her boss said, "but you do plan to finish those leases before you go home, don't you?" She waved toward the stack of folders Zoe had been working on since she came in. It was enough to keep her busy for three days, but Jan expected her to finish before five.
Zoe remembered Anton telling her how lucky she was that he'd been able to get her on at Tate Commercial and forced a smile. The owner was one of his tax clients. She had to be careful so her behavior never reflected poorly on him. "Of course. You promised the agents they'd have these by tomorrow morning, and they will."
"Glad to hear it. Just wanted to be sure you hadn't forgotten that we're under a deadline."
Zoe gritted her teeth as Jan turned on her heel and marched to her own desk, wishing once again that she didn't need this job quite so badly. If she stayed to finish the leases, she'd get home even later than usual. She hated that Sammie was on her own so much as it was.
She imagined telling Jan to go to hell. That distracted her for a few seconds but, as usual, the temptation was soon countered by Anton's voice in her mind: Jan's just mad that you got the position instead of her daughter-in-law. Anyway, the first year might be tough, but you have to do something while you get your license. Where else will you be able to learn more about the kind of real estate you hope to be involved in someday? Being successful requires sacrifice.
He said that as if he had a corner on sacrifice. It annoyed her that he could be so patronizing when he'd always had a nice place to live, a hot meal. But, in some ways, he was right. If she meant to significantly improve her situation, she had to make concessions. Except for Jan, she would've been happy working at Tate Commercial. It was a great opportunity, the perfect start to her career. Zoe wanted to make good, to prove to herself more than anyone that she could be everything her father was not. But she was so worried about Samantha....
Despite Jan's lingering gaze, she called her fiance.
"Hello?"
"Anton? Have you spoken with Sammie today?"
"I checked in at noon. Why?"
"I can't get her to answer the phone."
"She's sleeping. I woke her when I called."
Zoe glanced at the clock on the wall. Noon was three hours ago.
"She's got mono, Anton."
"Which is why she's napping. It's not unusual."
The tone of his voice told her he thought she was overreacting. Maybe that was true, but Zoe didn't want to take any chances. "What time will you be home tonight?"
"Six or seven."
"Why so late? Tax season's over."
"And now I'm taking care of all the clients who filed extensions."
"Come on, can't you spare twenty minutes to drop by the house and let me know she's okay?"
"You want me to drive over there?"
Zoe had been battling a headache all day. Absently, she rubbed her left temple in an effort to ease the pounding. "Yes."
"That's ridiculous. What could possibly have happened to her?"
"I don't know. That's why I want you to check. Maybe...maybe she decided to go swimming and hit her head."
"She's not allowed in the pool. The water's too cold, anyway."
Sunlight, coming from the closest floor-to-ceiling window, spilled across her desk. "The weather's been unseasonably warm the past few weeks."
"Not warm enough for swimming. And she's thirteen years old. She knows better than to get in the pool alone."
"Anton, I'd do it myself if I could, but I'm stuck here until--" she bowed her head so Jan couldn't see that she was getting upset "--who knows what time it'll be when I finish."
This statement was met with a lengthy pause. Finally, he blew out a sigh. "Okay. I'll go over there. But I'll only call you if something's wrong.
Just last week they told you to reserve personal calls for your lunch break."
She didn't care half as much about her job, or even Anton's reputation, as she did Sammie. "Call me in any case. As long as I finish the work on my desk before I go home, I should be okay."
"Fine. I'll talk to you in ten minutes."
After he'd severed the connection, Zoe dragged her attention back to her computer, where she'd been inserting special clauses in a seven-year lease for some retail space in the South Natomas area. She finished that document and sent it to the printer, then started on another, but Anton didn't call. Had he gotten busy and forgotten he'd promised to check on Sam?
The clock indicated that it'd been twenty-five minutes since they'd hung up.
He'll get to it, she told herself, and decided to wait ten more minutes.
If she hadn't heard from him by then, she'd call him again whether it risked an argument or not.
The seconds ticked by. Slow. Ponderous. Filled with anxiety.
Eight minutes later, her cell vibrated and she snatched it off her desk.
Caller ID showed the house number. There you are.
"Anton, is she okay?"
A strained silence followed.
"Anton?"
"I can't find her," he said.
Zoe might've thought he was teasing her for worrying, but he was far too serious for that. His words hit her like a punch to the gut, so hard it was several seconds before she could speak. "What do you mean you can't find her?"
"I've looked everywhere. The back door is unlocked, and there's a book by the pool, but she's gone."
Zoe's heartbeat grew so loud it drowned out the clack, clack, clack of typing from the desks of the other administrative staff, the conversation of two agents standing at the edge of the bullpen near the copier, the hum of the printer. "Did she leave a note?"
"Not that I can see."
"But...that doesn't make sense. Where would she go? She knows she's not supposed to leave the house. The doctor said she's probably still contagious."
"I'm guessing she walked down to the Quick Stop for a candy bar. I'm heading over there right now."
"You checked the pool?"
"I checked the pool."
Thank God her daughter wasn't floating in the water. "Did you notice any sign of a struggle?"
"None. Don't even let your mind go there, Zoe. You know we live in a safe neighborhood."
Rocklin was one of the most desirable suburbs in the Sacramento metropolitan area, and the crime rate was among the lowest in California. It was a completely different experience from the seedy L.A. trailer park she'd grown up in. Maybe kidnapping, theft and murder happened regularly in her old neighborhood, but not here.
"It's possible one of her friends came by on the way home from school," Anton was saying. "There's no reason to jump to conclusions yet."