Free Finding Fiona by Viola Grace

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 1
     
     
    Fiona Matthews started her morning the same way she did every morning. A hefty cup of coffee and a toasted bagel with cream cheese. With a quick bite, she set the items on the counter, knelt in front of the bed and located her keys where her sister’s cat, Neelix had hidden them.
    On her way back to her breakfast, she found the shoe the persistent feline had hidden and the hairball he left on the steps. He looked at her with disgust as she located every carefully stowed item from his midnight crazies. The consistent surprise in his eyes never failed to make her laugh.
    Nothing could be hidden from her. She was a finder.
    It had begun shortly after her stint at Camp Silverwood and had expanded with every following year as she gained control over her talent. In high school, she had been uncomfortable knowing where every classmate had lost their virginity and had no urge to help them find it.
    When she found herself in the working world, she gravitated toward a job where her particular skill was useful. Inventory management it had been. She had been in that line of work now for over ten years in a craft supply warehouse and her branch had the smallest loss in the entire chain. A record she was perversely proud of. As she headed to her petit car, her cell rang. “Yellow.”
    “Fee, where are my house keys? I can’t find them again,” her friend Sally asked.
    Fiona leaned against her car while she concentrated. “They are under your couch, where you kicked them last night while trying to get your date out of his clothing.” She could hear the embarrassment on the line.
    “Ah. You’re right. Thanks. And please, don’t tell anyone.”
    “Have I ever?”
    “Love you, Fifi.”
    “Snuggles to you, Salary.” She turned off the phone and got into her car. It was time for work. She did so love to find things.
    Work was as satisfying as it always was. She was climbing up, down, reaching under and over for her clients and stopping some of her inventory from walking out the door. She wasn’t rude, but she was firm. With the scowls of her attempted thief in her face, she calmly and deliberately described where, what and how far in the paintbrushes were hidden. They were surrendered immediately and the thief looked to the ceiling for the invisible cameras.
    She almost laughed. There was nothing in the building worth the price of the cameras. And if he had asked her, she could have pointed him to some of the sponsored brushes donated by artist for those who were starting out.
    Her co-worker, Brenda ran up to her. and asked her, “Fiona, have you heard? A kid has gone missing near the mountains.”
    Fiona’s senses snapped into alert immediately. “When? Are they looking for her yet?”
    “They are asking for volunteers. People who have been up the mountain before.”
    “Brenda, can you take care of the shop this afternoon? I am going to see if they need another volunteer.”
    “Of course. We just got in those new oils. I will leave them for you to put out tomorrow.”
    “Excellent.” She shrugged into her denim jacket. “If I am not coming in tomorrow for whatever reason, I’ll give you a call.” Dressing casual was her favourite part of the job. It let her do things like she was about to.
    “Thanks. Good luck.”
    Brenda waved as Fiona trotted down the steps and headed for her car. She could still see the arm waving through the heavy glass of the door. Brenda sure loved to wave.
     
    * * * *
     
    The highway to the park where the child had gone missing was shockingly empty. Either no one had listened to the radio or they did not think that a small child could be harmed in a few hours. Jerks .
    The lot had around thirty cars in it when she arrived. So, not all of the locals were complete assholes. Half an hour of registering and collecting her kit and she was ready to go searching the hills for little Mandy Sanders. She was six and a half.
    Little Mandy had gone exploring