7: Find my wife

The air in Theodore Hills's office was heavy with the stench of something different.

It smelt like anger and betrayal. He had returned from Nicholas' office about an hour ago and he was visibly upset.

Theodore was fuming as he thought back to the conversation he had with the chief of police.

He had arrived at the police station earlier in the day with his limousine gliding to a stop in front of the large, long standing building.

He entered the building, accompanied by his entourage.

The lobby was a large space, brightly lit and sparsely furnished.

Police officers went in and out, most of them too occupied with the task at hand to notice him.

A bored-looking receptionist sat behind a bulletproof glass partition, her gaze fixed on a daytime television show.

Theodore, found the atmosphere oppressive.

He rolled his eyes at the woman and motioned for his guards to follow him.

He knew the way to Nicholas' office and made his way there.

The chief of Police welcomed him into the moderately large space with a table half covered in paperwork.

Nicholas had always been one to look into cases himself despite having hundreds of officers working for him.

A single, large window offered a beautiful view of the city behind the building.

This was the only good thing that Theodore liked about the office.

Nicholas stood to greet him.

"Mr. Hills," he said, his voice a low rumble. "It's a pleasure to have you. Please,have a seat."

"Yes, Of course" Theodore sat on the seat that Nicholas had pointed at.

Theodore, with his eyes surveyed the room and the man before him.

Theodore noticed that they were no expensive artworks hung on the wall , no personal touches to soften the starkness of the room except a framed photo of himself with his wife, adult children and five grandchildren.

Nicholas was not a poor man, not by a long shot and yet…..

The two men, were complete opposites.

Nicholas sat down, his gaze sweeping over the man before him and the two imposing figures that stood behind him.

"I'd rather we have a conversation alone with you"

Nicholas said and Theodore glanced at his men and chuckled

. "Do my men scare you, Nicholas?" He asked.

"I've been alone in the same room and questioned larger men who have molested and brutally murdered children as young as three," Nicholas took a sip of his coffee, "Your men are in my domain. They should be worried about me"

Theodore leaned in and glared at Nicholas.

"Are you threatening my men?"

"Your glare does not phase me, sir," He looked up at the guards, "You boys can wait outside for your boss"

"Don't tell my men what to do"

"You can leave with them if you like."

Theodore gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

Right now, he needed the old man and would just have to go along with his antics.

Even though he wished he could just reach over the table and smack his face.

"Leave"

He ordered the bodyguards and they did as they were told.

Once the men were out and the door was shut, Theodore exhaled and took another look at the office.

"This is... quite unsavory," he remarked, his voice dripping with disdain, "I knew you were a tight fisted man but this is.... You have outdone yourself, old man"

Nicholas, unfazed by his guest's disdain, chuckled and took another sip of his coffee.

"Tight fisted is not what i would exactly. I simply prefer a functional workspace," he said. "I am not a big fan of distractions."

Theodore scoffed.

"Distractions? I find inspiration in my surroundings."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow.

"Inspiration?" Nicholas tapped on the pile of paperwork on his desk, "This is all the inspiration that I need, sir. What you're looking for here is simply a display of wealth. Am I wrong?"

Theodore bristled.

"My office is a reflection of my success, I would have expected a man of your position would do the same"

Nicholas smiled, a thin, humorless line.

"Success is not measured by the size of one's office, Mr. Hills. Aside that, I’m curious to know what kind of emergency had you calling me at night to seek my help"

Theodore leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed.

"Let's just say I am under threat of being made a fool of by my wife."

"Hannah?"

Nicholas had always liked the young lady and could hardly picture her doing any wrong.

"Yes. Her" Theodore replied.

"Are you being blackmailed by any chance?"

That was the only thing that Nicholas could think of.

"No. She's missing"

Nicholas sat upright, worry etched on his face.

"Missing? When did this happen?"

"A few weeks ago" Theodore replied quietly.

He knew that a strong berating was soon to follow and it did.

"What the hell do you mean she went missing a few weeks ago? Why are you just reporting this now?!"

"She ran away from the guards and we haven't been able to find her ever since"

"And how am I supposed to believe that she went missing and you didn't have anything to do with it?"

Nicholas was studying Theodore with narrowed eyes.

He didn't trust the man and he knew that he could be quite dangerous.

"Because," Theodore pulled out his phone and played the video recording caught by the boutique's camera of Hannah escaping through the back door with her small bag held closely to her side, "She ran away all on her own"

Nicholas sighed and leaned back on his seat.

"Now, tell me, what reason would a woman have to run away from her home?"

Theodore scoffed and placed the phone back in his pocket.

"This isn't the first time that she's tried this. We have a disagreement and she runs away," he shook his head, "Quite childish if you ask me"

"And you never bothered to go for couples counseling after the first incident?"

"For what? I did nothing wrong?"

Nicholas sighed and fought to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"And what kind of disagreement led to this exactly?"

"Is that any business of yours? That's a husband and wife issue"

"It is my business at this point and frankly speaking, I have reason to believe that you may have done something to her"

"The only thing that I've done to that woman is give her a life that so many women would kill to have!"

Theodore snapped.

"Easy with that word" Nicholas chided and Theodore took in several shaky breaths to calm himself.

"At first, I thought that she would return after a few days. I cut off her credit card and that usually does the trick."

"And now?"

"She still hasn't returned home. I've cut off her credit cards and I've tried calling and still nothing"

"Maybe she's determined not to come back home"

Nicholas said and internally agreed with Hannah for leaving.

He had been in the same space with her husband for a few minutes and he was already exhausted.

The man was more concerned about his reputation than the safety of his spouse.

A reason that oddly enough freed from him suspicion but Nicholas was not going to tell him that.

Theodore was already getting worked up and he was enjoying it.

"Maybe she's missing" Theodore insisted.

"Mr, Hills. You really should have reported this at least two days after your wife left"

"I already told that she has a habit of running off at the slightest inconvenience"

Nicholas waved a dismissive hand.

"Yes, yes, you have said all of that already." He thought for a moment, "What about the men that were in charge of watching her that day? Do they still work for you?"

"Those inbreds that caused all of this?" He sighed, "Yes, they still work for me"

"Good. Keep it that way. I would love to have a word with them at some point"

"I already told you that my wife ran away when they weren't looking"

"Have you by any chance considered them having a hand in her leaving?"

The question took Theodore off guard and for once he didn't have anything to say.

Nicholas nodded his head and sighed.

"I'm not saying that they had a hand in her disappearance. All i am telling you to do is keep them around and wait for me to question them," he studied his guest, "Can I count on you to keep your mouth shut till then?"

"Are you calling me a loud mouth?"

"Can you answer the question?"

Both men remained silent, their gazes fixed on each other.

They were at a stand still and Theodore knew that for the time being he had to lower his head.

"I will do as you say" He finally said and Nicholas nodded.

"I'll make sure that Hannah is found. Send me a photo of her, preferably with no makeup on."

"I can't believe she's putting me through this" Theodore complained, "So ungrateful"

"Oh, you poor thing," Nicholas began sarcastically, "Look on the bright side, at least people will sympathize with you"

"Just find her," he'd snarled, his voice tight with fury, "Find my wife. I don't care what it takes," he rose to his feet.

"You have a nice day Mr, Hills," He sipped on his coffee and grinned.