Read Online Discretion by David Balzarini - Free Book Online

eyes a moment. A tear escapes and he leaves without another word.
    “Dad, we’re going to find her. I know it.”
    He doesn’t look back, but just nods, his hands grip the doorframe. “I’ve accepted reality, son. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” And he walks out.
    My father the realist. It’s too much for me right now. I redirect my attention back to the computer screen.
    The website I’m at is about saints, angels, and the like. A New Age set of beliefs rather than mainstream religion. Symbols and strange writing cover the site, along with illustrations of majestic beings with wings on a background of blue sky and fluffy clouds like that of a painting.
    My cell is in my pocket and I reach for it, to ensure it’s there, for reassurance. I take it out and set it on the desk. My palms sweat. My shirt collar feels uncomfortable against the back of my neck. My leg starts twitching on its own and I’d like to go running up a mountain, something I’ve not done since my girl went missing.
    Christel
.
Where is she all this time? I have begged. I have pleaded. What more can I do?
    I will take you to her.
    I look behind me quickly, expecting to see someone. Then my head clears enough to think—she’s back.
    “Yes?” I say aloud.
    Go with him.
    “Go with who?”
    What is she talking about? I stand and look out the window toward the front of the house, but no one is there. My phone vibrates and the display lights up with Mike’s number on the caller ID. “Hey, Mike.”
    “I’m Goin’ back to the lake. You in?” His breathing sounds as if he’s panting. In the background, Mayra is talking, irritated at something, or someone.
    “Are you going up there to camp?”
    “With Natalie missing, you must be shitting me.”
    “I knew you’d want to keep looking. When can you pick me up?”
    “I’ll be by in thirty minutes, maybe forty. Mayra is pissed, so you might want to ride in the bed of the truck.”
    “So she feels like I do.”
    “With Natalie being gone, she’s been pissed and taking it out on the rest of the world. Yeah, she probably feels about the same as you.”
    Mike is packing weapons to bring Natalie home.
    “You bringing your rifle?”
    “Bet your rich white ass I am.”
    “See you in thirty.”

TEN
    I slip the cellphone in my pocket and head to the bedroom. In a swimsuit and T-shirt, I wait out front for Mike, who pulls in right on time.
    Mayra is stretched out in the backseat of Mike’s truck, asleep. Her five-foot frame fits well. She’s wearing tattered form-fitting jeans and a black tube top. The sight of her bare abdomen causes my pulse to jump and I can’t help thinking of Natalie. Her dark hair is cut short, close to the head.
    “So, what’s the plan?” I ask.
    He laughs a little. “No plan. You know that, man.” He finishes a cigarette and flicks the butt out the cracked window. “Unless you consider searching aimlessly a plan.”
    Mike slouches behind the wheel, all five foot eight of him and as thick as a hundred-year-old tree trunk. He looks like he’s mid-twenties, but is not a month over eighteen. He sustains himself on a steady diet of fast food, coffee, and obsessive-compulsive work habits. Mike’s in a multi-generation family business, building decks. He’s an outdoorsman through and through.
    “What’s making you do this? I mean…this isn’t like you. Is it all about Mayra?”
    A quick look from Mike and a sly grimace, and then he lights another cigarette. “Natalie’s my friend. I’m doing for her what I hope someone would do for me.”
    “You never give up and you never walk away from a fight.”
    “Damn straight.”
    “We’re going to find her.”
    He grins, watching the road behind the fat aviator style sunglasses on his face. He pushes up the brim of his well-loved Cardinals hat and wipes sweat from his brow. “Love that optimism about you,” he says and slaps me on the shoulder. He watches the road a moment and then looks my way. “So you think I’m