She’s Not Home

‘Keep trying her number,’ Austyn said as he started for the door. ‘I’m coming back right now.’ ‘Okay.’ Elsie heaved a sigh. Austyn walked through the front door of the villa at midnight. He’d had quite a few and had to call a valet to drive him back. Club Kyo was almost all the way across town. It didn’t help matters that the driver was a stickler for traffic rules. He refused to ‘step on it’ when Austyn ordered him to. ‘I could lose my license, sir.’ Elsie updated Austyn every ten minutes. She couldn’t get through to Kira. Austyn scanned the shoe rack. Kira’s well-worn sneakers were not there. Elsie appeared as soon as Austyn came into the living room. ‘Still no news.’ She was wringing her hands. ‘Should we call the police?’ Austyn shook his head. ‘She’s an adult. And she’s not missing. She’s just coming back late.’ ‘Is she coming back at all? The last bus to this area left an hour ago.’ ‘She could take a cab,’ Austyn said, though he knew the odds of that happening were slim to none.