IX

Every time I think of you
I always catch my breath
And I'm still standing here
And you're miles away
And I'm wondering why you left

And there's a storm that's raging
Through my frozen heart tonight

I hear your name in certain circles
And it always makes me smile

I spend my time
Thinking about you
And it's almost driving me wild

And that's my heart that's breaking
Down this long distance line tonight

"Missing You", John Waite

It wasn't unusual for Blair's father to summon her at work, but it wasn't unheard of, either, so Blair Warner thought nothing of his summons to her. She had her own dinner planned that night with Tootie and Natalie, who were driving in from Peekskill to see their friend. Natalie was a Freshman at Langley now, Tootie a Senior at Eastland. Natalie already had feelers out for jobs as a journalist, something she had wanted to be since arriving at Eastland. She was looking forward to seeing them.

Blair was up to her father's penthouse office in a matter of minutes. When the secretary opened the door, she immediately gave her father her beautiful smile, starting to walk over to give him a hug and a kiss. She caught the figure of someone else in the room, and stopped cold when she realized who it was.

Blair's eyes widened in horror, her stomach doing back flips immediately. "Daddy, Mr. Levine...it's about Jo, isn't it?"

Dennis sat Blair down quickly in a chair across the desk that adorned her father's office, himself taking a chair next to the heiress.

"Jo's dead, isn't she?" She frantically looked around at both men. "Please tell me...Jo's."

Dennis Levine was able to intervene at that moment. "Blair, we don't know yet, but we received a report form Dallas today." He briefly went over the information with Blair, David also listening intently, even though he had heard the news already.

"So we just don't know, but the remains fit a general description of Jo, so, I had to bring the report to your father."

"And I didn't want you to hear the report on the news broadcasts tonight, Princess." David himself looked calm on the outside, but inside, he felt sick to his stomach. "We need to just wait for the information from Dallas."

"Good God, Daddy", Blair said. She was shaking, which prompted Levine to go into the outer office and fetch Blair a cold bottle of water in a mini fridge near the secretary's desk. "If it's Jo, I'll..."

"We'll deal with it together, honey", her father said in as gentile a voice as Blair had ever heard. "I won't let you go through this alone, and neither will your friends." He stopped for a moment. "You're having dinner with Tootie and Natalie tonight, aren't you?"

Blair regained her composure, but still feeling like her world was collapsing. "Yes, they've already left Peekskill to meet me at a nearby restaurant."

"If you like, I could call The Palm on 5th and arrange a private area for you, Tootie and Nat. If you like, I could be there as well."

Blair looked up at her father. "Isn't tonight the dinner at Luger's?"

David nodded. "Yes, but if it would make you and the girls feel better, I could attend as well. I haven't talked to Dorothy and Natalie in quite a while. Of course, if you'd rather be there with just them, I understand."

"I'd hate for you to miss that dinner. I know how important those meetings are for you and for the company."

David smiled while shaking his head. "Princess, you are more important than any dinner, and this whole goddamned corporation, believe me." Next to Blair, unseen, Dennis Levine smile at the CEO's words. He approved of how David was handling this.

"OK", Blair said finally. "Neither one of them have a cell phone that I know of yet, so I'll meet them where we were supposed to have dinner, then we'll head over to the Palm. About 7?"

"7 pm it is, my dear", David said with a smile. "And it'll be nice to see them. I can always blow the place off when the three of you want to get into your girl talk."

Despite the fear within her, Blair laughed at her father's remark, as did Dennis. Blair turned to the Vice-President. "Mr. Levine, you will keep us advised if anything comes up?"

"You know I will, Blair", he said, briefly grabbing her hand. Blair smiled at the comforting gesture.

"I just hope this isn't Jo", she said turning back to her father. "If it is, I don't know if I can get through that."

"Why are we going to The Palm, Blair?" Tootie looked at how she was dressed, then over at Natalie. "Are we even dressed good enough for The Palm?"

Blair gave a laugh that didn't quite reach her eyes, which Natalie immediately noticed, her reporter's instincts kicking in. "You're dressed fine, you two. Besides, we're dining in a private area tonight, so it'll just be us."

Natalie noticed Blair tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel. They had transferred over to Blair's car for the drive to The Palm. Blair seemed a bit jumpy as well. Natalie remembered, from driving with Blair countless times, that she was usually at ease driving care. Not so tonight.

"Something's up...isn't it, Blair?" Natalie pinned her older friend with a hard gaze.

"All I'll say is that we have some things to discuss tonight, and I did want a little privacy. So keep your knickers on, Green."

Tootie's instincts for such things weren't as refined, and she didn't catch the nervousness in Blair's voice. Natalie smartly dropped the line of questioning for the moment. The rest of the fifteen minute drive passed in an awkward silence.

On arrival in front of The Palm, a smartly dress Valet was at the car immediately. "Good evening, Ms. Warner", he said with a broad smile.

"Hello, Mr. Rodriguez!" She gave him a quick hug, Natalie and Tootie exchanging small glances. "It's been too long since I've seen you? How are your wife and kids?"

"Thank you for asking, Ms. Warner", he said with equal warmness. "They're all doing just wonderful. I will tell them you asked about them. From what I have been told, you're heading up to the private dining facilities, correct?"

"That's right, Mr. Rodriguez."

"Very good. I will park your car, and Lois is at the private elevator this evening, she'll have you settled in no time. Have a wonderful evening, ladies!"

With that, the man was in the car and taking it to the Valet parking area, while the three ladies hustled into the building. There was an elevator to private dining areas, exclusively for VIP's, of which the Warner's certainly were, and in minutes, they arrived and were led into the private dining area assigned for them.

Tootie and Natalie were both surprised to see a familiar face smiling at them as they entered. "Mr. Warner!" Both girls exclaimed his name at the exact same moment, David approaching them, and embracing them each.

"Natalie. Dorothy", he said, fighting off the emotion he was feeling with the news of the day. "It's so good to see both of you. You both look absolutely fantastic!"

Natalie hit Tootie softly on the arm. "Why can't we get guys our age to talk to us like that, Tootie? How come?"

"Because...guys are age are a bunch of idiots?"

Natalie beamed at her friend, then at Mr. Warner. "Exactly! What a world." Everyone laugh, which broke the obvious tension for a few moments.

David made sure to hold the chair out for all three of the ladies, then took his seat. A waitress was already with them, and she took the orders for drinks and appetizers, then exited the room.

"Mr. Warner, we were expecting dinner somewhere else", Tootie explained, "not at The Palm. Is there a reason for the last-minute change?"

David smiled at the two, but again Natalie noticed how pensive Blair was, but like in the car, she didn't push it.

"As soon as our drinks arrive, I will advise you about my presence."

It didn't take long for the drinks to arrive, Blair and her father both ordering wine, while the other two, still underage for drinking alcohol, each had a Pepsi. After a few pleasantries, no one was surprised when Natalie spoke up.

"OK, I've noticed Blair has been acting weird. Well", she amended quickly, "weirder than normal that is. And while you, Mr. Warner, are always the perfect gentleman, my reporter antennas tells me something is afoot."

"You're so dramatic, Nat", Tootie said sotto voce, earning her a glare from her best friend.

"Yes, there is a reason why you're at The Palm tonight. He took a sip of his wine, looked over at his daughter, squeezed her hand, and proceeded to fill in the other two young women on what had transpired. To say the two didn't take it well was an understatement.

Natalie had to get up, and went to the window overlooking the scenery outside. Tootie was in tears, Blair trying to comfort her, her own tears making that difficult.

"Now, as I said", David said after a brief respite from talking, "we don't know if it's Jo that was found, but I wasn't about to let Blair, nor the two of you, find this out from the news. Whatever the outcome of this, we will get through this together, is that understood?"

Natalie turned back around, a few tears on her face, but she nodded her head resolutely and returned to the table.

Tootie finally calmed down, as the appetizers were brought in. At first even the Warner CEO didn't want to eat anything, but after the waitress left, Natalie looked around the table. "May I say a few words?" David inclined his head. "I refuse to believe this is Jo. Maybe I'm wrong...God, I hope I'm wrong, but whatever we find out, we're hear for each other." She again looked around the table. "Now, may I propose a toast to our missing friend, Jo. We love you, Jo. We always will."

They silently raised their glasses to their friend.

After Natalie's toast, it seemed as if a great weight was lifted from everyone in the room. David encouraged Natalie and Tootie to fill he and Blair in on the latest at Eastland and Langley. The four of them were smiling and laughing as the night moved on.

David excused himself halfway through their dinner, informing them that he had to make an appearance in Brooklyn at his Corporate dinner. The two visitors gave him strong, emotional hugs, the CEO telling them again that they would not be alone, if worse came to worse. The three friends spent another ninety minutes talking and reminiscing, much of the memories revolving around Jo.

They were slated to spend the night at Blair's apartment, but with the events of the day, Natalie suggested they drive to Peekskill, and inform Mrs. Garrett, if she didn't already know. Natalie called Mrs. Garrett from the restaurant, and asked her if she could be up when they got there. Since it was a Friday night, and it had been a while since she had seen Blair, Edna was delighted with the news.

Mrs. Garrett was, like the other three, frantic at the news that Jo could have been found dead in Texas, but like her younger friends, she refused to give up all hope. Blair had left a message with her father that she was in Peekskill through the weekend should any news arise on the case in Dallas.

The four of them rallied to each other, staying up a good portion of the night, sharing stories, even if they had heard them a hundred times, laughing, drinking lemonade, and having a wonderful time. Yet all of them felt, in the back of their minds, the dread that could come in the next few days.

Finally, about 4am, they were all absolutely exhausted, physically and emotionally from the events of the last twenty-four hours, and they finally retired, Blair going to the guest bedroom that she thought of as a second home.

After showering and changing into a nightgown, Blair did something she rarely did, even after more than three years since Jo went missing. She got down on her knees, and prayed.

"Lord, you know I've had kind of an on again/off again relationship with You over the years, but I figure, after all this time, with my best friend being away for so long, that it can't hurt to offer up a prayer to You for Jo. We don't know right now if she's alive or dead. If...if the worst has come to pass, please keep her always in Your loving arms. If, by some miracle this isn't her that was found, and she is still alive, please watch over her, and let her know, somehow, and some way, that she is not alone-that she will never be alone. Amen."

No word arrived on Saturday, making the four women even more concerned. Blair decided to help out running Edna's Edibles that day, enjoying the company of her friends, and serving customers as she had done at one time. She even recognized a few of the faces that came into the shop. It had kept her spirits from completely deflating. That night Edna made a fantastic meal for all of them, as they regaled each other some more.

At around 9:30am the next morning, while they were all eating breakfast-Edna had closed the shop for this particular Sunday, sensing they would hear something, her phone rang. It made all four women jump, as their nerves were definitely frayed.

"Hello...Yes, this is Edna Garrett...Oh, yes, Mr. Levine, would you like to talk to Blair or..."

Hearing the name of the VP of Security, Blair froze, making Natalie and Tootie do the same.

"Yes, Blair is here, but if...well, yes, of course I can relay the information." Edna sat down-just in case. "Uh huh...oh, my goodness! No, no, thank you so much, Mr. Levine. Your call is appreciated."

As Edna turned to them, there were tears in her eyes, but as she looked, a broad smile came across her face. "It wasn't Jo", she said in a shaky, but obviously relieved voice.

Mrs. Garrett rose, the other three coming to her, crying happy, but still very bitter tears. They full well knew that Jo could still be dead-they had no word at all about her for three years, but to know that, at least in this case, it wasn't their beloved friend, they rejoiced at the news.