the face of the earth you would think he would take more of it with him…unless he's got more that Mrs. Lloyd doesn't know about." He thought for a minute. "I don't recall it, but has he been involved in anything questionable?"

"Only some dealings he had with a construction company a few years back. He was supposedly trying to help them land state contracts but it was never proven and the whole thing just seemed to disappear."

"But there haven't been any accusations of a mistress or anything like that, right?"

"Not a one. Everything else that I've run across paints him as being a hardworking member of the Conservative Party."

"Why did I agree to take this case?"

"Because you don't deal well with crying women?" The lawyer grinned. She could just see the disgusted look on his face.

"Hmm…well since you're in such a jovial mood why don't you go back through his credit cards and see if there is any particular place that he's stayed at in the past other than his home or apartment."

"Okay, I'll call you when I get done. Love you."

"Uh huh, sure you do." Matt smiled. "Love you, too. 'Bye." Groaning as he hung up the phone, the PI wished that he had flown to Sacramento. The helicopter would have been his first choice but it was undergoing maintenance. And the jet…he smiled as he thought about it. Everyone would be getting a big surprise Thanksgiving.

After stopping in Coalinga at the big steakhouse, Matt got back in the truck and finished the rest of the drive, singing along to some CDs and receiving another call from CJ when he was an hour outside of Sacramento.

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good I guess – kinda quiet. I stopped at the steakhouse."

"And you're still awake? It's a wonder." CJ knew how much he loved a good steak. "Just wanted to let you know I've been monitoring all his accounts and there has been absolutely no activity on any of them."

"Tell you what – try the airlines and private charters. See if he caught a flight somewhere. Mrs. Lloyd may not have a choice but to go to the cops. Somebody could have taken him."

"I spoke with her again half an hour ago; she's a basket case."

"Why do I have the feeling that this is going to end badly?"

"I'm beginning to feel that way, too…just be careful and watch your back, Cowboy."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you. 'Bye." She hung up the phone hoping that the case would be easier to solve than it now appeared.