Chapter 1

I woke up Sunday morning and called Amos and Brian. Amos answered groggily but Brian didn't answer at all. I cleaned up and met Amos in the hall outside our rooms. We knocked hard on Brian's door. The three of us had flown in from Nashville, rented a car, and rented rooms in a beachfront hotel. Brian still didn't answer.

We looked at each other for a moment and took the elevator downstairs to the lobby. We asked the desk clerk about Brian but he knew nothing. Amos still had the keys to the rental car. We were worried. We prevailed upon the desk clerk to accompany us to Brian's room to check on him. The clerk opened the door which was locked from the inside. He knocked and called out Brian's name. There was no answer. The bed looked slept in but was empty. I called Brian's number and the cell phone on the nightstand rang before going to voice mail.

I said, "Brian, where are you? It's Nat. This is the second message. What's going on?" I thumbed the off button. I was frustrated. How could he get the message when his phone was on the nightstand and he wasn't in the room.

Amos started to step in. The desk clerk stopped him. "I'm calling the police as soon as I get downstairs. There is something wrong here."

We nodded at him. Amos said, "That's for sure. Brian is a very competent individual. This is not normal for him. We've known him since the beginning of college almost ten years ago." The clerk pulled the door closed and placed a piece of tape across the card reader. We went downstairs and he made the call.

The police arrived ten minutes later. They went into the room while we stood at the door. One officer said, "Jim, you said the bolt was thrown when you came up here?" The desk clerk nodded. "Who are you two?"

"We are Brian's friends. All three of us are from Nashville. We arrived yesterday. I am Nat Freeman and he is Amos Owenby. We last saw Brian last night around ten or so when we went to our rooms after eating and having a couple of beers."

The other policeman said, "We will call this in and get a detective team out here. Until it's released, that is now a crime scene." They closed the door and put yellow tape across the door frame. We all went downstairs. Once there, the same policeman asked, "What are you two going to do?"

Amos said, "I guess we will get some breakfast in the restaurant here. I presume we will get questions from the detectives." The policeman nodded with a grim smile.

We went into the restaurant and ordered breakfast. We had been served and were eating when two people came to our table. "May we join you?" She had a badge. I nodded and said, "Please be seated. Would you like some coffee?" She shook her head while her partner, an older man, nodded. I served coffee from the pot and handed the cup to him.

"I am Detective Angela Grimm." I decided that jokes weren't in order. "We have some questions. The desk clerk says that you are the missing man's friends."

I said, "That's correct. Brian has been our friend from the beginning of college. We have remained friends for almost ten years now. We all live in Nashville. The three of us flew in yesterday morning for a week's vacation. We went out last night for dinner and had a couple of beers each. We parted last night in the hall for our rooms. Brian is a very together guy. He wouldn't just vanish."

She said, "I understand but we have to ask the questions." I nodded. "Has he been having any problems?"