Disclaimer: I don't own Blood Ties or any of the characters. They are all Tanya Huff's creation.
Characters thoughts in italics.
Thanks to my beta, Lena!
Chapter 1
The drive home seemed to take forever but Mike Celluci finally steered his black sedan into his driveway. He switched off the headlights, killed the engine and walked to his front door. His keys slipped through his fingers.
That's just great.
The detective bent over to retrieve his keys. Something struck the back of his head.
The intruder watched the man fall after the blow from his gun.
"Sweet dreams, detective." He whispered.
His nervous eyes looked around the neighborhood. No lights had come on. No curious faces peered from darkened windows. His actions had gone unnoticed. He tucked the gun in his belt and placed the detective's keys inside his blue jeans pocket. Grasping the detective's arms, he dragged his body to the car, opened the back door and tossed him inside. After the detective was bound and blindfolded, he jumped into the driver's seat and slowly eased the car out of the driveway.
A Few days later
The ring of the telephone sounded through the office.
The perky Goth answered it after the second ring. "Vicki Nelson Investigations."
"Victoria Nelson, please."
"Can I put you on hold?"
"Fine."
The dark haired young woman stepped halfway into Vicki's office. "Vicki, you have a call."
"Who is it?"
"Some woman. She didn't give a name."
"Okay, put it through."
"Vicki Nelson."
"Miss Nelson."
"Captain Crowley. So what did I do to deserve a call from you?"
"It's nice to hear your voice too, Vicki. Have you heard from Detective Celluci?"
"No. Not in the last couple of days." Her eyebrows elevated. "Why?"
"He hasn't been into work for a couple days and he didn't call. Detective Lam rode past his place and his car wasn't in the driveway. If you hear from him, please let me know."
"I will. Bye."
Mike always called when he was going to miss work. No matter what happened. It's just not like him to not check in.
Vicki rose from her chair and grabbed her black jacket. She paused in front of Coreen's desk. "I'm leaving for a while."
"Where are you going?"
"That phone call was Crowley. Mike hasn't been to work for awhile."
"Maybe Mike's playing hooky?"
"Are we talking about the same Mike, Coreen?"
The Goth nodded. "True. He definitely doesn't seem like the playing hooky type."
"I'm going to see what I can find out. Call me on my cell if you need me."
The private investigator left.