A Time to Run by J.M. Peace

and thoroughly. She expected nothing less from Jake, and he wasn’t too arrogant to realise how important this was.
    After Tom’s call, Jake went straight to Janine. ‘Hey Neeny, I just got a call from an old academy buddy out at Angel’s Crossing. One of the girls from his station has gone AWOL. Last seen at the Lion’s Head at about four this morning,’ Jake said.
    The Lion’s Head was a bit of a dive, known locally as the Lion’s Den as there was usually someone on the prowl there.
    â€˜Do we have time to make some enquiries?’ he asked.
    â€˜Of course we do,’ she said, quickly. How could he think that they would blow off something like that? She gave him a hard look, but softened her tone. ‘First of all, she’s in The Job; second, if we don’t follow up and she turns out to actually be missing, we’re going to get our arses kicked. It will take three minutes to make a couple of calls and see if it goes anywhere.’
    â€˜I’m not sure how seriously to take it. My mate always seems to be trying to please someone, so he might be making something out of nothing,’ Jake said.
    â€˜You know what it’s like with missing people. She’ll probably turn up as soon as we start making calls,’ Janine replied.
    Jake nodded, still unsure.
    â€˜She single? You may get a date out of it,’ Janine teased.
    Jake smiled broadly. It was his real smile rather than the dimply one he saved for the girls. Janine could tell the difference by now.
    â€˜Is that what you think of me?’ he asked. ‘That I’d want to find a missing person just so I can date her?’
    â€˜I didn’t say anything about dating her,’ Janine shot back.
    â€˜Well, she’s got a boyfriend. But she might trade up once she’s met me. What do you reckon we do first?’ he asked.
    â€˜What do we know?’ Janine queried.
    â€˜The girl, name’s Sammi by the way, has a fight with her bloke. She comes down to Brisbane and goes out with a girlfriend, Candy. She heads home before Candy and that’s the last thing anyone knows. She’s nowhere to be found, her phone’s turned off and she should be halfway to Angel’s Crossing by now to make it for the start of her shift. Her car is at Candy’s house and it looks like she never even made it back there last night.’
    â€˜Might have picked up some guy?’ Janine queried.
    â€˜Maybe, but I wasn’t out last night,’ Jake quipped.
    â€˜So, it’s out of character and the boyfriend is panicking because he’s getting the silent treatment?’ Janine asked.
    â€˜Yeah, something like that,’ Jake replied.
    â€˜OK,’ Janine said. ‘Easy. You ring the friend, get some more info. And no flirting with potential witnesses, you hear? I’ll ring the pub, see if I can raise anyone there, see if anyone remembers her.’
    They both reached for their phones.
    Janine cleared her throat as the phone rang at the other end. An answering machine told her the pub was closed, but directed all enquiries to the head office. Janine scribbled down the number and tried it. To her surprise, despite it being Saturday morning, someone answered.
    She quickly introduced herself, ‘We’re investigating a missing person and we believe she may have been at one of your clubs last night . . . The Lion’s Head at Inala . . . I was wondering if you could give us the names of the bar staff or security, or anyone who might have been working after 3 am last night?’
    She wrote down a list of seven names and contact numbers and hung up.
    Janine thought for a minute, then pulled out her private phone, scrolled through her lengthy contact list and made another call.
    She finished her call shortly after Jake finished talking to Candy.
    â€˜How did you go?’ she asked him.
    â€˜Candy’s an airhead. And hungover. She said Sammi