Someone's Watching (28 page)

If she was Kate, why wouldn’t she say so?

Robbie spoke gently. “Are you sure it isn’t Kate Brooks?”

“Jesus,” Jeremy said.

The girl gasped. “Oh my God. Who are you? Are you the police?”

“No,” Robbie said. “We’re not cops.” She sat down on the edge of the sofa. Was it possible? Could this really be her sister? Contact lenses, hair dye, and collagen injections would explain the changes. She took the girl’s hand. Cold and trembling. The fingers were long and slender and the nails covered the nail bed with almost no white. Just like Robbie’s. Just like their father’s.

“You are, aren’t you?” Robbie said. “You are Kate Brooks.”

The girl began to cry, her shoulders convulsing. “Please—please don’t call the police.”

Was she somehow responsible for her friend’s death like she wrote in the Facebook message? Robbie doubted it, but then why was she so terrified? “We’re not going to let anyone hurt you. I’m—”

The sound of sirens pierced through the glass door.

Kate jumped, clutching the blanket. “Oh, no.”

Jeremy went to the sliding door and looked down. “Cops are swarming this place. I’ll bet that man and woman described me to the cops and they’re going to come looking for me. We need to get out of here.”

No time now. They’d talk later. Robbie glanced at Jeremy—several days’ beard growth, long hair, swollen eye, jeans, andT-shirt. “Is that what you were wearing when the couple saw you with Tyra?”

“Yeah. But I had sunglasses on.”

“Change,” Robbie said. “I’ll find something for Kate to wear.”

“Good idea.” Jeremy rummaged through the closet, pulled something out, and went into the bathroom.

Robbie opened a drawer where she used to keep her clothes. Shoved in the back, she found a pair of worn jeans, a crumpled tank top, and a baseball cap, all splattered with paint. Work clothes from
when she and Jeremy had first moved into the apartment. Had she left them behind deliberately? She handed the clothes to Kate. “Try these.”

Kate slipped on the jeans over her bathing suit. Their bodies were so similar Robbie could have been looking at herself in the mirror. Her sister. She found her sister. She wanted to rush across the room to hug her, but the police could be coming for Jeremy at any moment.

Robbie found a pair of her old sneakers in the back of the closet.

A buzzing sound came from the bathroom.

Kate put on the sneakers and pushed her hair up into the baseball cap Robbie had given her. “Thank you. Thank you for helping me.”

The door to the bathroom opened. Jeremy had shaved his face and trimmed his hair. He was dressed in a suit and open shirt. It took her back over a year ago when they’d both worked together at the CPA firm.

“I don’t think they’ll be looking for someone in business clothes.” Jeremy checked out Kate. “Good. That’s good. ” He held out his sunglasses. “Should I wear them?”

“Yeah,” Robbie said. “You’re more conspicuous with the swollen eye.”

He pushed them on. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Is it safe to take your car?” Robbie asked.

He paused at the door. “Probably not. The police are very likely setting up a perimeter around the building and the garage.”

“But how would they know the guy arguing with Tyra at the pool was you?”

“They wouldn’t. Not by name. But they’ll definitely be checking everyone who leaves the garage or goes through the front and back entrances of the building.”

“So how are we going to get out of here?” Robbie asked.

“You’ll see,” Jeremy said.

They left the apartment and followed Jeremy to one of the stairwells.

Kate pulled down on the bill of the paint-splattered baseball cap, shadowing her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked.

Her sister. Robbie had found her sister.

On the second floor, Jeremy pushed open the exit door, took a quick glance into the hallway. “Okay. All clear.”

He led them down the empty hallway.

“I see what you’re doing,” Robbie said.

SOBE Grande consisted of three buildings. To an outsider, they appeared to be separate, but they were actually connected by a corridor that led from one building to the next, so people could get to and from the parking garage without getting wet if it rained. Jeremy lived in the north tower.

They continued down the hallway until they reached the center building. This corridor had windows on both sides and was visible from the outside. Jeremy put his arms around Robbie and Kate and the three of them walked through. When they reached the south tower, they hurried down the hallway to the stairwell that led to the back of the building and the loading dock.

They ran down the steps to the first floor. Robbie pushed open the exit door and stuck her head out. The outside door was propped open. A couple of men were moving furniture into the elevator. They got the last piece in, and the elevator closed behind them.

Robbie, Jeremy, and Kate stepped into the vestibule. Jeremy rubbed his clean-shaven cheek. The skin was pale compared to the dark tan around the bridge of his nose and on his forehead. “Let’s hope they haven’t extended the perimeter around all three buildings,” he said.

“I’ll check.” Robbie walked out of the building and scanned the
loading area. There was a trail of furniture leading from the moving truck, a few parked cars, a couple of shopping carts. A security guard was leaning against a column near the loading dock eating a candy bar, his gun conspicuous against his dark pants.

Robbie stepped back into the vestibule and spoke to Jeremy and Kate in a low voice. “There’s a guard, but I don’t think he’s been alerted to anything. Let’s just walk like nothing’s wrong.”

The three of them left the loading area. Robbie smiled at the security guard without stopping.

He waved.

They kept walking, heads up, arms hanging loose. In the background, sirens screamed. Almost to the gate. Just a little farther and they’d be clear. They picked up their pace.

The sound of a staticky voice came over a walkie-talkie.

“Hey,” the security guard called after them.

The three of them froze. Robbie and Jeremy exchanged a look. Kate was biting her lip. Run or stay?

Jeremy turned back to the guard. “What’s up?”

“Have you seen anyone that doesn’t belong here? A guy with a beard, long hair, jeans, T-shirt?”

Jeremy shook his head. “Why? What happened?”

Robbie wanted to kick him. Let’s go, she said telepathically. Stop making goddamn conversation.

“Not sure,” said the guard.

More static on the walkie-talkie. The guard held it up to his ear.

Kate slipped her arm through Jeremy’s. “Come on,” she said softly.

The three of them started walking away.

“What’s that?” the guard said into the walkie-talkie. “Huh? No. Ain’t seen no one here.”

Robbie, Jeremy, and Kate went through the narrow swinging
door in the gate, then continued walking south at a brisk pace, away from the noise of sirens.

“Don’t look back,” Kate said, taking Robbie’s hand. “It’s Sodom.”

And Robbie remembered the story of Lot and his wife led away from the city of Sodom by angels. And how Lot’s wife didn’t listen to the angels. She had glanced back to look at the home she was leaving and became a pillar of salt.

“Don’t worry. We won’t look back.” Robbie squeezed Kate’s hand tighter as they walked. This girl who had called herself Angel. What kind of hell had her sister been living in these last twelve days?

Jeremy stepped into the street and signaled a taxi. It stopped and the three of them climbed into the back.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

Jeremy took off his sunglasses and glanced at Robbie. “Coconut Grove?”

Robbie nodded.

Kate leaned back against the seat looking scared. “What’s in Coconut Grove?”

“Sanctuary,” Jeremy said.

No one spoke during the taxi ride to Jeremy’s grandfather’s house in Coconut Grove. Kate stared out the window, chewing on her finger.

Her sister. But Robbie sensed that now wasn’t the right time to tell Kate. The girl seemed too close to a breaking point. And although Robbie knew she should call her father, it was clear that Kate wasn’t ready to make her presence known to anyone. Robbie would wait until she understood what had happened to Kate and why she was so afraid.

The taxi got off the highway and took a route through dense shrubs and trees that overgrew the sidewalks and shadowed the narrow streets.

“Turn left here,” Jeremy said to the driver. “Second house on the left.”

The taxi stopped in front of a small one-story house that was barely visible behind blooming bougainvillea bushes and drooping palm trees. Robbie remembered the first time she’d come here with Jeremy. How comfortable his grandfather had made her feel, despite his sorrow over his daughter’s recent death.

Jeremy paid the driver and they got out. There were no cars in the driveway. “Looks like no one’s home, but we can go inside. My grandfather won’t mind.” He went to the front steps, reached into a planter and pulled something out. He used the key to unlock the front door.

Kate was standing so close to Robbie that their shoulders touched. She tugged on a strand of blonde hair that had escaped from her baseball cap.

“Let’s go inside,” Robbie said.

Kate hesitated, then followed Robbie up the front steps, through the screened-in porch, and into the house.

Sunlight poured through the windows, falling across hanging baskets of philodendron, the worn sofa, club chairs, ottoman, bookcases, and coffee table covered with family photos. There was a vague smell of dog and Robbie wondered if old Geezer was still alive. In the corner of the room was an upright piano with an old-fashioned clock on the wall above it. The house was happier and better cared for than the first time Robbie had been here. Probably Jeremy’s sister’s touch.

Kate stood in the middle of the living room, feet slightly pigeon-toed, a finger in her mouth.

Jeremy came back from the kitchen with three small bottles of water. He handed one to Robbie, another to Kate. “Would you rather have a Coke or something?” he asked.

Kate seemed surprised by the bottle of water in her hand. “Oh. No, this is fine. Thanks.”

He patted the sofa. “You can sit down.”

She did, on the edge.

Robbie sat next to her. Jeremy continued standing, resting his elbows on the back of one of the club chairs. He had thrown the suit jacket on the piano bench and rolled up his shirtsleeves.

Kate stared at the unopened bottle of water in her hands.

“We need to talk about what happened to you, Kate,” Robbie said.

Kate took off the baseball cap. Her blonde hair cascaded to her shoulders. She didn’t speak.

“Okay,” Robbie said finally. “How about this? We’ll tell you what we know and you can fill in the missing pieces.”

When Kate didn’t respond, Robbie continued. “You and Joanne disappeared a week ago Friday. Your dad came down to Miami to find you.”

Kate widened her eyes. How fake the dark gray looked.

“He’s still in Miami,” Robbie said. “Do you want me to call him?”

Kate shook her head—an emphatic no.

“He’s very worried,” Robbie said.

Kate sucked in her lower lip and looked back down at the water bottle.

“All right then,” Robbie said. “You tell us when you’re ready for him to know.”

Kate mumbled something. It sounded like thank you.

Robbie wanted to tell her to take the gray contact lenses out, but it was clear to her that she’d better not rush things with Kate. She continued in a soft voice. “I imagine you know Joanne’s dead.”

A tear dripped onto Kate’s worn jeans, creating a dark blue spot.

Again, Robbie wondered if Kate was somehow complicit in her friend’s death.

“Her body was found in a canal on Miami Beach last Wednesday.”

“In, in a canal?”

“Yes,” Robbie said. “But the medical examiner said that she’d probably drowned in a swimming pool. Do you know anything about that?”

Another tear stained Kate’s jeans, then another.

Robbie continued talking while Kate stared at her lap. Robbie explained how the receipt in Joanne’s car led her and Jeremy down to Key Largo, and how someone at the tiki bar recalled Kate and Joanne and saw them leaving with two guys. She left out the part about Joanne very likely being raped.

“Can you tell us where those guys took you and what happened?” Robbie asked.

Kate wiped her eyes and put the water bottle down on the coffee table. She picked up one of the photos. It was of Jeremy and his mom, dad, and sister. Kate glanced up at Jeremy, then back at the photo. “So you are cops.”

“No, Kate,” Robbie said. “I told you before. We’re not cops.”

“Then why do you care about this so much?”

Jeremy was massaging his bruised knuckles. He gave Robbie a slight nod.

“When your father came to see me right after you disappeared, there was something else he told me.” It was clear to Robbie that Kate hadn’t seen the Facebook message Robbie had sent her explaining their relationship. “Something I never knew.”

Kate’s body stiffened.

“You and I are half sisters.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our dad was married to my mother before he married yours.”

Kate shook her head. She hadn’t known.

“I lived in Deland until I was seven. Then my mom and I moved to Boston after the divorce. I never saw Dad again until he came looking for you. That was the first time I learned about you.”

“You’re my sister?”

“Yes, Kate.”

“But he never told me. Never said a thing about you.”

“I know.”

“How could he not—” Kate’s voice drifted off.

Her expression went from anger to hurt to doubt. She seemed to be taking Robbie in all over again. “Our eyes,” Kate said. “Your eyes are just like mine. And we’re the same size, and—she looked Robbie up and down. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You are. You really are my sister.”

Robbie reached over then and hugged her. Kate smelled like suntan oil, but there was also a vague, familiar scent coming from her hair. How many times as a child had Robbie looked in the mirror and played with her imaginary sister, braiding her hair, painting her nails?