tried to shut her up?”
“Right,” she said. “A possibility, anyway.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe she had some kind of proof that he did it, alibi or no alibi. Otherwise, what the hell would anybody try to steal from her? I mean, even the most rabid Georgette Heyer fan wouldn’t go to the trouble of prying off the bars on the back windows to steal these paperbacks.”
“Georgette Heyer?”
“The author of these genteel Regency romances,” I said, pointing to the books. “Not the sort of reading that leads to a life of crime.”
“No, I guess not.”
“It wasn’t a random break-in, though. He was looking for her place specifically-Esther said he had been watching the apartment, checking mailboxes.”
“Bene.
We agree.”
“Tell you what. Let’s take a quick look through whatever papers McCain left in the desk and then pack up here. If we have time, maybe we can find the little market she was walking to, try to locate the place where the accident happened. It’s supposed to be close to here.”
“Sounds good. Monday morning, I’ll see if I can learn anything more from McCain.”
“You don’t need to get involved-”
“You think you can keep me out of this? Besides, your aunt Mary was right. You’re going to need to find your cousin-and fast. If the alibi can be broken, he’s probably next on his dear old dad’s hit list.”
Just as she said this, we heard an urgent knocking on the front door.
I opened it to see Ruby looking flushed and excited. “He’s here!” she shouted.
6
“Who’s here?” I asked, still thinking of Travis.
I heard a car driving off just as Esther, hurrying down the stairs, hollered, “Damnation, Ruby! You scared him off. Didn’t even get a chance to look at the plates!”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked, stepping out of the apartment to look up and down the street. Rachel joined me, but neither one of us saw any moving vehicles.
“The one who tried to break into the apartment!” Ruby said. “I noticed him first,” she added, glancing back at Esther with a look of reproach. “Maybe if I hadn’t taken the time to call Esther, we would have been able to surprise him.”
“Did you get a better look at the car?” Rachel asked.
She blushed, then shook her head.
“The color?” I asked.
“Green!” she answered quickly.
“Brown!” Esther countered.
I asked them to wait, then went inside the apartment to get my purse, pulled out a couple of business cards and a pen. I wrote my home phone number on the backs of the cards, then handed them to Briana’s neighbors. “If you see him again, call me-doesn’t matter what time of day.”
“You’re a reporter?” Ruby asked. When I said yes, Esther began to give me some ideas for improving the
Express
-although she admitted that she had stopped taking it about ten years ago-continuing until Ruby said, “For crying out loud, Esther! She works there, she doesn’t own it. They ever ask you how the wing on a plane ought to be built when you were answering phones at Douglas? If the answer is yes, I’m never going to fly anywhere again!”
Rachel started laughing, which made Esther put her chin up in the air. I did my best to smooth her ruffled feathers, thanked them both, and Rachel and I went back into the apartment.
“Think he’ll be back?” Rachel asked as she shut the door.
“No,” I said. “Not unless he thinks we failed to find whatever he’s looking for.”
She looked around the room thoughtfully, eyeing the ceiling, walls and floor as if looking for a secret compartment.
“You said your aunt Mary arranged for movers to pick up the furniture?” she asked.
“Yes, they’re coming Monday. And she’s hired a cleaning crew to come by on Tuesday. So we’re just taking the personal items-clothing, papers, dishes, pictures-things like that.”
“Yeah, all right,” she said absently.
I wasn’t surprised when she started pulling the built-in drawers all the way out,
“Right,” she said. “A possibility, anyway.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe she had some kind of proof that he did it, alibi or no alibi. Otherwise, what the hell would anybody try to steal from her? I mean, even the most rabid Georgette Heyer fan wouldn’t go to the trouble of prying off the bars on the back windows to steal these paperbacks.”
“Georgette Heyer?”
“The author of these genteel Regency romances,” I said, pointing to the books. “Not the sort of reading that leads to a life of crime.”
“No, I guess not.”
“It wasn’t a random break-in, though. He was looking for her place specifically-Esther said he had been watching the apartment, checking mailboxes.”
“Bene.
We agree.”
“Tell you what. Let’s take a quick look through whatever papers McCain left in the desk and then pack up here. If we have time, maybe we can find the little market she was walking to, try to locate the place where the accident happened. It’s supposed to be close to here.”
“Sounds good. Monday morning, I’ll see if I can learn anything more from McCain.”
“You don’t need to get involved-”
“You think you can keep me out of this? Besides, your aunt Mary was right. You’re going to need to find your cousin-and fast. If the alibi can be broken, he’s probably next on his dear old dad’s hit list.”
Just as she said this, we heard an urgent knocking on the front door.
I opened it to see Ruby looking flushed and excited. “He’s here!” she shouted.
6
“Who’s here?” I asked, still thinking of Travis.
I heard a car driving off just as Esther, hurrying down the stairs, hollered, “Damnation, Ruby! You scared him off. Didn’t even get a chance to look at the plates!”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked, stepping out of the apartment to look up and down the street. Rachel joined me, but neither one of us saw any moving vehicles.
“The one who tried to break into the apartment!” Ruby said. “I noticed him first,” she added, glancing back at Esther with a look of reproach. “Maybe if I hadn’t taken the time to call Esther, we would have been able to surprise him.”
“Did you get a better look at the car?” Rachel asked.
She blushed, then shook her head.
“The color?” I asked.
“Green!” she answered quickly.
“Brown!” Esther countered.
I asked them to wait, then went inside the apartment to get my purse, pulled out a couple of business cards and a pen. I wrote my home phone number on the backs of the cards, then handed them to Briana’s neighbors. “If you see him again, call me-doesn’t matter what time of day.”
“You’re a reporter?” Ruby asked. When I said yes, Esther began to give me some ideas for improving the
Express
-although she admitted that she had stopped taking it about ten years ago-continuing until Ruby said, “For crying out loud, Esther! She works there, she doesn’t own it. They ever ask you how the wing on a plane ought to be built when you were answering phones at Douglas? If the answer is yes, I’m never going to fly anywhere again!”
Rachel started laughing, which made Esther put her chin up in the air. I did my best to smooth her ruffled feathers, thanked them both, and Rachel and I went back into the apartment.
“Think he’ll be back?” Rachel asked as she shut the door.
“No,” I said. “Not unless he thinks we failed to find whatever he’s looking for.”
She looked around the room thoughtfully, eyeing the ceiling, walls and floor as if looking for a secret compartment.
“You said your aunt Mary arranged for movers to pick up the furniture?” she asked.
“Yes, they’re coming Monday. And she’s hired a cleaning crew to come by on Tuesday. So we’re just taking the personal items-clothing, papers, dishes, pictures-things like that.”
“Yeah, all right,” she said absently.
I wasn’t surprised when she started pulling the built-in drawers all the way out,
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