Daddy's Girls: Chapter 13

Author's Note: Oh Harry, you should know by now that we aren't going to make it that easy on our three worried fathers.:) Oh no, they'll be more trauma to go through before the end, so make sure to keep reading!


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By 5:00 AM, Brad had lost count of the loops he'd made around the city. He headed back to his house with the wishful hope that somehow the girls had managed to sneak back in while he was gone. He combed through the house from top to bottom, but everything was just as he and Annie had left it the evening before. Running his hands through his hair with ever increasing nervousness and despair, he sat down at the counter to make a few phone calls.

By 6:00 AM, he had clutched at his very last straw.

"I'll make sure to let Matt know the girls are missing in case they DO turn up here, Brad," said Cutler's easygoing voice from the High Mountain Ranger Station in Lake Tahoe. "You make sure to keep us informed, we'll be down there in a heartbeat if you want help looking."

"I hope it won't come to that, Cutler, but thanks."

He hung up the phone and buried his face in his hands. He did NOT want to have to drive over to Dusty's and tell him both of his favorite girls were missing. Then again, there was the remote possibility that they had managed to sneak back into Dusty's house. Brad prayed that that would be the case as he left his house again.



Brad didn't even have a chance to knock before Dusty's nervous frame situated itself in the doorway. "What happened!?" he demanded somewhat angrily.

"I don't know, but I can tell you what DIDN'T happen, and that was the trip to the country club we were told about."

"WHAT?!" All the color drained from Dusty's face as he allowed Brad to pass through the open door.

"I got a call from Annie about an hour or so after the girls left," Brad explained as calmly as he could. "It seems they made a slight detour to a nightclub called Ecstatic."

He might not have been quite so blunt if he had seen Sunny standing just inside the door. As it was, she turned just as pale as Dusty and asked quietly, "Isn't that the club that you turned down for a playing gig because it was too rough, even for you?"

Brad nodded with a sigh. "That's the one. The problem is, when I went there to pick the girls up, there was no sign of them. On top of that Jess's car is still there." He didn't allow himself to let the shocked and worried expressions on Dusty and Sunny's faces deter him from finishing his explanation. "I've been out all night looking and making phone calls, with still no sign of them. I was hoping they'd be here…"

"What the hell were they doin' in a place like that in the first place?!" Dusty exploded as Sunny tried to keep her tears in check.

"I don't know, Dusty, but what's more important is where they are NOW. I think we better compare notes…there might be somewhere you know of that I haven't looked."

Sunny wiped away a few tears telling herself not to lose hope yet, "What about Scott? He might know where the girls could of gone too."

"Possible," Brad noted silently hoping that would be true.


The sun just rose as Matt Trakker headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. The day just started, and he was already in a sour mood. Several $100 bills were missing from his wallet, and the only suspect he could think of was his daughter.

Scott Trakker sat at the table scooping a mouthful of cereal into his mouth, "Morn'n dad."

"What have I told you about talking with your mouth full?" Matt smirked throwing Scott a napkin.

Scott swallowed, then wiped his mouth with a sly smile, "Sorry dad."

"Is your sister up?"

Judging from the aggressive tone in Matt's voice, Scott knew something was up, "No I thought she was still sleeping. You know her it'd take a loud train to wake her up."

"I was just in her room…she wasn't there."

"Bathroom?" Matt shook his head wondering if Scott was covering for her again, "What about the gas station?"

"Haven't tried there yet."

Matt grabbed the phone and dialed the gas station expecting Buddy to pick it up, but the phone continued to ring with no on answering it. He hung up the phone and attempted to dial again thinking he might of hit he wrong number, but again nobody picked up the other line. "That's odd," he turned to Scott confused, "nobody's answering."

"Maybe he's running late dad?"

"No that's not like Buddy. In all my years, Buddy has never once not showed up late for work." Matt dialed Buddy home number, but he only got the answering machine. He hung up the phone worried. "He's not there either."

"Well dad either Buddy just running late or maybe Roxanne ran away with Buddy. Who knows probably checked into a hotel last night, for all we know."

Matt shoot Scott a concerning glance and became more serious, "What do you mean by that?"

"Lighten up dad it's a joke," Scott defended himself, before his father could attempt to shake him for information.

"What on earth would give you an idea like that? That's not even funny, Scott. For all I know she could be out on the street somewhere with some stranger. She took several hundred dollars out of my wallet"

Scott continued to look innocent and confessed, "Well she did right a lot of X's and O's around Buddy picture in her diary. There was a lot of other personal stuff about him whisking her away in a '57 Chevy and dreaming about him wearing some sort of native outfit. I got to admit I couldn't put the dang thing down it was that interesting, but don't tell her she'll kill me literally."

"Do you know any possible place she could of gone?" Matt asked attempting to swart any images of Buddy and his daughter hooking up. Before Scott could speak the phone rang, and Matt reached for the phone in hasted, "Hello?"

"Hey Matt sorry to call so early," Brad spoke with concern, "but by any chance have you or Scott seen Annie or Jess. They disappeared last night and were really worried."

"Annie and Jess are missing?" Matt stood there slightly shocked.

Scott dropped his spoon just before it reached his mouth and just starred at his father, "What does he mean Annie and Jess are missing?"

Matt put his hand up to stop Scott from questioning, "That's odd. Roxanne is missing as well. I can't seem to find her anywhere."

Brad couldn't believe it himself, "Roxanne missing too? What the hell is going on?"

"That's what I would like to know, " Matt insisted. "Scott seems to think it might be possible that Roxanne ran away with Buddy."

"Oh come on, Buddy knows better then that." Brad defended.

"When did the girls turn of up missing?"

"I got a call from Annie sometime last night at Ecstatic, but by the time I got there the girls weren't there. Yet Jess's car is still in the parking lot. Right now I'm fearing the worst."

Matt listen patiently, then lifted his head up at the mention of the club, "That's interesting. Buddy was on assignment last night at that very club."

"That's a relief maybe he has Jess and Annie," he replied then removed the phone from his mouth and shouted to Dusty, "Buddy was at the club last night, I'll bet he has the girls."

"He better," Dusty shouted, "cause both of them are gonna get it when I get my hands on them."

"Ummmm Brad," Matt continued to speak as though the danger wasn't over yet, "Buddy didn't show up for work this morning, nor is he at his place."

"You saying Buddy ran off with all our little girls?" Brad remarked with such discuss.

"I'm trying not to even think that. All I know is Roxanne took a lot of money with her last night, and she hasn't come home. You guys check out Buddy's place and around town. I'm gonna pull in some favors with the local police to put a missing person report out for the three girls."

"Alright Matt, we'll keep in touch."

Brad slammed the phone down feeling more enrage then he was before. Dusty and Sunny just stared at him with the expression of what. He put his arms up in disbelief, "Roxanne missing too and nobody knows where Buddy is. Matt says he's gonna alert the police, that should help I hope. In the mean time, we can't give up the search and we need to check out Buddy place."