Read Chapter 1 of Dare To Be Wise

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As Whit Filmore sipped his drink near a cold marble pillar, he scanned the room, hoping to find Anna. But with the music swelling, echoing off the vaulted ceilings and chandeliers, he had a feeling the overload of her senses had sent her into hiding.

Not only had her mother recovered her money, but she had already found an excuse to spend it.

Maybe Anna was hiding inside the cake, which stood nearly six feet on the grand table in the center of the room? Or perhaps behind the large sprays of flowers and white marble columns? It was all too much for Anna’s tastes. That was for certain. 

Before he could continue his search, he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Whitney!”

Whit spun around to see Bill Roberts, Chief of Police, had cleaned up much better than he had when he went to their high school prom wearing a tuxedo shirt and a pair of chinos.

“Bill, I didn’t expect to see you here.” He followed the man’s gaze where it landed on Anna’s mother, Jenna. Whit had seen that look in his friend’s eyes before when it was directed at the head cheerleader back many moons ago.

Bill grinned ear to ear. “Ms. Upton invited me. I think she wanted to thank me for helping out with that last case of yours.”

“That was weeks ago.”

“Well, who am I to turn down free food and booze? Where is the guest of honor anyway? I wanted to tell Anna happy birthday and that I put her applications through. It’s just a matter of time before she’s official.”

“Thanks for that. I’m sure she’d thank you too. Honestly, she’s probably catching a bit of air. This isn’t her thing when it’s not in her honor, and especially when it is.”

“Well, her mom sure went all out. Seems a shame to let it all go to waste. I guess I should go and thank Jenna for the invitation. I’ll see you around.” Bill walked away and didn’t make it far before Jenna found him. She locked her arm in his, and the two looked at each other adoringly as they began to talk. 

Whit tried not to think about the fact that his friend had that lovelorn look in his eyes or that he was the same age as him. Instead, he took another drink and hurried off to find Anna.

Whit went to the back of the room and through a side door, which led to the patio. As the music ebbed behind him, he spotted movement through a tall plant and found Anna standing near the railing.

She looked up at the sky. The moonlight never looked as beautiful as it did upon her face.

“Ah, here you are,” he said, getting her attention. “I thought I was going to have to send out a search party.”

She glanced over his shoulder as if to see if he was alone. “Don’t tell my mother where I am. I just needed a break from all of that.”

“She’s not looking for you yet. And you might have just been bought some time. She’s busy talking with Chief Roberts.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “The two of them have been talking a lot lately. I’m pretty sure they see each other, and she just doesn’t want me to know.”

“Well, he wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Are you ever going to go in and welcome your guests? Maybe cut that huge cake?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start,” she said. “Did you know that half of that thing is styrofoam? My mom just wanted a grand appearance. That’s the only reason she did this party in the first place.”

She wasn’t happy with the party or her mother. 

“She just wanted to make it special, I’m sure.” Whit didn’t think he’d see the day he defended Jenna Upton’s intentions, but here they were.

But Anna wasn’t buying it. The look she gave him said so. “This party is more about her getting her money back than me graduating and having a birthday. Besides, all of that was two weeks ago. It’s way too much, a little too late.”

“It’s still a reason to celebrate.” It wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be.

“A reason to celebrate, yes. With a small cake, a few friends, sure. But this? This is awful. I don’t know but five people in that entire place. A trip to Peyton’s Faire would have been more welcome. Why she would think I would want fancy flowers and all of this nonsense is beyond me. Sometimes I wonder if she even knows me.”

“Well, can’t you just entertain it for one night?” he asked. “It’s only a couple more hours to endure. And I’m sure whatever part of the cake is not styrofoam is delicious.”

Anna smiled, giving Whit a sideward look. “You just want my cake. And here I thought you really came out to check on me.”

“Both can be true. But you need to look on the bright side, Anna. Your mother hasn’t been so overbearing lately, and she’s not going to stand in our way with our company.”

Anna shook her head. “She’s already getting close with the chief. For all, we know she’s planning to put a wrench in things when we start working cases. If he turns into a roadblock instead of an ally, it could still hurt us.”

“Or maybe he will endear her to us even more?”

“I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. But when I’m right, you can buy my lunch for another month.”

Whit chuckled. “Anna, you’re stalling. You know it’s only a matter of time before you have to go in there and face the music, so you might as well prepare for it.”

Her shoulders sagged a bit. “I know. I just wanted a moment to myself. With everything going on with my studies, graduation, and buying my house, it’s been crazy. I guess I really just wanted a nice, relaxing vacation instead of all of this.”

Whit’s phone rang in his pocket. “We’ll have time for a vacation soon enough.” He looked at his phone and didn’t recognize the number. “Sorry. I’ll tell them I’ll call them back.”

Anna waved away the notion. “It’s no bother to me if it buys me more time from having to go back in there.” She turned back to the railing and looked up to the sky.

Whit put his phone to his ear. “Whit Filmore speaking.”

“Professor Filmore, I’m Crystal Delaney.” The woman’s tone was soft, but as if it were aged with plenty of wine of cigarettes, and he detected a southern drawl as she continued. “My son is missing. And I was wondering if you could help me.”

He glanced at Anna, who was still content to be away from her party. With his interest piqued, he needed more information. Whit wondered if the police had already been notified. “How long has he been missing?”

The question perked Anna’s ears, and she turned to lean against the railing, giving him more of her attention.

“It’s only just over a week now,” said the woman. “But long enough to know that I’m not getting any help here locally.”

“Where do you live?” The more they spoke, the more he was certain she didn’t live in Ohio.

“I’m in Northern Mississippi, in a little town called Mason.”

Whit wasn’t sure he wanted to go to Mississippi. It wasn’t a good time for another long trip out of town, and he had hoped to work on cases a little closer to home. “How old is your son?” From the tone of her voice, he must have been an adult.

“He’s twenty-three. I’m aware that makes this less urgent for some, but I’m sick with worry. I’m hoping to hire you to look into it if you’re interested.”

How could Whit tell her he wasn’t? “I’d have to discuss my rates,” he said, hoping to call her at a more convenient time.

“I’ll spare no expense. I’ll purchase you a ticket tonight if you can be here as soon as possible.”

Whit didn’t like being rushed into anything. “The thing is, I no longer work alone. I have a partner. And the earliest I could make it is tomorrow.”

“That would be fine. And the more, the merrier, Mr. Filmore. I just want you to find my son and bring him home to me. My gut is telling me he’s in grave danger.”

Whit didn’t think she was going to take no for an answer, especially if she had gone through the trouble of contacting him. But he wasn’t sure Anna would be on board or if she would want him to go away on a solo mission. “Could you give me a moment to talk to my partner, and I’ll call you back?”

“Yes, sir. But please know, I’m begging for your help. I trust you. And with the way things are, I don’t know where else I’ll turn.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Whit, unsure what that meant. “I’ll let you know by morning.”

“Thank you.” The woman ended the call, and Whit could already see the look in Anna’s eyes.

“I can’t go,” she said before he even said a word. “I have too much going on with the house and moving. It sounds like they’d need you right away.”

Whit didn’t want to do it alone but knew it might come down to it. “She’s desperate to find her son. I don’t know the situation, but I feel like I should at least go down there and offer some kind of help.”

“Whit, are you sure you’re ready to jump back into this? You’re still healing. And there’s Emily to consider.”

The concern she had for him warmed his heart, but he was fine. “Emily is on vacation with her mother, remember? She’ll be gone two weeks at least. I’m healed. I told you it was nothing but a flesh wound. I don’t even have stitches anymore.”

“In your shoulder, yes, it was a flesh wound. But I’m talking about your hip. It hit the bone.”

He shook his head to disagree. “It grazed the bone, and I took those stitches out yesterday. It’s fine as long as it’s not raining.”

“You think this is funny. Like it’s all a game. You can’t just take your stitches out and call it a day. You should go back to the doctor and have it checked.”

“I did have it checked. And he said I could take the stitches out on my own. I’ve done it before. It’s not a big deal.”

“Whit, I’m serious.”

“I am too, Anna. This might just be what we need, to get away for a while, put our heads back into our work. Come on. You just said you needed a vacation.”

“Yeah, on a sunny beach or a meditation spa somewhere in a yurt or something.”

“It’s part of the job.” 

She had a faraway look in her eyes. “You go without me. I can’t leave with the new house closing or while all of my things are being packed up and readied to move.”

“Fine, I’ll go alone. I’ll figure out if there is anything worth doing, and if so, you can come out to join me if you can.”

“I’m sorry.” 

It wasn’t the attitude he’d expected. “It’s fine. As long as this isn’t about what happened before.”

“What happened?” Her cheeks flushed.

“Yeah, you know, with Dylan. I know you have struggled with that.”

“Oh,” she said, seeming surprised as she waved that off. “That. I’m fine. It was hard at first, knowing I had taken someone else’s life, but I’m in counseling, and it’s going fine. I know it was what I had to do at that moment. And I’d do it again.”

He wasn’t sure she believed her own words, but it was better than the crippling guilt that had hold of her that first week. She had buried herself under a pile of covers and refused to get up. Her mother even called him to coax her out to eat. “Okay, as long as you’re good. I don’t want to leave you here with your mother if you need me.”

She took a deep breath and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “I’m perfect. And I guess you’re right. I should get in there and cut that cake.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.” He could tell something was eating at her. It was as if she had something to say but couldn’t say it. And he wondered how long it would take to get over what had happened with her mother’s blackmailers.

She sighed. “Well, I guess it’s time to see if this is my party or hers. I asked for chocolate. She prefers vanilla.”

He waited for her to lead the way as she marched back into the party. As she entered the crowd, he stayed close behind.

Her mother was on the dance floor with Bill, and the two were having such a good time, they didn’t even notice Anna until she tapped her mother on the shoulder. 

“Oh, Anna, dear. I wondered where you were hiding.” Her mother looked at Whit and her smile faded. Whit could tell the woman still didn’t like whatever she thought was happening between them, but at least she didn’t lose her smile completely. “You should cut your cake.”

Anna nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”

“Perfect! But not until we’ve all sang Happy Birthday.” Her mother’s smile was bigger than Whit had ever seen.

But Anna’s face was masked with a look of horror. “No, please. I don’t want you to.”

“Nonsense,” Jenna scoffed. “It’s not every day my daughter turns twenty-three.” She glanced at Whit as if to tell him she was still too young and then picked up a glass from the table and tapped it.

Anna’s face paled as her mother continued to rouse the crowd, who began to sing. She leaned in close to Whit. “How soon do we leave?”  

Whit gave her a sympathetic look as she picked up the knife and cut it into her vanilla cake.