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  Publisher’s Note:

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the work of the author’s imagination.

  Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is coincidental.

  Solstice Publishing - www.solsticepublishing.com

  Copyright 2017 – Molly V. Lovell

  A Sibling’s Dilemma

  By

  Molly Lovell

  Dedication

  Dedicated to my loving husband, Richard Bruns.

  Prologue

  Cassandra “Cassie” Kent sat on a throne of fast-food napkins and paper bags. She had binoculars pressed against her eyes, as she peered through the window. Cassie saw a man and a woman talking. The woman was a tall, thin, blonde and the man was much older than her. He was about five-feet tall and his grey hair was balding at the temples.

  So, this is the mistress, Cassie thought. She felt sorry for the older, portly man’s wife. Here she is. Being traded in for a much-younger model. Poor lady.

  Cassie snapped a few pictures of the man and his mistress talking. She then took pictures of them sharing a kiss. When the activities of the night became intimate, she put her binoculars and camera down and drove away.

  I have enough evidence here. I’ll meet with my client tomorrow and hand over the pictures.

  Cassie always dreaded these conversations. She hated letting wives know that their greatest fears were confirmed—that their husbands were cheating on them. She hated watching these women blame themselves and cry over men who did not deserve their tears. And besides, it was awkward for her to sit in their living rooms and try to comfort them while they sobbed and poured their hearts out.

  Jilted spouses were the main source of the private detective’s income but not the only one. Cassie was a private detective and a problem solver. Need to keep a secret, hack a computer, or embezzle money? Call Cassie Kent. Her one requirement was that she needed to determine the cause was worthy before she offered her assistance. She considered herself to be a vigilante above all else—a private detective of the people.

  Cassie loved her job. She enjoyed solving people’s problems and fixing things. There was only one thing missing for her in her line of work: money and respect.

  Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

  Cassie pulled out her smartphone and smiled. More business. Her eyes widened when she saw the text of the email.

  Re: Urgent Business

  Cassandra,

  Meet me at my office at Kensington towers at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

  Edric Kensington

  The Edric Kensington? She read the email two more times just to make sure that it was really from the CEO of the Kensington Group—the handsome businessman that was always on TV making those virtual reality games where the user is transported into a virtual world with a flick of a button. Even though he was known for making some pretty cool gadgets, everyone who has ever worked for him said that he was a flaming asshole. Kensington’s sour disposition, good looks, and intense brainpower made him quite popular with the gossip tabloids and reporters.

  What the hell does he want with me?

  Cassie typed a reply, her long fingers clicking away against her five-year-old smartphone.

  Re: Urgent Business

  Dear Edric,

  I will be at your office tomorrow at nine.

  Thanks,

  Cassie

  Cassie re-read the email several times. Maybe I should say Mr. Kensington instead of Edric? Cassie’s fingers hovered. But then again, I always use people’s first names. I shouldn’t change my behavior because he’s rich. You know what? Fuck it.

  Cassie pressed send.

  Chapter One

  Cassie felt very out of place, sitting in the foyer in front of Edric Kensington’s office. Everyone was so neatly dressed—the interns, secretaries, and so many others scurrying around who Cassie couldn’t identify. At any rate, they all looked clean-cut and professional, dressed in well-fitting blue, black, and grey suits. Cassie felt out of place, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. This was somewhere her room-mate, best friend, and younger sister, Ellie, should be, not her.

  Cassie Kent was a tall woman with too-bright-to-be-natural firetruck-red hair, that wasn’t the right shade for her complexion. She curled it every morning and added hairspray to give it some extra volume. Whenever people saw her, they saw the curly, waist-length hair first, then her matching lipstick, deep-set hazel eyes, and then finally her muscular frame.

  She looked at her smartphone to check the time. Ten past nine. Who the hell does this guy think he is making me wait here, when he summoned me for fucking nine in the fucking morning? After he emailed me at midnight too, no less.

  “Excuse me!” Cassie said loudly.

  A brunette woman looked up from her desk. “How may I help you?”

  “Are you sure that the CEO knows I’m here? Like, absolutely sure?”

  “Yes, he knows you’re here. He will call for you momentarily.”

  “Thanks.”

  She pulled out her cellphone and started playing one of the games on it. The neon colors seemed to comfort her. I’m finally going to beat this level after two weeks of trying.

  “Mr. Kensington will see you now.”

  “Can you give me another minute.” She said, not even looking up from the device.

  “No, Mr. Kensington doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  Cassie let out a frustrated grunt and shut off her cell phone. I guess I’ll have to spend another two weeks trying to beat this level. Thanks, Kensington.

  She stood up and walked over to the door and opened it. Inside sat Edric behind a very large mahogany desk. Cassie Kent went into what she liked to call ‘detective mode’.

  The private detective examined Edric to get a feel for his personality. By his perfectly-tailored navy-blue suit, his thin, brown tie and gold cufflinks, she could tell he was a rich man.

  Judging by how his chestnut-brown hair was combed neatly into place, framing his face and his muscular build—she could tell he was vain too. Between working out and combing his hair, he probably spent a good deal of time on his physical appearance each day. He was a good-looking man and knew it, no doubt full of himself. Cassie was surprised by how young he looked, as if he were in his early thirties.

  The room was sparsely decorated; she couldn’t determine much of his personality based on that. Save for a lone picture on his desk that she wasn’t at a proper angle to fully see, the office was devoid of personal objects. Given that two of the walls were made of glass, it made sense—there wasn’t much wall space for pictures. At the far corner of the office, there was a small empty desk that was similar in style to Edric’s desk.

  “Edric Kensington.” He outstretched his hand and Cassie shook it. He had a firm handshake. She expected no less from a man who was the founder and CEO of a multi-billion-dollar corporation.

  “Cassie Kent.”

  “Take a seat.” He gestured to the black-leather chair opposite his desk.

  He’s clearly not a people-person. Those who like people don’t use big-assed desks to separate themselves from others.

  “What can I do for you?”

  His face turned severe, brown eyes looking even colder than before. “It’s my brother…”

  “Yes?”

  “He’s missing. I’ll pay you fifty thousand dollars to locate him.”

  It took all
of her effort not to grin from ear to ear at the mention of the fifty grand. “How old is he, and what’s his name?” She asked in the most severe tone that she could muster.

  “Owen. He just turned twelve.”

  “How did he disappear?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m hiring you. You’re the private detective, not me.”

  Oh, bull. Cassie clenched her teeth. She wanted to lunge at the well-dressed man behind the desk and slap him repeatedly across the face, but then thought of the money and decided against it.

  “Do you want me on this case or not?” Cassie snapped. Even though fifty grand was great and all, it wasn’t worth her integrity and self-respect.

  He sighed and looked dejected.

  I think I put him in his place.

  “I do.” Edric continued, “you’re supposedly one of the best private investigators and fixers in the city.”

  “All right, tell me everything you know.”

  “I went to pick him up at school at three and he wasn’t there.”

  It’s going to be one of those days. I’m going to have to get the information out by asking a million and one questions.

  Cassie pulled out a small notebook and a pen from her purse. She crossed her legs and positioned the notebook on her right thigh. “Where does Owen go to school?”

  “The Brookings School for Gifted Children.”

  Cassie resisted scoffing out loud upon hearing that ridiculous and pompous name. Instead, she lowered her head, so her bangs covered her smirk, and scribbled the name in her notebook.

  Severe once again, she looked back up at the CEO. “Did he leave with anyone suspicious?”

  “If I knew that I would be looking into that myself.”

  “Did anyone contact you?”

  “No.” Edric snapped. “If they did, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now, now would I? You’re clearly just wasting my time and that’s something I hate.”

  “I’m doing my job, just answer my questions.”

  Edric glared at her, and she took it as silent defeat.

  “One last question: when did he disappear?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “All right then.” Cassie stood up from her seat. “I’ll investigate the rest myself.”

  Since you are of no fucking help.

  “Update me as soon as possible.”

  Cassie stood up from her seat and quickly left the stuffy room. She disliked Edric, his pompous my-time-is-more-valuable-than-yours act got on her nerves. But, for fifty grand she decided that she would put up with it.

  ***

  As soon as Cassie left the room, Edric leaned back in his chair and sighed. He closed his eyes and gently massaged his temples; he could feel a tension headache coming on.

  This is the fifth private detective and you’ve called the police. That’s over and done with. Everything’s done that can be. Focus on your work. Work… Now I just have a meeting with a potential investor at ten, followed by one with my chief engineer at eleven...

  Edric turned his attention to his laptop and reviewed the investor’s portfolio to see what he could chat with him about. As much as he tried to concentrate on his work, memories of his brother flooded his mind.

  He snapped his fingers. “Update me on the investor I’m supposed to meet with at ten,” he said. Right after the words left his mouth, he remembered that he fired his assistant yesterday—his fourth assistant of the year. They always left after a short while; sometimes they left voluntarily, most of the time he fired them.

  “Can someone get me a file on Hammond?” Edric shouted at the top of his lungs, in hopes that one of the several people working outside his closed office door would hear.

  This is ridiculous. I need a new assistant. One that’s competent, for a change.

  One of the frantic, young interns barged into the room with shaking hands as she held the file close to her chest. He wanted to laugh at the freaked-out high schooler but opted against it.

  “Mr. Kensington, h-here is your file.” The young girl stammered.

  Edric took the file from her hand, nodded curtly, not even noticing her scurry out of the room as he began to read. When he finally looked up and saw that the intern was gone he smirked to himself, figuring the kid was afraid of him. It didn’t surprise him, he knew that he had the reputation of being power-hungry and mercurial. One day he overheard one of his engineers call him a tyrant. The reputation was fitting.

  Edric admitted to only loving three things in the entire world: his kid brother, older sister, and his company. Everything else could just go to hell. He’d probably find great joy in watching the world burn, as long as those three remained unaffected. Now that his brother was gone, all bets were off as to how he would behave.

  Edric sipped his coffee and continued reading. He smiled; at least he was going to recruit another investor. Then he remembered that his brother was missing and he frowned once more. His fleeting moment of joy was replaced with somber dread, his brother had been plucked from his fancy elementary school. Owen…his precious Owen, his redemption. Gone.

  Hopefully between the police and the five private detectives someone will find him. And I’ll kill whoever took my kid brother.

  Edric gripped the pewter coffee cup tighter and took another sip.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie felt out of place, walking through the halls of Brookings School for Gifted Children. She managed to schedule a last-minute meeting with the principal. An elderly woman served as her escort over to the main office.

  Children from kindergarten to twelfth grade roamed the halls in their matching uniforms consisting of navy-blue suits with white dress shirts. Seeing six-year-olds dressed in business attire made Cassie want to laugh at them.

  Man, this is like an asshole factory. It’s like you get a normal kid, send them here, dress them up in a suit, wait thirteen years, and they turn out like Edric Kensington.

  Cassie felt like she was walking to the gallows. Going to the principal’s office brought back memories from her “wild child” days. She wished that Ellie was with her; she could navigate these sorts of situations. There was only one problem: Ellie had class until three because she was the good girl, an Ivy-League school on a full scholarship, whereas Cassie had to work for a living.

  Cassie stood outside of the office, inhaled sharply, then knocked on the door.

  “Come in!” A man’s voice called.

  She pushed open the door, sat on a chair, crossed her ankles, and then folded her hands on her lap—like Ellie would do in that situation. “Good afternoon, my name is Cassandra Kent. I just got hired by Edric Kensington to investigate the disappearance of his brother, Owen Kensington.”

  The older, bald man looked up at Cassie and grimaced. “I don’t have any information to give to you.”

  “Who was Owen seen with last?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Do you mind if I take a look around?”

  “Yes, I do. Only official police may investigate here; we need to keep our students safe.”

  Cassie leaned forward and smiled. “Come on. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Someone’s already missing.”

  “Ms. Kent, we need to keep all of our students in mind, not just Owen Kensington. Due to confidentiality issues, I cannot have you walking around these halls doing whatever you’d like. If I find you speaking to our students, our school will have you arrested.”

  Cassie frowned. This always happens. Why do I even bother?

  “All right.” Cassie stood up and headed out the room. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “No, Ethel will see you out.”

  The elderly lady who escorted Cassie to the principal’s office stood up from her seat at the far corner of the room and headed towards the door.

  Talking to the principal never did me any good, neither as a kid nor now.

  Cassie walked down the hallways and examined the students as they talked amongst themselves. She walked slowly
so she could overhear their conversations, to see if she could hear anything about Owen. Most were frivolous, kids talking about their yachts and summer homes and the latest toys that their parents had purchased for them.

  “Yeah…and then Owen’s at that big-assed two-day party today!”

  Cassie stopped and did a double-take. Oh? She knelt down to tie her shoes, hoping that the act would give her enough time to overhear the conversation.

  “I can’t believe he and his crew managed to get in that party with the college kids.”

  “I’m not surprised; Owen can talk his way in or out of any situation. And he’s stupid rich.”

  “How did he get to a college party? He’s like, a grade younger than us.”

  The other boy shrugged. “He probably just paid off Ryan’s sister, to let them all go.”

  “We should hang with him.”

  “Yeah, man.”

  “So, what’s for lunch?”

  I’m guessing the relevant bits of this conversation are over. Cassie stood and continued her walk down the hallway. She now had a lead. All right. I just need to go and look up this Ryan kid and talk to him. Something tells me that if I find Ryan I’ll find Owen.

  Cassie hopped in her car and turned the engine on. It made a sputtering sound. She tried the ignition again and breathed a sigh of relief when the car finally started. This car sounds rickety as fuck. My fifty-grand paycheck should help with that.

  The twenty-minute drive back to her rented house was uneventful. The car managed to hold itself together. With any luck, she would be getting paid twice today—five hundred bucks from the woman with the cheating husband and fifty grand from the CEO with the missing kid brother who was, more likely than not, out on a two-day bender.

  Cassie pulled into the driveway, walked up the cracked, concrete steps, and fumbled with her keys at the door. She could hear the sound of Ellie’s dog barking from the other side. As soon as she opened the door, Spots jumped up onto her leg.