Speak Rain

  ~~~

  The rest of the days passed with equal success. Attempts by both the sheriffs and Daniel to contact the phone numbers for family listed in Rachel’s cell phone had yielded nothing but voicemail. No one had a particularly good explanation for Daniel about why her father or other members of her family and friends would want to get answers. It was on the second day, the fourteenth when Ray’s dad did call the Sheriff’s office and indicated they hadn’t heard from Rachel at all, but that he wanted to be contacted as soon as they’d heard. What good would that do if you don’t listen to your voicemail for two days? Dan wondered.

  The person from the sheriff’s office that had called to inform Dan of her father’s response explained that in the west a lot of people tend to ignore their voicemail if even that. Dan had learned that in the southwest and intermountain areas it’s sort of a practice when you didn’t get ahold of someone to just keep calling over and over until you reached them. How stupid! he found himself thinking as he pondered why being rural meant ignoring your voicemail. His patience was diminishing quickly, and by the fourteenth, even with the assurance that an officer was coming up to begin a formal search and take specific statements for the missing person’s report, he had bought himself a couple cases of beer and a whiskey bottle and kept himself desensitized somewhat that way. It reflected in his attitude towards the police though.

  A search was indeed begun on the fourteenth. Two sheriffs canvassed the whole town of Woodland hills, although only half the homes had answers at the door. Towards the end of the day the two reported to Daniel as the primary contact. Their feeling was that most people weren’t answering because they were already gone on holiday vacations, but Daniel felt it was more likely the strong and continuous rain that had been falling since the twelfth. It wasn’t as heavy as it had been at certain times in the last three months, nor when he had called the rain to help with the fire, but it was constant. And it was dreary.

  As an aside, Mr. Johnson had called Dan to tell him not to come in the following week after all. There was an initial pang in Dan’s throat at hearing it, but Johnson went on to explain he didn’t think Dan should have to try to work when he needed to deal with Rachel’s disappearance. Daniel thanked him at that time. He did still try to work the first couple days, but quickly found Mr. Johnson was correct: he could not focus on work to even determine what his responsibilities at the plant entailed. So he let Johnson’s receptionist know he would indeed be taking the rest of the week off. She wished him well and reminded him the plant was going to be closed through the long weekend for Christmas. He let her know it was unlikely he would attend the company party too.