Finding Sarah (5 page)

“And you’re sure he was leaving?”
Randy asked.

Maggie thought a minute,
searching the ceiling as if it would provide an answer. Sarah watched Randy’s
gaze follow Maggie’s. She swallowed a giggle as Randy fought to maintain his
composure when he noticed Maggie’s poster of the Chippendale dancers staring
down at him. His eyes snapped back and met Maggie’s when she spoke again.

“He was standing in the doorway,
holding the door behind him, facing into the hall. He stepped out and told me
he’d been fixing the heater, that he’d had an emergency call that morning. I
didn’t want to be late for my reading, so I went on downstairs. Yes, he was
leaving, because he followed me down.”

“Did you see which way he went
when he left the building?” Randy asked.

“No.” Maggie reached for a
cookie. “I can’t say that I noticed. I was hurrying, you see, and I assumed he’d
be stopping at Mrs. Pentecost’s to say he was done, or give her a bill, or
return the key.”

Randy continued. “Can you tell me
about the man? Height, age, physical characteristics?”

Maggie’s voice was more subdued
now. Her pride in being a good observer had been questioned and Sarah could
tell she was doing her best to be as accurate as possible with her description.
Maggie stood and tilted her head upward. She raised her hand a few inches above
her head. “There,” she said. “That’s the way I had to stand to look him in the
eyes.”

Randy looked at Maggie. “So, I’m
guessing about five-nine, five-ten.”

Maggie sat back down. “That seems
about right. His eyes were light brown, fair skin. He had on a baseball cap.
Plain, navy blue. He was wearing jeans, brown leather boots, and black gloves.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Wait. They were too thin to be work gloves. I should
have noticed.”

“You’re doing fine. Keep going.”

Maggie put her hands to her mouth
and looked at Sarah. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I was that
stupid. No tool box. I am such a fool. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I’d have
wondered and at least checked with Mrs. P.”

“People see what they expect to
see,” Randy said. “It’s natural. Go on.”

Maggie shook her head. “A black
turtleneck and an olive green windbreaker. No company logo, no name, but a lot
of the people Mrs. Pentecost calls are independent workers and don’t wear
uniforms.”

Maggie’s face blurred. Sarah put
her hands to her cheeks—her fingertips were ice cold.

Maggie’s warm hands clutched
Sarah’s. “You’re white. Did you forget to eat again?”

“Things were busy.”

Maggie poured more tea into Sarah’s
cup and added a liberal amount of honey. “Drink this. I’m sure just this once
the tea gods will forgive me for adding honey to Jasmine Pearls. You need the
sugar. And have another cookie.”

Sarah sipped the hot, sweet
beverage and listened while Maggie continued. “If you want, I could go look at
mug shots.” She sounded excited. “If you still do things like that, I mean. I
have time and a pretty good memory—”

“Thanks for offering,” Randy
said. “I’ll let you know.” Sarah could tell he’d figured out that if he didn’t
jump in, Maggie would keep on talking.

“How are you feeling, Sarah?” he
asked. “Maggie’s right. You’re pale.”

The look of concern in his eyes
brought a catch to Sarah’s chest. “It’s nothing. Really.” She set her cup on
its saucer, glad it didn’t clatter.

“I’d like to check out your place
if you’re up to it,” Randy said.

Sarah took a deep breath and
stood. The room hardly spun at all.

At Sarah’s door, Randy pulled on
a pair of latex gloves, took out his penlight and crouched to examine the
antiquated lock. It wouldn’t have presented a challenge to any third-rate
crook. He rose from his crouch and held out his hand. “Key?”

The spark when Sarah’s fingers
touched his palm unnerved him. Dealing with a female victim was not a new
scenario, but it had never been like this. He cleared his throat and slid the
key into the lock, then unsnapped his holster. He heard a sharp gasp and sensed
Sarah pulling back.

“A precaution,” he said. “Standard
procedure.”

Wide-eyed, she nodded. “I
understand. You don’t think he’s here now, do you?”

“No, I’m almost positive he isn’t.”
She stepped closer to him, and he took a deep breath. He placed his hand on the
grip of his pistol. The feel of the cold metal reminded him he had a job to do.
“I’m going to take a quick look inside, just to be sure. Wait out here. I’ll be
right back.”

She gave him a weak smile and
stepped across the hall. “Yes, Detective.”

Randy stepped inside and gazed
around the orderly space for signs of disturbance. Everything looked exactly as
it had the first time he’d been here. If anything, a little neater. The same
silk flowers and candlestick lamp on the table by the door. To his left, the
rust colored sofa and two patterned upholstered armchairs. Maybe a few more
magazines on the coffee table. He took in the rest of the space. A side table
held an old-style answering machine. His eyes roamed beyond the polished dining
table with its four chairs into the open kitchen. A small home office occupied
what would otherwise have been a breakfast nook. No indications anything was
amiss.

Beyond the kitchen, he found a
small service porch, more a laundry and storage space than anything else. He
unlocked a door to a flight of stairs that led down to the backyard, noticing a
matching staircase from Maggie’s apartment. Randy rattled the knob, swearing
softly under his breath. Might as well not be a lock at all.

A quick check of the closet and
bathroom showed no signs of an intruder. Telling himself it was cop nerves that
had his pulse racing and his mouth dry, he retraced his steps to the hall where
Sarah waited. She raised her eyebrows at his approach.

“Nobody’s here,” he said. Her
eyes were fixed on his holster and he resnapped it. “You were here last night,
right?”

“Yes. I had no reason to think
there was anything wrong.”

“Did the man Maggie described
sound like anyone you know?”

“No. I mean, I’m sure I’ve met
dozens of people who fit that description, but I don’t
know
them
personally.”

“Let’s try to go over everything
you did. When we go inside, I want you to take your time, look around, and see
if there’s anything that seems out of place or doesn’t feel right.”

“Even thinking someone was in
here gives me the creeps.” He saw her shudder and took her elbow to support her.

She smiled up at him. “You can
relax. I’m not going to pass out on you.”

Randy removed his hand, far from
relaxed. Sarah entered the apartment, stopping inside the door, and recapped
her movements of the evening before. “Nothing seemed unusual except the
computer message.”

“What message?”

“An error message when I logged
on about not shutting down properly. I didn’t think that much about it—it’s not
the first time I’ve forgotten the computer’s stupid rules.”

“Would you remember what files
you worked on?”

“Sure. The shop files and my
email. I made some tea and went to bed.”

“Anything seem out of place
anywhere else?”

Sarah stood in her entryway and
stared through her apartment, and Randy knew she was trying to look beyond her
familiar surroundings. “Nothing seems different,” Sarah said.

“What about the kitchen. Anything
wrong there?”

Sarah crossed to the room and
opened a few cabinets. “No, it looks normal. I cleaned up, which means I
probably removed any evidence if he’d been in here.”

“Bedroom?” Randy followed her to
the short hallway that separated the living area from her sleeping quarters.

Sarah checked the closet and
looked in her dresser drawers. “I put my stuff away last night and got dressed
this morning. Nothing seemed weird. I have to admit, I’m not the neatest when
it comes to putting away my laundry, but I don’t think anyone’s taken anything.”

“So you’d say your clothes are
where they belong?” He hesitated, but he had to ask. “Your underwear?”

She jerked her head around and
stared at him. “Why are you interested in my underwear?”

“I’m not, but sometimes—”

“Sometimes what?”

Randy couldn’t answer right away.

“Oh, God.” She yanked the top
drawer open again. “You think he might have been someone who got his jollies
from women’s underwear.”

“It’s not uncommon. But in this
case, no, I think he came here to get what he could from your computer and left
everything else pretty much alone.”

The expression on Sarah’s face
said she didn’t believe him, but he kept his gaze steady and moved on with his
questions. “When you logged on, aside from the error message, were your files
intact? The same as they should have been?”

“I entered the day’s receipts and
everything seemed normal enough. I have backups of everything on disc.”

“If you don’t mind, I can look to
see if I can tell when these were last opened.”

“Go ahead.”

Randy sat down in front of the
computer and powered it on. “You used the computer last night. I’m sure your
prints have obscured any that might have been left on the keyboard or mouse
even if he took his gloves off. Besides, other than the fact that we’re pretty
sure someone was in here, nothing was taken or damaged.” He turned and focused
his eyes on her. “I can call the lab and they’ll come by and make a big mess
out of everything. Or, we can assume that whoever was here was only interested
in your computer files.”

“What’s your recommendation? You’re
the pro here.”

“I have to be honest. Since
nothing was taken and nobody was hurt, I’m afraid it might take quite a while
to get someone out here. This kind of thing is low priority.”

“I don’t think I can face another
round of fingerprint powder, especially if it’s not likely to give us anything.
Do you think I’m being stupid?”

“No, I think you’re being
realistic.” When Randy reached for the mouse, she began to pace the living
room. He noticed her rush down the hallway, but kept his attention on her
computer files until she came from the bedroom carrying an armload of flimsy
garments.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m
going to wash these things. Probably twice. I can’t afford to replace them and
there’s no way I’m wearing them until they’re clean.”

“You know, he probably never
touched them.”

“Probably isn’t good enough. Just
the thought … yuck.”

Randy watched Sarah try to open
the porch door without dropping any of her bundle. He started to offer help,
but didn’t think she’d want him dealing with her underwear, either. He focused
on the computer screen, reminding himself that this was supposed to be a
professional relationship.

All he knew was he couldn’t let
her down. His gut told him he was dealing with something deeper than a series
of coincidences, even if he didn’t have much evidence beyond a probable
breaking and entering.

Fifteen minutes later, Sarah wasn’t
back. It shouldn’t take that long to start a load of wash.

Randy pushed his chair back,
crossed through the kitchen and stopped in the porch doorway. Sarah leaned
against the washing machine, head down. Randy’s heart tugged. First the
robbery, then the break-in. She was hanging on by a thread.

He hesitated, then walked up
behind her and let his fingers brush her shoulders. Sarah stiffened at his
touch. She kept her head down, her soft trembling resonating through the woolen
bulk of her sweater. He turned her around and gathered her against his body, inhaling
faint traces of peach.

The washing machine clunked and
she pulled away. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

Randy tilted her chin up with his
fingers and looked into her eyes. Sarah looked down, avoiding his gaze. “It’s a
normal reaction.” He told himself that his automatic response to holding a
woman in his arms was a normal reaction, too. And hoped she’d been too upset to
notice.

“You must think I’m such a wuss.”

He pulled her face up, forcing
her to meet his eyes. “No, I think you’re someone who’s had a run of trouble.
And I’m here to make things right.”

“Did you find anything in the
computer?” Sarah asked, sniffling and wiping her hands on her skirt, a resolute
expression on her face.

Randy returned to the business at
hand. “Not much. I didn’t see anything modified yesterday except your shop
files, but I’m hardly a computer geek. All we have is Maggie’s word that
someone was in your apartment.”

Sarah pushed past him and went
toward her bedroom, returning with a CD, and slipped it into the drive. “These
are the backup shop records.” She opened several files, then turned back to him.
“Everything looks the same, so, I guess he didn’t change anything. What should
I do?”

“Do you bank online? Do a lot of
online shopping?”

“No, the bank is close to the
shop, so I never bothered with that. I don’t use the Internet much—this
computer is a dinosaur, anyway.” She shrugged. “I have plenty of real-life
stuff to keep me busy.”

Randy nodded. A new computer and
paying for broadband were probably unnecessary luxuries given her current
financial status. “I know what you mean. I spend enough time on the computer at
work.”

“Well, I do play a few games. But
not on line. Just me and my computer.” She tilted her head. “What should I be
doing about the break-in?”

“I suggest tomorrow, first thing,
get a locksmith in here. That lock on your front door is barely adequate and
the one on your back porch is worse. Change them and make sure you get good
deadbolts. And see if the owners will put a security system on the foyer door.
There’s no excuse for such easy access to the building.”

Sarah nodded.

“And, I’d like to make sure he
didn’t bug your phone.”

Sarah’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“Another precaution, but if
nothing was taken, maybe something was left. If the landlady can let the techs
in, you don’t have to be here.”

Her head slumped into her hands. “Whatever.”

“Look, it’s getting late. You
haven’t had anything to eat, and neither have I. Let’s get some food, and I’ll
tell you what I found out.”

Damn. He wanted to surround her
and crush her to him, protect her from all the evil in the world. Instead, he
looked at her with what he hoped was a professional expression. “What do you
feel like eating? Italian? Thai? Barbecue?”

“I don’t know. I’ll let you pick.”
She made no move to get up from the chair.

Randy stepped beside her and
pulled her up. His hands touched hers and that tightness in his chest came
back. Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, held that same trust he’d seen
when he first met her. He was a heartbeat away from breaking every rule in the
book when doorbell chimes, followed by Maggie’s voice, shattered the moment.
Thank God. What was he thinking?

“Sarah? It’s Maggie.”

Sarah worked her hands from Randy’s
grasp. “I’m coming, Maggie. Just a second.” Swiping the back of her hand across
her eyes, she hurried to the door.

“Hello, sweetie. I know you didn’t
have lunch today and I figured the two of you would be busy looking for clues,
so I nuked some of my lasagna.” She bustled past Sarah into the kitchen and set
the casserole on the stove. “If you wait two minutes, I’ve got some salad, too.
And some brownies for dessert. Nothing like chocolate to get the brain in gear,
I always say.” She was almost out the door when she turned back and looked at
Randy. “I brought enough for both of you, of course.”

“How can I resist? It smells
wonderful,” he said.

“Please join us,” Sarah said. “It
looks like more than enough for three.”

“Nonsense. I don’t have anything
more in the way of clues to offer. Besides, Othello and I are going to watch a
movie on the tube tonight.
Thomasina
. He absolutely adores it.” And she
was out the door.

“She is something else,” Randy
said to Sarah.

“That she is. But she’s a
wonderful something else. After David died, I don’t know what I would have done
without her. She took care of so much. And she
is
a great cook. Why don’t
you set the table while I get some rolls?” She indicated a cabinet.

Maggie was back with the salad
and brownies before Randy had finished laying out the silverware. After depositing
the food with Sarah, Maggie went to the living room and returned with the bowl
of silk flowers from Sarah’s entry. She plopped the bowl down in the center of
the dining table. “You make sure she eats,” she said, giving him a stern look,
then whisked away. Randy stared after her, shaking his head.