I Missed My Plane, Helped a Homeless Mother — What Happened After I Gave Her My Key Still Haunts Me
Three days passed since Beatrice’s disappearance, and Althea felt like she was slowly losing her mind. The police were working, but without much enthusiasm. There were too many missing people in the city, and too few resources dedicated to them. Every day she called the precinct, and every day she got the same polite but useless answer: «Operational search measures are underway. Please be patient and wait.»
Althea sat in her office, staring blankly out the window at the gray autumn sky. Untouched documents lay in neat stacks on the desk before her. The computer was on, displaying emails she couldn’t focus on. Every time she tried to focus on numbers and reports, her mother’s face floated before her eyes.
The door to the office opened quietly, and Elias entered with another folder of urgent papers.
«Ms. Vance, sorry to disturb you, but you need to sign these contracts…»
«Elias,» Althea interrupted him without taking her eyes off the window. «Do you know any good private investigators?»
Her assistant froze in the doorway. «Private investigators? You want to hire a private eye?»
«The police work too slowly. They are overburdened. I need a professional who will focus only on this case, someone I can direct.» She finally turned to him, her eyes red-rimmed.
Elias noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the unhealthy pallor of her face.
«Do you have contacts?» she asked.
«There is one man,» Elias nodded slowly. «Silas Grange. He used to work in homicide, then went into private practice. He’s known to be very meticulous and reliable. My brother went to him a couple of years ago when tracking down a debtor who fled the state. Grange found him in a week.»
«I need him, urgently. Today.» Althea reached for her phone. «Give me his number.»
Half an hour later, Detective Silas Grange was sitting across from her in the office. A man of about fifty with piercing gray eyes and calm, professional manners, he inspired a faint spark of confidence. He took out a notepad and pen.
«Mr. Grange, I need your help,» Althea began, trying to speak confidently, though her voice betrayed a slight tremor. «My mother, Beatrice Vance, disappeared three days ago.»
«Tell me in detail, Ms. Vance. When did you see her last? What was her state of mind?»
«In the evening, the day before the disappearance. We had a fight.» It was hard for Althea to admit this aloud to a stranger. «A bad argument. The next morning I left for work early, I didn’t see her, and in the afternoon the housekeeper called and said Mama wasn’t home and hadn’t been all day.»
«What was the cause of the argument, if you don’t mind me asking?»
Althea clenched her fists on the desk. «I accused her of ruining my life. I said that because of her and my late father, I have no family of my own. It was stupid, cruel things said in the heat of the moment. I shouldn’t have…»
«Ms. Vance,» the detective interrupted gently. «I’m not here to judge you. I need facts to understand what might have happened. Could your mother have left under the influence of strong emotions to get away?»
«I don’t know.» Althea ran a hand over her face. «She was deeply offended, that’s for sure. But to just pick up and leave without telling anyone? She’s 79. She has a heart condition. It’s not like her.»
«Does she have relatives, friends outside the city she could turn to?»
«I called everyone in her phone book. No one has seen her. Her friends say she didn’t call them.»
Silas Grange wrote down every word, his face unreadable.
«Money, documents. What did she take with her?»
«Nothing.» Althea felt a hard lump rising in her throat. «Her passport is in the safe, her phone is on her nightstand, her wallet with her cards and cash is in her drawer. The housekeeper says she didn’t even take her favorite handbag.»
«That is strange,» the detective frowned slightly. «Usually, people planning to leave voluntarily take documents and money. Describe your mother to me in more detail. Her habits. Places she liked to visit, places that meant something to her.»
Althea spent the next hour answering the detective’s detailed questions. She talked about how her mother loved visiting the cemetery to talk to her husband, how she sometimes met friends at a specific downtown cafe, how on Tuesdays she always went to volunteer at the church.
«I will check all these places personally,» promised Silas. «I’ll also request surveillance footage from every business and residence in your neighborhood. Ms. Vance, I understand how hard this is for you, but try to remember, was there anything unusual in your mother’s behavior recently? Any memory lapses, any strange comments?»
Althea thought hard. «Martha, our housekeeper, said Mama was ‘thoughtful’ the last few days, maybe a bit nostalgic, but I didn’t attach importance to it. We barely spoke lately. I’m constantly at work.»
«All right, I will start work immediately. I’ll keep you posted on every step.» The detective stood up, closing his notepad. «And one more thing, Ms. Vance—don’t lose hope. In my practice, there have been cases where people were found safe a month later, or even two.»
When Silas Grange left, Althea sank back into her chair. She had hired the best detective available. The police were working, theoretically. Missing posters were being pasted all over the city. What else could she possibly do?
The following days turned into agonizing waiting. Silas called every evening with detailed reports, but there were no concrete results. He checked all the cafes and churches, interviewed her mother’s friends again, and painstakingly reviewed hours of grainy footage. Beatrice Vance seemed to have dissolved into thin air right outside her own front door.
«I checked hospitals within a hundred-mile radius,» the detective reported one evening. «I also contacted colleagues in neighboring cities to keep an eye out. Nothing yet.»
«How can a person just disappear in this city?» Althea almost screamed into the receiver out of frustration. «We live in the 21st century. There are cameras everywhere.»
«Unfortunately, not everywhere, Ms. Vance. There aren’t many cameras on the residential side streets of your neighborhood. The last thing I managed to establish definitely is that a woman matching your mother’s description left the general area of your house early in the morning, around six o’clock, walking. Then the trail goes cold due to lack of coverage.»
Althea continued going to the office because she didn’t know how else to occupy herself. Sitting at home in the silence and waiting for the phone to ring was unbearable, but work brought no relief either. She conducted negotiations, signed papers, and met with partners, but all this happened as if underwater, in some unreal fog where nothing really mattered.
«Ms. Vance, do you hear me?» The voice of a partner on the video call returned her to reality during a meeting.
«Yes, sorry. A slight technical glitch on my end. What were you saying?»
«About the delivery deadlines for the new logistics contract. Do you agree with the proposed dates?»
Althea looked at the screen, but the numbers and charts blurred before her eyes.
«Yes, I agree. Elias will prepare the final documents for signature.»
When the connection cut off, she dropped her head into her hands. Her thoughts constantly returned to her mother. What if Beatrice left precisely because of their fight? What if the last words Althea ever said to her own mother were so cruel that Beatrice decided she couldn’t stay another minute under the same roof?
«Ms. Vance.» Elias walked into the office softly, carrying a cup of coffee. «Drink this. You’ve eaten almost nothing all week.»
«Thank you.» She took the cup but didn’t even touch the drink. «How are the searches going? Has anything moved forward today?»
«No results yet.» Althea’s voice was lifeless. «Grange is working day and night, he’s very thorough, but nothing. I don’t know what to do anymore, Elias.»
Elias sat on the edge of the desk, looking concerned. «Maybe we should cancel the meeting with the European investors or move it a few weeks later. You aren’t in a state to lead such serious negotiations right now.»
Althea sharply raised her head, eyes wide. «Meeting with investors.» She had completely forgotten. It was the most important deal of the year, perhaps of the decade. The future expansion of the company depended on it. «Right. The flight is today. Elias, what time is it?»
«2:30 PM.»
«And the flight is at six,» the assistant reminded her gently.
«So the flight is in three and a half hours.» Althea grabbed her head in panic. «God, I haven’t even packed a bag.»
«Ms. Vance,» Elias said, his voice firm but gentle. «I can go alone, or we can reschedule. They will understand a family emergency. You don’t have to do this right now.»
«No.» She stood up abruptly, adrenaline flooding her exhausted system. «I have to go. I’m useless here anyway. The detective is working. The police are working. I’m just getting in the way, calling them every two hours for updates they don’t have. The deal will happen. It’s too important for the company my father built. But if anything happens, Martha will be at home. She’ll let me know immediately if Mama shows up.»
Althea was already gathering documents into her briefcase with frantic energy. «I’ll leave Martha all the contacts and Silas Grange’s direct number too.»
«Are you sure this is the right decision?» Elias looked at her with doubt. «These negotiations will last more than a week, maybe two or three.»
«I’m sure,» Althea said decisively, though inside everything clenched with fear and guilt.
To leave the city now, when her mother was missing, felt like the ultimate betrayal. But the company—200 people worked there directly, and thousands more depended on it. 200 families depended on her decisions to put food on their tables. She couldn’t let it collapse.
«Elias, order a car to take me to the airport. I need to stop by the house first, grab my things quickly.»
«Okay. I’ll meet you at the airport terminal.»
«Yes.» She nodded, and they exchanged tense glances before she hurried out.
At home, Althea packed a suitcase in a rushed frenzy. Martha bustled nearby, handing her things with tear-stained eyes.
«Ms. Vance, what about Mrs. Beatrice? You’re leaving?» the housekeeper asked with open anxiety.
«Martha, I have to go for the company. But I have a very important request for you.» Althea stopped packing and took the older woman by the hands. «If Mama appears, if there is any news at all from the police or anyone else, call me immediately. Any time of day or night, it doesn’t matter. Understood?»
«Of course, of course, Ms. Althea. Don’t worry, I will call right away.»
«Here is the detective’s number again, and the precinct number.» Althea pressed a piece of paper into her palm. «If something urgent happens and I’m in the air or not reachable, call them.»
«You will return, right?» A childlike plea sounded in Martha’s voice.
«Of course, I’ll return. As soon as the deal is done. Maximum three months.» But even saying these words, Althea felt her heart constrict with pain. Three months seemed like a lifetime.
She called Silas Grange right from the car on the way to the airport.
«Detective Grange, this is Althea Vance. I am forced to leave on a critical business trip for up to three months, but I will be reachable twenty-four hours a day on my cell. If you find out anything at all, call me instantly.»
«I understand, Ms. Vance. Don’t worry about things here. I will continue the search with the same intensity. I have a few more leads to check out in the outer suburbs.»
«What leads?» She gripped the phone tightly.
«Too early to say for sure. I don’t want to give false hope. But I am working on it. Rest assured.»
Althea walked hurriedly through the airport parking lot, dragging her rolling suitcase behind her. Elias had already gone inside through security, but she lingered outside the terminal entrance to answer another urgent call from Silas. The conversation was short and fruitless: the new leads had dried up; no witnesses had confirmed the sightings.
Ending the call with a heavy sigh, she quickened her pace. Less than half an hour remained until international check-in closed, and she couldn’t afford to be late. The investors wouldn’t wait if she missed the flight.
Near the entrance to the international terminal, she noticed a woman—young, maybe thirty years old—sitting on a cold concrete barrier. She held a small child in her arms. Something about this picture made Althea stop in her tracks, despite the rush.
The woman was dressed in a worn, thin coat clearly not designed for the biting autumn wind, and it looked two sizes too big for her slender frame. Her hair was disheveled, pulled back hastily, but her face… her face was surprisingly beautiful, with regular features and large, dark, arresting eyes that held a look of profound exhaustion. And the baby in her arms, quite tiny, was wrapped in a thin, frayed blanket, clearly insufficient for the weather.
Althea was going to walk past. She had absolutely no time. She needed to hurry to the gate. But something forced her to linger. Maybe it was the woman’s eyes, tired but filled with some quiet dignity, or the desperate way she tenderly pressed the child to herself, trying to warm him with her own body heat.
«Excuse me,» Althea stepped out of the stream of passengers and approached them. «Is everything okay with you two?»
The woman flinched at the address and raised a wary gaze to her. «Yes, everything is fine,» she answered quietly, instinctively pressing the baby tighter to her chest as if shielding him.
«Forgive the intrusiveness, but it’s freezing out here. Do you have a place to stay tonight?»
The woman fell silent for a moment, biting her lip, as if debating whether to tell the truth to this well-dressed stranger. Then she lowered her gaze in defeat. «Not right now, no. But we’ll manage something.»
Althea looked at the child. A boy, judging by the knitted blue hat, sleeping fitfully with his face buried in his mother’s shoulder. He looked no more than a year old.
Suddenly a thought flashed in Althea’s mind, sharp and painful. What if my mother is sitting somewhere like this right now, cold and lonely and helpless? What if people are walking past her just as indifferently as most people are walking past this woman and child right now?
«Listen to me.» Althea made a snap decision. She dug in her expensive purse and pulled out a set of keys she rarely used. «I have a lake house upstate, about 40 miles from the city. It’s fully furnished, has heating. I’m flying away for a long time, several months. The house is sitting empty. Do you want to live there for a while?»
The woman looked at her with such utter disbelief, as if Althea had just offered her a winning lottery ticket.
«What? But… why? You don’t know me from Adam. Why would you do that?»
Althea held out the keys, her hand steady. «You have a small child in your arms. He needs a roof over his head, warmth. I have that empty roof, and right now no one is using it.»
«I can’t just take it from a stranger.» The woman was clearly bewildered, frightened by the sudden generosity. «This is too much.»
The baby in the woman’s arms stirred and started crying softly, a thin, hungry sound. The mother began to rock him desperately, and Althea saw her hands were trembling—whether from cold, hunger, or fatigue, she couldn’t tell.
«I am flying away for business negotiations for three months. Please, take the keys. Live at my lake house for now,» Althea repeated, pressing the keys into the woman’s reluctant hand.
«Three months?» The woman still hesitated, looking at the keys as if they might bite. «But why are you doing this for us?»
Althea thought about it for a split second. Indeed, why? She wasn’t used to spontaneous, emotional decisions, especially involving her property. Letting a complete stranger into her family vacation home was reckless, stupid even. But something deep inside her told her it was the only right thing to do today.
«Because…» she stumbled over the words. «Because my own mother is missing right now, somewhere out there. I don’t know where she is, or if she is cold or hungry. And I desperately want to believe that if she is somewhere in need of help, someone will stop and help her, just like I am helping you now.»
The woman slowly closed her fingers around the keys, her large eyes filling with sudden tears. «Thank you,» she whispered, her voice choking up. «I don’t even know what to say to you. My name is Sienna, and this little one is Leo.»
«I’m Althea,» she introduced herself quickly. «Listen, Sienna, I really need to run to catch my flight. I’m already late. But I’ll call my driver right now. He’s still here. He will take you directly to the house.»
She dialed the number of Dante, her regular driver, while Sienna stood there, stunned.
«Dante, are you still in the airport parking lot?»
«Yes, Ms. Vance, I’m just pulling out. Did something happen? Do you need me to come back?»
«No. Listen carefully. A young woman with a small child is standing near the international terminal entrance right now. Her name is Sienna. Please pick them up and drive them to the lake house.»
«To the lake house, Ms. Vance?» Surprise was evident in Dante’s voice. «Upstate?»
«Yes. The lake house.» Althea quickly dictated instructions, ignoring the time ticking away. «And Dante, on the way, stop at a large supermarket. Buy them everything they need. Full stock of groceries for a month, warm clothes for the mother and the child, toiletries. It’s clear they need absolutely everything. Baby food, diapers, whatever babies need. Use the company card.»
«Understood. Everything will be done exactly as you say, Ms. Vance. I’m pulling around now.»
Althea turned back to Sienna, who was crying silently. «My driver will be here in two minutes. His name is Dante. There is everything necessary at the lake house already—bedding, towels. Linens are in the closet in the master bedroom, dishes in the kitchen. The heating is electric, thermostat is on the wall in the hall. You’ll figure it out.»
«I don’t know how to ever thank you.» Sienna looked at her as if seeing a guardian angel in a business suit. «You saved our lives tonight. You really did.»
«Don’t exaggerate.» Althea tried to smile, though her soul was heavy with her own unfinished business. «Just helping out.»
She had already turned to run toward the terminal doors when Sienna called out to her. «Althea! I hope they find your mom. I’m praying they will.»
Althea nodded, unable to say another word past the lump in her throat, and hurried into the terminal building.
At the check-in counter, Elias was already pacing nervously. «Ms. Vance, where were you? We have three minutes until check-in closes. They were about to close the flight.»
«Sorry, got held up outside.» She handed her passport and ticket to the agent breathlessly.
While they processed the luggage, Elias didn’t take his studying gaze off her face. «Did something happen out there? You look shaken.»
«No. I mean, yes. I just gave the keys to my lake house to a homeless woman with a baby I met outside.»
Elias stopped dead in his tracks, jaw dropping slightly. «You did what?»
«Gave the keys to the lake house,» Althea repeated calmly, taking her boarding pass from the agent. «They will live there while I’m gone.»
«But… Althea…» Elias was clearly struggling to process this information. «Aren’t you afraid to let complete strangers into your property? You don’t know her at all. What if she… well, I don’t know, robs the place or turns it into a drug den?»
Althea stopped walking toward security and looked him squarely in the eye. «No, I’m not afraid. That woman isn’t guilty that her fate turned out this way. I’m sure she’s a good person in a bad situation.»
«Where does such sudden confidence come from?» Elias shook his head in disbelief. «Ms. Vance, you were always the most cautious person I know in business, you vet every partner three times over. And here…»
«Here, I just felt that I needed to help.» Althea interrupted him firmly. «There were no lies in her eyes, Elias, only exhaustion and fear for her child. And that baby, he was so cold. How could I just walk past them and board a first-class flight?»
