Apparently, things hadn't been going well between the three Matthews's the last few months. Felicia had taken off. David didn't think anything of it at first, sure that Felicia would check in with him, eventually. But three weeks had passed without a word, and now he was truly worried. He was calling Melanie because he wanted to hire the P.I. to find his missing niece.
Melanie had received a handful of e-mails from Felicia over the last few months. She almost hadn't answered the first one, but she sensed that Felicia really needed to talk to someone, so she had written her back. They had talked things out and settled any unresolved issues between them. Felicia's last few letters were nothing more than her needing a friend to give her advise, hear her out. Melanie answered every one of them. Part of it was guilt over the way she had screwed everything up between Felicia and Jessica. The other part was that, through their e-mails, she and Felicia had become friends, comfortable in discussing almost anything with each other.
Now Felicia was in the wind. She hadn't mentioned, in her last e-mail, that she was intending to leave town. Melanie was concerned, but not sure if she should take this case. Maybe it would be better if she just called David back and recommended another P.I. to him. Then again, she knew Felicia, knew how her mind worked. She'd have a better chance at finding her than some stranger. But returning to New Orleans meant being face-to-face with Jessica again. She didn't know if she could handle that, handle being that close to the woman she had fallen in love with, knowing Jessica hated her guts.
Melanie spent almost an hour, staring at the machine, going through the pros and cons in her mind. With a sigh, she picked up the phone and returned David's call. Maybe she'd have time to hit the laundry mat before she headed to the airport.
##
Melanie sat in a chair opposite David Matthews while he filled her in on the events of the last few months. David blamed himself for Felicia's embezzlement of company funds. She'd done it in an attempt to draw attention to herself, and to show him that Jessica wasn't perfect. Due to his feelings of guilt, David hadn't fired Felicia. Instead, he hushed up the entire incident and encouraged Felicia to stay, hoping that, by her staying, they would eventually work out their family problems.
But Felicia didn't seem to want to talk to him, and any conversations between her and Jessica always ended in a full-blown screaming match. Three weeks ago, David had come to work to find Felicia's letter of resignation sitting on his desk. A quick call to Jessica, at the house the sisters shared, revealed that Felicia's room was bare of any clothes, or any other personal belongings. So, David had decided to wait it out, thinking that Felicia would eventually call to tell him she was ok, but no such call ever came. Neither he, nor Jessica, had heard a word from Felicia in almost a month. He now feared the worst.
Melanie did her best to reassure David. She figured Felicia had begun to feel uncomfortable around her family. Ashamed of what she had done, feeling unable to patch things up with her sister and uncle, Felicia had probably decided to relocate, start over somewhere new.
Melanie told David not to worry, that she'd find Felicia and, if she couldn't convince her to come home, at least call David and let him know she was ok. Melanie headed for the door, planning to set up shop in the little apartment above Mama's bar in the Quarter. She'd already called, and Mama had assured her that the apartment was, indeed, available if she wanted it. Well, at least one person had seemed happy that she was back, two if she counted David. She'd yet to see Jessica, who was conspicuously absent from today's meeting.
##
It was now early evening, and Melanie sat on the couch in her temporary apartment. Her laptop sat on the coffee table beside her, humming away as it busily worked on the
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