Chapter Two

He had to get to her…fast. When his lawyer's office called and said they were delivering the divorce papers today, he had been on a crime scene. He didn't check his voice mail until much later. Now he was sure if she hadn't already been served with the papers, they were on their way.

He wanted to tell her the papers were coming before they arrived. He didn't want to catch her that much off guard. It was late in the afternoon, but she should still be in her office. God knows, she practically lived there now that Nigel and Bug had quit. He didn't wait for the elevators, he took the stairs, all the way up to the ninth floor. He made a dash for her office, only to see Garret sitting in his…staring into nothingness. Somewhat startled at the chief ME's demeanor, he paused long enough to ask, "Garret, are you all right?"

Garret threw the papers he was holding in his fingers down on his desk. "She's resigned."

Woody didn't have to ask who he was talking about. "What?"

"She's resigned."

Shocked, he asked, "Did she say why?"

"No. She just said she was quitting. Told me to have her last paychecks direct deposited into her Pogue account. And due to the amount of vacation and personal time she had accrued, the resignation was effective immediately. She's gone."

Woody took the papers from the nerveless fingers of the ME. He read them over…nothing was said about the divorce. Throwing them down on Garret's desk, he made a run for her office. Flinging open the door, a glitter caught his eye. On her desk was the divorce papers, neatly signed and dated. Sitting on top of them were her rings…her beautiful half-carat engagement ring and her wedding band. He swallowed hard. He had been too late to warn her. He had hoped the decree would just shock her into realizing just how badly their relationship had dissolved. He had hoped it would slow them down enough to realize how serious the situation was…and give them impetus to work on it. Make her recognize what was really important. Instead, she had signed the papers.

She wasn't supposed to do that.

He walked over to the desk and sat down. Garret followed him in, reading the papers on her desk. "So now I know why," he said, looking at Woody. "Now I know why she resigned."

"Yeah," Woody replied in a lifeless voice.

"Didn't think she'd sign them?"

"No…I just wanted to try to make her realize how serious this situation was...that we were what was important, not her job…not anything else."

Garret snorted. "You picked a strange way to do that."

"I tried everything else."

Sighing, the chief ME looked at the detective. "I bet you any money she's run again."

Startled, Woody looked up at Garret. Quickly getting up from the chair and pocketing her rings, he left the morgue, making his way home as fast as he could. Her running had never crossed his mind.

She was gone. When he got home, there was a note on her side of the bed. Keep everything. Keep the whole damn lot…I don't want it. Do whatever you wish to with the house, the car, the furniture. I don't care. He sank down on the bed. His plan to get her attention had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Running his fingers through his hair, he thought about what he should do next. She had taken her clothes, some jewelry, her laptop, her guitar…and nothing else. He flicked on his computer and went on-line, checking their bank balances. That told him the whole story. She had taken half of their money…to the exact penny. She had withdrawn it that afternoon. Pushing the panic that was welling up in him aside, he dialed her cell phone. No answer. He left a voice mail. She had caller id. She probably wouldn't answer him for several days, anyway. Next, he dialed Garret's number.

"Macy," said the ME.

"Garret, it's Woody. Has she called? Have you heard anything at all?"

"No. And since she didn't take a morgue vehicle, there's no GPS system to track her with." All the morgue cars and vans had GPS devices in them. Jordan took her personal vehicle – no GPS.

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone?" Woody sounded desperate.

Garret reflected for a minute…his mind running through his mental files of Jordan's past. She hadn't been on the run for years….and certainly not since she was married. "No," he finally answered. "The last time she ran, she went to LA. I just don't have the feeling she'd go there this time. She knows that would be the first place I'd look. I don't think Jordan wants to be found. At least not right now. So I don't know, Woody. I'm sorry." Garret wasn't sure what he was sorrier for…that Jordan had run or that the divorce had blown up in Woody's face.

"Thanks," Woody whispered, as he hung up. There was only one other person that may have some idea where Jordan had gone. He put on his coat and headed over to the Pogue.

"Evening, son," Max called out to his son-in-law. "It's been a while. You still like a Scotch, neat?"

Woody nodded, allowing Max to pour him the drink, then letting it burn a trail of semi-comfort down his throat, savoring the feel of the warmth.

"Where's Jordan?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm here, Max."

"She's not here, Woody."

If only it would have been that simple. To come in and find her at their table, or on a bar stool talking to her father. "That's not what I mean. She's left, Max."

"She left you?" Max's voice rose with the question. He knew his daughter. He knew she loved her husband. "What happened?"

Slowly, painfully, Woody told Max the story…about her long hours, his resentment, her seeming unwillingness to change…what he had done to finally try to get her attention. "I didn't mean for it to happen this way…to end this way," he said.

Max blew out a deep sigh. "I have no idea where she would have gone, son. She hasn't been by here, and I haven't talked to her this week at all."

Woody nodded. He figured as much, but knew he had to let his father-in-law know his daughter was missing…gone. "I don't know what to do next," he confessed.

"There's nothing you can do, Woody. You rolled the dice. She called your bluff."

"What's going to happen?" he asked. His voice carried the tone of desperation that Max had often heard echoing in his own life.

"I don't know. She'll call. At some point, she'll at least call me and let me know she's safe. She always has. She always will. I'll let you know when she does."