The Ring of Fire & Serpents

Chapter Fourteen - Daddy's Here

As we pull up to the house, I notice that Stephen’s BMW is parked across the street. He stands up from the porch as I place the car in park. My anxiety levels are at an all-time high the moment I lay eyes on him. He looks good…he looks happy…Savannah steps out of the car and runs to him. He reaches out his arms for her, “Hey Savannah…Daddy’s here. It’s going to be okay. We will find Sophia.”

As I begin to walk towards them, his eyes meet mine. I can tell you at that moment if looks could kill, I’d be dead. I clear my throat, “Stephen.” I blurt out coldly.

He grits his teeth, sneering at me, “Laura.” He responds.

Savannah looks up at him after noticing our glances exchanged, “Daddy, please don’t come up here blaming Momma for this. It’s not her fault.”

He raises his hand to stop her, “Now, I’m not blaming anyone right now. I just need to know what has been done and what needs to be done.”

I roll my eyes and curl my lip in disgust. He is most definitely going to blame me for this. In all honesty, I can’t say that I’d blame him. I’d blame him if this happened on his watch. He glares at me, “So, what’s the plan?”

I shrug my shoulders, “Well…I….” I begin to respond, but I’m stopped as I notice Stephen and Savannah looking over my shoulder. I spin around to find a small black Honda Civic pulling up to park behind Stephen’s car.

A young girl gets out of the car with long brown hair and a petite frame. She’s holding a purse…wait…I know who this is…I recognize that purse as well, ”Casey?” I call out.

“Hi, Mrs. Carmichael. I found something you may want.” She responds as she walks up the steps to the front porch, “I’m sorry I didn’t call first. My dad found this purse lying out in the field, and I knew exactly who it belonged to. Sophia was the only girl I know with a Kate Spade bag.”

I reach out for the purse, “Oh God, honey. You have no idea how grateful I am that you brought this to me.” I respond as tears begin to well in my eyes.

She hands over the purse and lowers her gaze, “So I take it you haven’t heard anything from her?” she whispers.

I shake my head, “No, we haven’t.” I respond. My voice is raspy.

I open the small black purse and begin to fish for the contents inside. As I pull out her phone, my heart begins pounding. At least if she has her phone, we could track her. I place the phone gently underneath my arm and pull Sophia’s wallet out and open it. Her driver’s license is still in there, but it’s empty otherwise.

Stephen clears his throat, “Well? Anything?” he asks impatiently.

Without turning around, I place everything back into the purse, “No. Her phone is dead, and her wallet is empty.”

Savannah approaches me, “Momma, let’s charge Sophia’s phone and see if she has any texts or calls.”

I nod and hand her the phone. She runs inside, and Stephen follows behind her. I reach out for Casey's hands, “Honey, if you find anything else or hear anything from her, please don’t hesitate to call or stop by. I don’t care what time it is.” I tell her with tears streaming down my cheeks.

She nods, “Yes, Mrs. Carmichael. I’m so sorry…for everything. I hope you find her.” She says before turning around and walking down the steps.

As Casey dashes across the street towards her car, a police vehicle pulls up behind my car and parks. My body trembles in fear as the gentlemen climb out of the car. He’s a very tall man with jet black hair. His arms are so muscular they are bulging out of his shirt. He’s dressed in a white polo shirt and grey slacks. He approaches me, pulling his badge from his shirt pocket, “Mrs. Carmichael?” He asks as he walks towards me, carrying a black suitcase.

I clear my throat, “Yes?” I ask. Anticipating bad news.

He smiles and reaches his hand out for mine, “I’m Detective James Caddel with the Ellisville police department. I’m in charge of the search for your missing daughter, Sophia. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?” he asks.

I breathe a sigh of relief and nod, “Sure…I, umm thought you were… never mind. Come inside, please.”

He removes his glasses and smiles warmly at me. I spin around, quickly jot up the steps, and enter through the front door to escort him inside. As we enter the living room, Stephen is sitting on the sofa with Savannah looking through Sophia’s phone. They both look up as we approach, “Stephen, Savannah, this is Detective Caddel. He’s here to ask us some questions about Sophia.” I say as I introduce him.

Stephen jumps up and reaches out a hand to shake the detective’s hand, “Oh wow. I’m glad you are here. What questions do you have?” He asks.

The detective shakes his hand before proceeding to pull out a notebook from his suitcase with a pen and flips the pages before setting the suitcase on the dining table, “Well, first off…when was the last time you have seen Sophia?” He asks.

Stephen lowers his head, “Well, it’s been a couple of months since I’ve seen her.” He responds.

The detective raises a brow and peers at Stephen, “Are you the father of the young lady?” he asks.

Stephen nods his head, “Yes, well…long story…her mother and I are divorced, and Sophia hasn’t wanted to visit with me since….” He stops.

The detective waits in anticipation for a response, “Since?” he asks.

“Since I moved the woman that I’m dating into the house they used to live in.” Stephen blurts out.

The detective sighs audibly, “Ahh…I see. Well, do you suppose she is upset about that? Is there a possibility she ran away?” He asks.

I approach him, interrupting the conversation, “Detective, I am pretty positive that Sophia would not have run away. She has never exhibited any behavior before that would make me think otherwise. I’m very close with both of my daughters, and I would have known if this was something that she was contemplating. I have a home for them here, and we do the best we can. The girls and I are starting over from scratch, but she seemed happy.”

He nods, “When was the last time you saw Sophia, ma’am?”

I saw her the night of the party; she left the house that evening with her sister, Savannah.” I reply.

He turns to Savannah, “Oh, so you were the last one to see her?” He asks.

She clears her throat, “Yes, detective. Momma gave us a curfew until midnight. It was around ten o’clock; I believe, when Sophia asked to leave the party saying she didn’t feel well. I had met someone at the party and didn’t want to leave that early, so I gave her the car keys to my car and told her to leave without me, and I’d catch a ride home from the guy I was talking to.”

He nods and continues to write down something on the pad of paper, “So that would be Mr. Vance, correct? The young man you were with that night?”

Stephen interrupts, “Oh Christ, who were you with that was more important than your sister, Savannah?” he asks.

She turns to Stephen, “Daddy, he’s just a friend. Stop. I didn’t know this would happen. I’m sorry.”

Stephen throws his hands up in frustration, “God, this is so disappointing! Your mother just let you girls out to do whatever you wanted and now look what happened! One’s missing while the other one is doing goodness knows what with a strange boy at a party!”

Savannah rolls her eyes, “Daddy, stop it! Sophia and I hadn’t gone out since we moved here! Stop blaming Momma for everything! For your information, I didn’t do anything but talk to the boy! I’m eighteen years old! You seem to forget that a lot lately since you got yourself a new toy! What are you trying to prove? That you actually care? Well, ever since you got yourself a mistress, she seemed to be the only person you cared about. Stop trying to fool everyone; it’s not working!”

I do my best to keep my temper at bay, but I’m seething with rage, “Stephen, you need to stop questioning my parenting. I was there for these girls when you were out skirtin around town behind my back. You’d do best to keep your mouth shut! It’s only gonna make you look like a fool! I put up with your snarky comments for far too long. I’m not putting up with it any longer! Sophia is the one who matters now. We need to get along long enough to find our child; then after that, you can say or think what you want about me; I don’t give a s**t! As long as my baby is home with me!”

Stephen approaches me, “I don’t think the girls need to stay here with you!”

I place my hands on my hips, “That’s not up for discussion right now. Go sit down on the sofa and shut up! Now!” I order.

Stephen doesn’t budge. His nostrils flare as he glares at me. The room becomes quiet for a few seconds. Emotions are running high right now. The detective walks over and stands between us, “Okay, let’s settle down, okay.”

Savannah runs over to grab Sophia’s purse and phone, “Detective, one of Sophia’s friends dropped this off because her father found it in the field. I don’t know if you may want to look at it for any evidence that could help us find her. Daddy and I were looking to see if she had any missed calls or messages from anyone we didn’t recognize.” She says as she hands over everything to him.

He grabs a bag out of his suitcase and a pair of gloves, “Well if I have the parent’s permission, I’d like to take this with me. We may want to check everything for fingerprints. We already put in a request to pull her phone records.” He responds.

“Did you find anything out with Charlie Vance?” I ask curiously.

He eyes me curiously and c***s his head to the side, “Yes, ma’am. We sent an officer to his house to question him. He has an air-tight alibi. He’s not even a list of suspects.”

I roll my eyes, “I find that hard to believe.”

The detective remains quiet but studies me carefully, “Ma’am, would you maybe want to come to the station and discuss this further?”

His response catches me off guard, “Oh? Well… yes. I think that would be fine.” I reply.

Stephen approaches us, “Would you like for me and Savannah to come along just in case?” He asks.

The detective’s eyes bore a hole through me. I think he must figure I know something I haven’t told him, “No sir, that won’t be necessary. I would only like to speak to Ms. Carmichael for now. I’ll keep in touch, though.”

Stephen snorts, “So what should we do, now? Wait here for you to get back?”

I turn to Stephen, “Why don’t you drive around town to see if you find anything? Take Savannah with you while I take care of this, please.” I reply.

Stephen remains silent while I walk over to the entry and grab my purse. I lead the detective outside while Stephen and Savannah follow close behind us.

As we go our separate ways, Savannah calls out to me before getting into Stephen’s car, “Momma, we will call you if we find anything!”

I hop in my car and waive, “Thanks, honey.”

Once the detective jumps into his vehicle, I put my car in drive and follow behind him towards the police station.