Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Chapter 10

Steve's POV

        It was one and a half weeks into their honeymoon when Steve and Lauren finally got cell service. They had finished their 1,500 mile bike trek across the Patagonia and were to spend the remaining time traveling across wine country in Casablanca Valley, Chile.

        When they had settled into their hotel for the evening Steve plugged his dead phone into the wall and turned the power on. Lauren came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?" she said, leaving a trail of kisses along his neck.

        Steve's phone had powered on and what he saw made his brow furrow in concern. He had about a dozen missed calls but only one of them was from Jo. Feeling him tense up, Lauren came around to look at his phone. "What's going on? Steve?" 

        "I don't know." He played the message from Jo first, putting it on speaker. They both sat down on the edge of the bed to listen. 

Hi Steve...it's Jo. I hope your trip is going well. I miss you. I...I need you to call me when you get this, ok? I just...I need to talk to you. Ok...love you. Bye.

        Steve and Lauren exchanged a worried look. "Did she sound ok to you?" Lauren asked. 

        "Definitely not," Steve replied and he quickly went through the remainder of his missed calls. A handful of them were from Jen, some from Michelle, and another from an unknown number with a San Francisco area code. He had a few voicemails from each of them. Deciding to listen to them in order he played next one from Jen first; the time stamp dated it to Sunday evening, nearly a week after Jo's. It was now Wednesday.

Hey Steve, honey, I'm so sorry to bother you on your honeymoon but I wanted to know if you'd heard from Jo. I haven't seen her since Friday evening and, well, I'm starting to worry. Call me back. 

       A prickle of fear worked its way up the back of Steve's neck. He played the next message from Michelle, left on Monday. 

Hey there Steve, it's Michelle. I know you're on your honeymoon but I didn't know who else to call. Jo isn't answering her phone. Have you heard from her at all? I saw her on Friday but she just kind of dropped off the map after that and, well...I don't have to tell you it's kind of weird. Something about it just isn't sitting right with me and I figured if she's called anyone she'll have called you. Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Let me know if you hear from her. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon. 

        The next message was from Jen on Tuesday. 

Hi hon, it's Jen again. I hate that I'm making this call...especially with you on your honeymoon and all but this just couldn't wait. I've...I've filed a missing person's report for Jo. No one has seen her since Friday night and she hasn't turned up for work at all this week. It just doesn't make any sense. Her music was accepted into the symphony's Spring Program, she wouldn't stop showing up now. The police haven't done much of anything yet but I needed you to know that as of right now...Jo is missing. 

             Steve stopped listening to the message after those words hit his ears. He heard Lauren talking to him but everything in the room had narrowed into those three words. Jo is missing. When he felt Lauren tugging at him he snapped out of it, looking at her with pure horror etched across his face. 

        "We can't panic yet. There's one more message. For all we know it might have been a misunderstanding." Lauren tried to keep her voice cheerful but she couldn't stop a slight tremor in her hand as she gently took the phone from Steve and played the last message. It had been left sometime that morning from the unknown San Francisco number. She gripped Steve's hand in hers and pressed play, each of them holding their breath as the message played. 

        Steve Marin, this is Inspector William Klein with the San Francisco PD. I'm calling in regards to a recently filed missing persons report for one Joyce Marin. As her next of kin I am calling to inform you that findings of our preliminary investigation lead us to suspect foul play. We will be pursuing a full investigation into the circumstances of her disappearance at this time. I understand you are out of the country on your honeymoon. When you return I will need to speak with you and your wife about the last time you heard from your sister. You can reach me at this number any time and I will be keeping you appraised of our progress. Have a good evening. 

        When the message clicked off neither Steve nor Lauren moved. The prickle of fear that had started at the back of Steve's neck had spread into his limbs, vibrating so powerfully he was shaking. What did he mean by foul play? What had happened to his sister? He was battling feelings of guilt that she had called him and he wasn't available. She'd sounded...scared. 

        Lauren stood up next to him and left the room, returning a moment later with their backpacks. She started throwing their clothes haphazardly into them, rushing around Steve whose mind was whirring with the thoughts of what had happened to his sister. He heard Lauren on the phone with the airline, negotiating their return tickets to the next flight out of there but in his head he was drowning in Inspector Klein's words. Missing persons. Foul play. Missing. Jo is missing. 

Jo's POV

        Jo sat at the piano, eyes closed, playing the piece she imagined the symphony practicing right now. She should be there, working on it, preparing for the spring program with the rest of her colleagues. She had worked so hard for so long and she was going to miss seeing her own music play to a full house. 

        Jo stopped playing and sighed, looking out the window. The grounds had become much busier in the past week and she saw people coming and going all day. After her request for music Jack had the piano downstairs moved into the room she was kept in. He said he meant for her to have access to the rest of the house but he didn't want to take any chances as she recovered from her concussion. She knew what he really meant. He didn't trust her. Which was fine, she didn't trust him either, but she couldn't pretend not to be grateful when he moved the piano for her. 

        It had officially been one week since he took her and being able to play again was the only thing making the days bearable. Jack left her alone for the most part, coming in once or twice a day to try and chat with her or listen to her play, but she ignored him. 

        She was feeling better. She no longer got dizzy spells and her headache was nearly gone. She struggled to focus at first but now she was playing like she used to, only stopping for meals and sleep. After a couple of days she worked up the courage to ask Jack for some writing materials so she could start composing again and he happily obliged. 

        Jo stood up from the piano bench and went to turn on the TV. She'd been checking everyday when Jack was out of the room to see if there was any news of her disappearance. The chances were slim. Unless it made national news it was unlikely that wherever she was now would be reporting on it. She wasn't sure if anyone had even reported her missing. She knew Steve would have but he wasn't due back from his honeymoon until today and a full week had passed since she was taken. 

        So when Jo turned to the news channel she wasn't expecting to be met with the face of her brother, staring worriedly at her from the screen. Jo gasped and fell back onto the couch. She turned the volume up.

        Her brother stood next to an older man. He was shorter with a stocky build wearing an old suit. He looked perpetually tired. It was him who was speaking, a small graphic beneath him identifying him as Inspector William Klein, SFPD. 

...was reported missing on Tuesday, November 12th by friend and café owner Jen Attenborough. She was last seen on Friday, November the 8th a little after 9pm leaving the corner café next to the San Francisco music hall. An initial investigation confirmed that Joyce Marin never made it home to her apartment five blocks away. We are launching a full investigation into her disappearance at this time and we are asking anyone with information to please come forward. 

        Jo's picture had appeared at the bottom of the screen as he spoke along with a phone number to call. Jo quickly grabbed a sheet of paper from the piano stand and jotted the number down along with the name of the investigator. As she did this her brother had taken Inspector Klein's place and was looking nervously into the camera. Lauren stood beside him, holding him steady.

My name is Steve Marin. I'm Joyce's brother. I want to implore whoever did this to please let Jo come back to us. She means everything to me. She's the only family I've got. 

        Tears sprung from Jo's eyes the moment she heard her brothers voice. It was the sound she had been longing to hear for a week now and here he was. On screen, Steve had paused to take a few shaky breaths before speaking again. 

Jo, if you're watching this. I love you and I am going to find you. I will never stop looking.

        Steve's image cut away to a newsroom.

Steve Marin, who was out of the country on his honeymoon at the time of his sister's disappearance, returned home early when he received a number of alarming messages from friends and the SFPD. The search for Joyce Marin is underway and we urge you to call the number below if you have any information.

        Jo had already broke down, drowning out the remainder of the news cast. She felt immense relief knowing that her brother was looking for her but that relief was quickly replaced with despair. How was he supposed to find her? She didn't even know where she was but she knew it was nowhere near San Francisco.

        Jack had resources; he had the entire Toscano crime network at his disposal. The pang of sorrow she felt at seeing her brother so distraught only made her sob harder. He had lost her the same day she lost him. This was supposed to be the happiest time of his life and that happiness had been cut short. 

        When the bedroom door opened a few minutes later, Jo whirled around and moved to turn the TV off. She quickly stuffed the sheet of paper with the inspector's name and number beneath the couch cushion. Her choked sobs were still wracking her body and she looked to find Jack standing at the door gazing at her.  

        "I hoped you hadn't seen that," he said. 

        Jo stood up and turned to face him. "You need to let me go," she choked out. Tears streamed down her face. "My brother needs me. I need him. This is insane, you have to see that?" 

        Jack just looked at her, his face impassive. "I couldn't do that even if I wanted to." 

        "What does that even mean?" Jo screamed, exasperated by his cool demeanor. 

        "The moment you became associated with me you became a target. You're not safe on your own anymore, not where any one who wants to hurt me can get to you." He shrugged, as though all of this had been unavoidable and for her benefit. 

        "I wasn't associated with you until you kidn*pped ME you psycho!" 

        Jack's eyes darkened and he approached her. His presence screamed danger and Jo swallowed the anger boiling inside of her, intimidated by the man in front of her. But what he said surprised her. 

        "You're right. But that doesn't change the fact that you aren't leaving here and if you ever do, I will track you down and find you, every time. I will bring you back kicking and screaming if I have to because I will do whatever it takes to have you by my side. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love you, Jo Marin, and I can never let you go. The sooner you accept that, the better this will be for you." 

          Jack had reached Jo who had been consumed once again by tears. Too intimidated to move away, she let him wrap his arms around her. She was surprised at how gentle he was. He tucked her against his chest and placed his chin on top of her head. Jo gave in to her emotion, sobbing freely into him, accepting the comfort he offered. He began rubbing soothing circles against her back until she stopped crying, her sobs softening into silent tears.  

        Jack pulled away and looked directly into Jo's eyes. She held his gaze, so much softer than it had been just moments before. "You can scream at me, fight me, hit me, hell you can even hate me. I will never hurt you," he paused to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. In my line of work, fear is a commodity but one you will never need to buy into." 

        Jo looked away from him. She didn't understand how gentle he was being. It seemed to conflict with every other emotion she had towards him and she didn't like it. It was true that he had been kind to her. Apart from her head injury, he made no moved to hurt her, he hadn't forced himself on her, and he seemed to respect when she wanted to be left alone. But none of that changed the fact that she was being held here against her will. She hadn't even left this room in nearly a week. 

        Jack dropped her hands when she didn't reply but kept close to her. A few moments later, he cleared his throat and, as if reading her mind, said, "There are some people here I'd like you to meet. What do you say we get you out of this room?" 

        Jo decided then and there that if she was ever going to get out of here, it was going to be entirely up to her. And the first step was getting access to the rest of the house. She gave him a small smile and nodded. She needed him to start trusting her.