Chapter 2

Jack woke up before his alarm clock. He felt like it was expected after an evening like the last. After he had left the restaurant, he had gone to a bar and gotten drunk. He had known it was a stupid idea back then, and he certainly knew it now. Careful not to aggravate his headache, he eased himself into a sitting position. He glanced around, glad that it was not fully day yet. His head wouldn't take kindly to any bright lights. Only now he noticed that the spot on the bed next to him was empty. When he had gotten home, Maria had already been asleep. He glanced at his watch--6.15 a.m. Maria normally didn't get up that early. He leaned against the headboard, fighting a wave of nausea. He had really overdone it the previous night. Slowly the details came fully back to him and, with them, the sting of Maria's revelation. A night's sleep had taken away the brunt of the shock, but it had done little to dull the pain. And he also felt betrayed, which was highly ironic, if he thought about it. He had always rationalized his affair with the justification that things weren't working between him and Maria anyways. But now that he had made the decision to come back to her and to try to make it work, he learned that she too had been having an affair, which made him feel like his efforts had been in vain. They probably would have been anyways. He felt like he had been deluding himself from that start that he could just go back and make his marriage work again. Suddenly he felt hung-over and stupid.

oOo

Jack wasn't the only one who felt hung-over and stupid. Samantha had gone from feeling confused to feeling hung-over and stupid within ten minutes. She had been woken by something soft making contact with her skin. It wasn't a pillow. It was something warm and human. She could feel a hand on her arm. She opened her eyes and saw Martin's smiling face over her.

"Good morning!" Martin greeted her smiling.

"Morning," she mumbled, somewhat confused trying to figure out how Martin fit into the picture. She sat up and immediately regretted it. Her head was spinning and for a moment she saw spots. Carefully, she leaned back into the headboard.

"Are you all right?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just sat up too quickly," she lied, trying not to show that she wasn't exactly sure about what had happened the previous night. Her gaze fell on the champagne bottle standing on the nightstand. Right, she recalled getting it out of the fridge and carrying it over into the bedroom. Their clothes were strewn on the floor of the bedroom and out into the hallway. Samantha vaguely recalled stripping off Martin's shirt in the kitchen. Slowly, like the pieces of a mosaic, the evening came back together again. It had definitely not gone how she had planned. Ending up in bed with Martin Fitzgerald had not been on her list of things to do. It hadn't been bad, though. She glanced at her watch. They needed to get going; otherwise, they would have to do some explaining at the office today.

"Martin." She looked over to him, but he had that distracted expression on his face again. Martin!" she tried again. This time he reacted.

"I'm sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment."

"We need to get going." Samantha stated the obvious, trying to disguise that she felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation. She got up, grabbed something to wear from the closet and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. A shower and two aspirins later, she felt more like herself again. The past evening didn't seem quite as bizarre now. She had spent the night with Martin. She could get used to the thought. Yes, she could, she told her mirror image. She nodded to herself and walked back into the kitchen, intrigued by the smell of coffee.

"Hope you don't mind that I made some coffee?" Martin asked and handed her a cup.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that. But I'm afraid that I don't have very much in my fridge," she apologized.

"It's okay, I have to go by my apartment anyways, I have to change before work." Martin indicated his rumpled suit. "See you at the office." He kissed her good-bye.

Samantha was left standing in her apartment, slightly puzzled, her feelings still lagging a bit behind.

oOo

Linda Buckner couldn't get back to sleep. Clyde's boss had called because her husband hadn't shown up for work that night. She had called all their friends, but none of them had seen him. Now it was morning and he still wasn't back. The car was gone and so was Clyde. An hour ago she had called the police and they had told her that they would send someone. Since then she had been sitting on the couch, trying to watch TV. She had put it on mute; there was no way she could concentrate on a program right now. The kids didn't know what was up. She would tell them if she had to. For the moment she could still hope that it didn't come to it. The ringing of the door sent a jolt through her. Clyde? But he would have a key. The disheartening thought followed. It was probably the police. She went to the door and checked the spy hole. A man and a woman were standing outside. She opened the door.

"Hello?"

"We are Agents Johnson and Taylor with the FBI. We are here about your husband's disappearance." They showed their badges.

"Sure, come in," she invited them, somewhat confused that the FBI was on the case.

She led the agents into the living room.

"I'm not really sure what I can tell you. I have no idea where my husband could be."

"We are trying to find out more about your husband. Now, we got the report you made to the police. How did Clyde seem last night?"

"Like always. We had dinner, and then he went to work in his study. He said he had some work to catch up on. They were testing a new software at work this week; that's why he was coming in nights."

"How were things going for him at work? Was he having any problems there that you know of?" Vivian asked.

"No, but he didn't really talk much about his work. He only started working for Inovatech two months ago. We were so happy that he finally found a new job."

"You husband was unemployed before?"

"Yes, for almost a year. He had his own business before, but his partner walked out on him and he lost everything."

Vivian and Danny shared a look. This was something worth looking into further.

"What was the name of his company?"

"RinSo-Lan." Linda spelled the name for the agents. "Clyde founded it in 1995." But what does all this have to do with finding him?"

"We are just trying to learn as much as possible about him," Vivian assured her. "Now, we have to ask you this, but how were things going in your marriage?"

"They were going fine," Linda replied very quickly. "I met Clyde at a very difficult time and he was just wonderful. He is a great husband and father. See, when I met Clyde, I was broke, had a little daughter and nowhere to go. He took care of us."

"Who is the father of your daughter?"

"Lyle Simmons is Carla's father, but I haven't seen him in years. He has never even met Carla. Christine is Clyde's."

"That's all for the moment. Now we'd like to look at your husband's study. Maybe it can tell us something about where he went last night."

"Sure, I'll show you." Linda got up and showed them the way. As soon as she had opened the door to the small room, she knew that something was wrong.

"This is strange," she said, her voice slightly shaky.

"What's wrong?"

"They are all gone. His disk, his folders."

"His laptop as well?" Danny noticed wires but no computer.

"He usually takes it to work with him. But not his files. It could be because of the new software..."

Danny walked around and examined the room. The window was shut securely and there was no sign of forced entry. The room bore no evidence of disturbance. It didn't look like someone had packed up in a hurry. Whoever had done this had had time and had known what they were looking for. Still, they would need to have CSU take a look at the room just to make sure.

"Mrs. Buckner, we'll need to have crime scene technicians examine this room."

"Sure, whatever you need to do." Linda was shocked.

Vivian got out her cell phone and notified CSU that they were needed. Ten minutes later they were on their way back to the car.

"So what do you think?" she questioned Danny.

"Looks pretty voluntary. And either Linda is clueless or lying. At any rate, Clyde isn't the perfect husband she makes him out to be."

"They never are. Everyone's got dirty laundry."

"That's why I plan on never going missing. Do you think any of our esteemed colleagues will be at the office by now?" Danny referred to the fact that this morning, he and Vivian had found themselves alone at the office. They had called Jack, who had mumbled something about them going ahead. He had sounded positively hung over. Neither of them was looking forward to their boss' ill mood. At least they had a fresh case to work on, Danny thought to himself. He could use the distraction as well.

oOo

Jack got to the office, finding it fairly empty. It was buzzing with activity as always, but his team was absent. He knew that Danny and Vivian were out talking to the wife of their latest missing person, but he didn't recall them telling him anything about Martin or Samantha. Immediately an inappropriate question mark formed in his mind. He pushed it aside and turned to the police report. Clyde Buckner, thirty-two years old, last seen by his wife, Linda Buckner. He didn't show up for work. His car was missing as well. Not much to go on. Hopefully Danny and Vivian learned something more. In the meantime, he decided to go on to do the routine checks: financials, hospitals, morgues, credits cards.

This morning his heart wasn't in it. Work, the drug that usually cured all ills, didn't work that morning. His thoughts were flying in a million directions: back to the previous evening, back to Maria's affair, back to seeing Samantha and Martin, which was none of his business. Maria's affair should concern him more. How much was that his business? As much as his affair with Samantha was Maria's business came the answer. His affair was in the past. Was Maria's? He hadn't talked to her this morning. They had spent breakfast in silence. He had told himself it was because of his hang-over. That was only part of the reason. He sighed. In spite of the aspirin, his head still hurt.

There was a knock on the door, and Jack answered. It was Samantha. She looked like she had had a bad night.

"Jack, do you have a moment."

"Sure," he said, not so sure he was going to like what was coming next. Somehow, this did not have the markings of an entirely professional conversation. Her body language told him otherwise, and in the past twenty-four hours, his experience with women and personal revelations hadn't been that good.

"About our new case, Clyde Buckner. He is my ex-husband," Samantha said calmly.

Jack didn't quite know what to say. He had known in the back of his mind, that Samantha had been married years ago, but he had never really given it much thought.

"Do you think you can work the case?"

"Yes, we were only married for six months, and that was ten years ago. Still, I thought you should know," she said lightly, clearly relieved.

"Thanks."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, it was a late night," he answered evasively.

"Martin and I are going to head over to Inovatech where Clyde was working last. Do you have anything yet?"

"Nothing on the credit cards. Still working on the financial history. But I found something about his wife, Linda. She did prison time in the early 1990s for assault and drug-related charges."

"I think I know her. I met her once or twice after she got out, and she had a little girl," Samantha recalled.

"Were they involved back then?" Jack asked, only then realizing the delicate nature of his question. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know. And it's okay. I was eighteen. Our marriage was a disaster; it fell apart after two months. I wouldn't be surprised if he was involved with her," Samantha shrugged. She had put the marriage chapter far behind her and hadn't ever planned on getting it out again. She didn't know how she felt about having it all dragged out again. Right now, there was nothing.

Jack looked at her, trying to read her, trying to find the wordless understanding that they used to have. But he couldn't find it. There was too much that they weren't telling each other. Samantha could tell that he was having trouble at home; the same as he could sense that she had something weighing on her mind, whether it had to do with Martin or with the fact that she would have to deal with her failed marriage from ten years ago.

oOo

"He was this close to getting fired. Yesterday I told him to straighten up or not bother to show his face here again. I hired him in good faith, but he's been a disappointment, He is late, takes longer breaks than anyone, he complains about overtime and doesn't do a better job than anyone else, but certainly had the attitude." Gerald Hamilton, boss of Inovatech, finished his tirade. Clyde Buckner had not been his favourite employee.

"How did he get along with his co-workers?" Samantha asked

"Reasonably well. Most had no complaints about him. There was one thing. Yesterday after shift, a woman from Clyde's team came to me and told me he had been harassing her. She is planning to press charges. I wanted to talk to Clyde today. I even called him yesterday. If I were him, I would think twice about ever showing my face here again too. He is practically fired." Samantha listened silently. This was not entirely unexpected. Still, she had known Clyde as a twenty-year old, but apparently he hadn't changed very much. It made her wonder what else had not changed since then. She left it to Martin to lead the conversation from there on. She could explain the situation to him later on, if necessary, even though she didn't feel like it at the moment. Martin still seemed preoccupied himself. He hadn't said a word on the entire drive to Inovatec's headquarters.

"What's the woman's name?" Martin asked.

"Cecilia Fisher. She's been here for twelve years. I trust her. If she says that Clyde harassed her, then he did. I do not tolerate that kind of behaviour at my company. I imagine you want to talk to her. I gave her the week off, but you can have her address."

"That would be helpful. Thank you."

They got a copy of Clyde's personal file, even without a court order, and after talking to two more people who had worked with Clyde, they left the building. Both interviews had revealed nothing new. Clyde had performed okay on the job and had kept to himself. They hadn't even known that he was married with children. As to the allegations that he had been harassing Cecilia Fisher, both men questioned didn't really have an opinion. They did say that Clyde liked to look after women, but they hadn't noticed anything in particular. Cecilia didn't live too far from Inovatech, so Samantha and Martin agreed to drive there before heading back to the office.

oOo

Ms. Fisher lived alone in a small apartment. She was younger than Samantha had expected. When Gerald Hamilton had told them that she had been an employee for twelve years, she had expected someone in her forties, but instead, the woman in the doorframe was closer to her own age. Apparently she had just gotten out of bed.

"The FBI? What did I do to deserve the honour?"

"We are here about Clyde Buckner. You claim that he harassed you at work."

"Damn, he did. But since when does that FBI get on that? I figured I'd be lucky if I got someone from NYPD to file a report."

"Clyde Buckner has gone missing. May we come in?"

"Sure, come on in. But don't say I didn't warn you. It's a mess." Cecelia was in a good mood.

Mess was an understatement; every inch was packed with books and newspapers. "I'm an avid reader," Cecelia commented when she noticed their looks. "I'm afraid I can't really help you. The last time I saw that bastard was yesterday at work when I slapped him in the face."

"What happened?"

"He grabbed me. I told him to leave me alone, he didn't, and I slapped him. That got him off me. Then I went to the boss and reported him," Cecelia stated matter-of-factly. "You can view it all on tape. It happened down in the parking garage. Mr. Hamilton had Security pull the tapes when I told him what happened. It's all there."

Samantha gave Martin a look. This lead wasn't going to pan out. Cecelia hadn't gone after Clyde Buckner for some grabbing. She had him on tape doing it and he was going to get fired for it. No motive.

"Thanks for your time, Ms. Fisher. You'll have to come in and sign your official statement later this week."

"Good, I hope you find him," Cecelia grinned. "I'm going to see him in court."

Samantha and Martin walked back to the car in silence, each hanging on to their own thoughts and preoccupations. Both of them had a lot of them on their minds, other than the case. With the sudden news of Clyde going missing, Samantha hadn't gotten any chance to get any perspective on the night spent with Martin. Clyde, whom she hadn't thought about in years, had violently pushed himself to the front of her mind. She didn't want him there; he didn't deserve her personal attention. He did as a missing person, but he didn't as part of her life, not anymore.

"Samantha, what's wrong?" Martin asked her and caught her by surprise. "You walked past the car. Is something on your mind? If this is about last night..."

"No, last night was fine, honestly," she told him more than she knew herself. "It's the case. I know Clyde Buckner, or at least I used to know him. Ten years ago, we were married, for all of six months." Samantha felt like she was confessing.

"You were married?"

"Yes, I was eighteen and didn't know what I was doing." She gave a weak smile. "I haven't seen Clyde since our divorce, still..."

"Does Jack know about this?" Samantha understood the importance of the question, still it bothered her.

"Yes, I told him this morning. He was okay with me working on the case."

"And are you?"

"Yes, I am. It was ten years ago, I was a different person back then," Samantha said.

"But was he?" Martin had a point.

TBC