Measures

Heather, Ashley and Zack searched the alleyway and the area around the shop over and over, again and again. They spent hours combing the pavement and the back access for any sign of Kurt, Kendra or Shawn and in the end came up with as much as they had found the first time; nothing. By then they were tired and disenchanted, so Heather suggested taking a break at a nearby coffee shop to rethink, recharge and approach the problem with fresh eyes. With no better options, Zack and Ashley agreed.

“So, what are we going to do?” Ashley asked the question on everyone’s lips as she slid into a booth. “Kendra, and likely Shawn, have taken Kurt somewhere and they covered their tracks pretty well.”

“Except for the video footage at the store,” Zack remarked, setting the tray of drinks on the table and plonking himself down beside the blonde. “They slipped up there. I find it hard to believe they didn’t slip up somewhere else. We’re just not seeing it.”

“I agree, but we don’t have the time to look for it. Kurt, and maybe even Victoria, could really be in danger,” Heather replied, taking the seat opposite and reaching for her coffee. “But, I’ve been thinking, maybe we don’t need to know where they’re going to know where they’ve gone.”

“Elaborate please?” Zack said, handing Ashley her milkshake, and lifting his own latte.

“When the Lewis family left, they sold off most of their property and assets in Azure Rocks,” Heather explained as requested, her eyes shining as her mind played out the idea in her mind. “It’s likely they took Kurt and Victoria somewhere that they knew, and likely even owned. Since they sold off almost everything, all we’d need to do is find out what was kept in their name.”

“That’s a dandy plan,” Ashley retorted with a half frown. “Aside from the part where we had no idea what was sold and what was kept. Do you have any ideas how to actually get that information?”

“I do,” Heather replied with a proud and knowing smirk. “My dad just so happened to buy up a lot of that property. Though some of it, such as the warehouses, I know they went to industrious companies that had nothing to do with my dad. But I’m sure that he would have researched the Lewis assets before he bought anything, and I’m sure he could tell us what wasn’t sold.”

“I, uh, don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ashley bit her lip and fidgeted with her top. “Getting Robert involved, I mean.”

“Huh?” Heather wrinkled her nose and sat back, folding her arms tight across her large chest. “Why not?

“Well…he’s an adult…isn’t he? He’ll want to go to the police, because he’ll think we’re too immature to handle this,” Ashley lied, pulling the excuse from her ass as she spoke. “And Zack didn’t want to go to the police.”

“I don’t know who to trust right now, but if it means finding Kurt and Victoria before anything bad happens, I’m all for it,” Zack told her, dismissing that element of her argument. “Maybe we are too immature to handle this ourselves. We’ve been at this for hours and have nothing to show for it.”

“I just think it’s a bit of a stretch. He might know but you said yourself, Heather, that he didn’t buy all the property. Will your dad have information on all the acquisitions by other companies? And I don’t think that would preclude their use,” Ashley continued to bluff her opposition to Robert Ravers. “If this were me, and I was going to do something horrible, I wouldn’t do it on my front doorstep where it could be traced back to me.”

“Ok, ok, I get it, you think the plan sucks,” Heather sighed. “But, really, where else would they go? They’d have to scout somewhere else out, and even if they use a building that didn't use to belong to them, they couldn’t be sure that someone else might catch them. A place they own is the only way to ensure that they aren’t interrupted and have the time and space for whatever they’re planning.”

“I agree it makes sense,” Zack said thoughtfully, cocking his head skyward. “But, Ash does make a good point. They didn’t sell everything. What if they kept more than one place under their name? We can’t exactly check them all out if time is of the essence, and we only have one car, so we can’t split up.”

“In that case, I would suggest calling the police in. With their manpower they could search multiple residences within a short space of time,” Heather admitted, her annoyed expression showing little she really wanted to resort to that.

“Not without incriminating Kurt,” Ashley argued. “The police won’t act until they have reason to believe Kurt is in harm if he hasn’t been missing for long enough. And the only way to prove that he might be in danger is the video of him being led away by Shawn’s flunky.”

Heather tutted, pouting at the fact she hadn’t thought of that, irritated she hadn’t seen that hole in her plan. “I still think it’s worth asking my dad about property that the Lewis family still own. Maybe we get lucky and they only kept one apartment.”

Ashley frowned again, out of reasons not to do it. “Fine, I can’t stop you, but I think we’re looking in the wrong place.”

“Well, since no one knows the right place,” Zack put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “I say we go for it.”

“Exactly,” Heather agreed, cheerfully, tugging her phone out of her trouser pocket. “In the absence of good ideas, she should at least try a few bad ones.”

Looking down at the phone in her hand, ready to call her father’s office, Heather was surprised by the vibration of her device in her palm. Ashley and Zack were taken aback as well, looking down at the sudden phone call, just as Heather was planning to call someone else. But she relaxed upon seeing the name on the screen. She swiped to answer the call and said, “Hello.”