Flash Point, page 10
Joe picked up his phone and pushed buttons. “Hey, Kyle. Have you seen Sarah’s office yet? What’s it look like?” He met Sarah’s eyes.
She held her breath, watching Joe’s face for any type of reaction.
“Okay, why don’t you talk to her?” He held out the phone.
When she reached for it, her hands were shaking. “Hi, Kyle.”
“Sarah, your office looks about like the rest of the house. Things are pulled out of drawers, paper and files everywhere. And I’m sure they were on your computer. But nothing’s ripped or destroyed. I can’t say if anything was taken; you’ll have to let us know about that.”
Swallowing, she hoped her voice would be steady. She could barely get the words out. “There were some house plans, drawings, on my drafting table. Are they still there?”
Rustling in the background. “Yeah, they’re still here. They’ve been moved around, but it doesn’t look like they’re damaged. The only things that were actually damaged were your couch and mattress. Both of those were knifed. I’ll make sure you get all the info you need to file a claim with your insurance company.”
She closed her eyes. Guess she wasn’t going home tonight. Who would do this? Did it have to do with Connor’s disappearance? That was the only unusual thing in her life. But she didn’t know anything. She hoped Kyle would find some answers soon. “Thanks, Kyle. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. You can always call and ask me anything. Heather will want you to stay with her tonight, I’m sure.”
Sarah said goodbye, hung up the phone, and handed it to Joe.
“Are your plans okay?”
“They’re the only things.” She shook her head. Too many questions. She couldn’t even voice them.
He flipped on the TV. “Put your feet up. Close your eyes. Take a nap and try to forget about all of this until you can actually do something about it.”
She couldn’t sleep, not in front of someone. But lying down sounded good. She tugged her feet out from under Shadow, slipped off her shoes, and stretched out on the couch. The cool leather helped relieve the sick-to-her-stomach feeling. Joe was changing channels. That was one big TV. It took up the whole wall of the living area.
The day’s events clicked through her mind like a vacation slideshow, though she didn’t particularly want to relive them. She and Ryan, except when they were singing, had been moving out of sync all day. Proof that she needed to break things off with him. They just weren’t right for each other. But after his big announcement, there was no way to do that without making everything a huge deal. She just wanted it to all go away.
Still, she should probably call him and let him know what happened. But she didn’t particularly want to talk to him. She glanced over at Joe, whose gaze collided with hers. Warmth flooded her along with a sense of safety. She definitely didn’t want to talk to Ryan with Joe around. In fact, she didn’t want to think about Ryan. Joe would keep her safe.
Maybe she would just close her eyes for a minute.
Joe watched Sarah sleep, the baseball game on TV forgotten. He’d never thought he could get so much pleasure watching someone sleep. The tension in her face had eased, leaving a peacefulness in its wake. What would Ryan think if he could see her now?
He eased out of his chair, not wanting to wake her. The thought of Ryan made him restless. He headed for his room. The game couldn’t hold his interest, but maybe the book next to his bed could. He picked it up then set it back down. His room could use a little straightening. The doorway was at the end of the hall, so it was visible from the living room. He picked up dirty clothes and tossed them in the hamper. It was overflowing. He’d have to do laundry soon.
The phone rang, and he yanked it out of his pocket, hoping to get it before it woke up Sarah. Kyle’s name flashed on the screen.
“We’ve finished at Sarah’s. I’ve got a couple of questions for her, and then do you mind taking her to Heather’s? They got to her car too.”
He closed his eyes. Sarah didn’t deserve this. “I’ll bring her over.”
“Thanks.”
Joe put the phone next to the bed and ran his hand through his hair. It was not going to be easy on Sarah going back there. Maybe he should call Ryan. Would she want him there? The thought turned his stomach. He’d let her decide, but she hadn’t called Ryan yet. Maybe she didn’t want to. She had Kyle and him, and she was going to Heather’s.
He headed out to the living room. Sarah was sitting up, smoothing her hair.
“You’re up. How’d you sleep?”
“Okay, I guess. I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep.” She glanced at her watch, and her eyes widened. “Two hours!”
“I think you needed it. That was Kyle on the phone. They’ve finished up, but he has a couple of questions for you. You can get some of your stuff; then I’ll take you to Heather’s.”
She nodded, picked up her purse, and stood.
Joe guided her out the front door, telling Shadow to stay, and then locked the door behind them. He rested his hand lightly on her back until he was sure she was okay. When they got to her place, only one unit and Kyle’s truck remained.
Sarah’s face paled as she walked into her house. There wasn’t one thing that had been left untouched. Every cupboard was opened, every drawer emptied. Flour, spices, and other pantry items had been opened and scattered across the kitchen. It smelled like his mom’s cooking, a comforting scent that seemed strangely out of place in the destroyed kitchen.
Her eyes took in the room, but she didn’t say anything as she moved down the hall. She looked into the first room, which served as her office, stilled for a moment, and then moved down the hall. When she got to her bedroom she put her hands over her face. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
Joe touched her shoulder. “You don’t have to deal with any of this tonight. Just get what you need for Heather’s, and then you can come back tomorrow, take pictures, and talk to your insurance company.”
She didn’t move for a long moment. Finally, though, she nodded and went into her closet. Everything was lying in a heap on the ground, but she rooted around until she found an overnight bag and a few things.
Joe felt helpless. She knew what she needed; he didn’t.
He looked in the master bath. Every bottle had been upended and every bit of makeup smashed and dumped out.
He tamped down his anger as he headed back down the hall to where Kyle was in the kitchen. “What happened? This isn’t a burglary or someone trying to find something. This is a personal attack against her.”
“I know.” Kyle sighed and glanced toward the hallway, lowering his voice. “Look, she’s going to need to lean on you. Ryan—I don’t know what’s going on there, but despite what he may think or say—Sarah’s not into him. And I have that on good authority from Heather. You need to forget about him and be what Sarah needs. That’s what you want, right?”
Joe nodded. He and Kyle didn’t mess in each other’s business. Unless they needed to. He’d had a few hard words for Kyle regarding Heather last month, so now it was his turn.
“You need to see this.” Kyle took a few steps and opened the door that connected the garage to the house, flipping on the light. Sarah’s Acura was parked in the garage, a relatively neat space compared to the rest of the place. He could see through the windshield that her seats had been ripped open and the contents of the glove box strewn around. But the windshield itself was the most shocking thing.
Red letters—looked like lipstick, probably Sarah’s—were printed on the glass.
I WANT WHAT’S MINE. I’LL BE BACK.
Chapter Eleven
Sarah leaned back in her chair and stretched. It was only ten, and she was already having trouble staying awake. Usually drowsiness didn’t hit her until mid-afternoon. It probably had something to do with the fact that she didn’t sleep well on the couch at Heather’s. Though after what had happened Sunday, she wouldn’t have slept well anywhere.
The insurance adjuster was supposed to meet her at her place in a while. As much as she’d wanted to start cleaning, both Joe and Kyle had stopped her. She’d had to leave everything as it was until the adjuster inspected it and made a report.
She stood and headed to the break room. Maybe she should just take the day off. She had to go shopping sometime today to replace, well, everything. Luckily, her large purse had her extra makeup, face wipes, and moisturizer. Knowing what she had to face at home was more than enough to send her over the edge.
Opening the small fridge, she grabbed a Diet Coke.
Mark walked in and refilled his mug from the coffeepot. “How are you holding up? You look tired.” She had showed him pictures of the house yesterday and brought him up to speed.
He’d been on a call most of the morning, so she hadn’t wanted to disturb him with her plans for the day. “I’ll feel better once the insurance company does their thing, and I can start putting things back together. I’m heading over there soon and will probably be gone the rest of the day.”
“Do you need anything?”
She sighed. “A shovel.” She gave a short laugh.
“Take all the time you need and hire a cleaning crew. You don’t need to be here. Eric can handle things.”
“Some stuff I have to do myself, but the cleaning crew’s a good idea.” Inwardly, she groaned. Did Mark not see how people bristled when Eric came in the room? He was a great architect, maybe even brilliant, but his people skills were terrible. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Work helps keep my mind off things I can’t control anyway. How are things with Martha?”
He grimaced. “I know this is bad timing. You have a lot on your plate. But after Friday, I won’t be coming into the office on a regular basis. You and I can set up regular meetings and calls, but you’ll be running the show.” His shoulders slumped, and he seemed to age before her eyes. “Martha wandered off yesterday while I was sleeping.”
“Oh, Mark! You must have been terrified. Is she okay?”
He nodded and swallowed. “Yeah, just a little dehydrated. But I can’t leave her alone. I’ve been making arrangements all morning. It’s time.”
She touched his arm. “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
He squeezed her hand. “You’re doing it. I’m not worried about the business. I know you’ll do a great job.” His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “I have to get this.” He touched the screen and moved off.
She returned to her office and rubbed her hands over her face. Why did life have to be so difficult? For her, for Mark, for Heather. She felt so out of control. There had to be something she could do.
Kyle had showed her the message the intruder left on her car. She had no idea what it meant. Who was this person, and what did they think she had? She popped open her can and took a sip, the carbonated bubbles waking her up. Kyle was reassuring, and she trusted him. But the whole situation was frustrating. And scary. How could she give them what they wanted if she didn’t even know what it was? Maybe they were mistaken, confusing her with someone else. The only thing this could possibly be related to was Greg Connor’s disappearance. He’d given her that site map . . .
Maybe she could do something. She clicked on a couple of files until she had several open on her screen. They’d done multiple projects in the Foothill Corridor area. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but maybe she would when she saw it. What did she hope to accomplish? Probably nothing, but if there was one thing she hated, it was not fully understanding a situation.
Sarah studied the aerial topographic surveys of the area she’d opened. Yep, they overlapped Greg’s site as she’d hoped. She moved the aerial photographs around until they were side by side. One was from about six months ago, the other a couple of weeks ago. They covered different areas, so she zoomed and resized the windows until the areas were approximately the same size. Even the most recent photo still showed the eucalyptus grove still standing that had burned last week. She glanced between the two pictures, focusing on the grove and the surrounding area.
Something was different. This was the area, right? Yes, she matched up the streets. But the topography was different. The land contours had changed between the two pictures. What was going on? There’d been no recent mudslides.
She shifted in her chair, trying to stretch her back. That couch definitely wasn’t comfortable.
The site map. It had cut and fill amounts on it. She concentrated on remembering what it said. She hadn’t really looked at it until she handed it to Kyle.
If they were grading the site, that would explain the contour changes. So what? Why would they care if she had their cut/fill sheet? Maybe they were grading without a permit. Not legal, but not that unusual.
It was probably nothing. Grading was not that big of a deal, certainly not worth trashing someone’s house over. And did she really want to get any more involved in this thing? She should just leave the investigation to the pros and not give someone another excuse to come after her.
She closed her eyes. She couldn’t do that. She’d come up with something, no matter how small, and she should call Kyle and let him know. Kyle was nice; he wouldn’t make her feel stupid if what she’d found was nothing. Which it probably was. She picked up the phone.
Joe threw another load in the washing machine and closed the lid. The sound of water filling the tub echoed through the small closet off the kitchen that served as his laundry area. He picked up the clean clothes and carried them to the couch. He sort of folded things the way his mom had showed him. He hated doing laundry and put it off until his hamper was overflowing.
He could take it over to his mom’s. She’d do it for him, but as much as he hated doing laundry, that felt like too much of an imposition on her. However, when he’d been fighting brush fires for days on end and was completely wiped out, she’d come over and done his laundry, stocked his fridge, frozen some meals for him. She took good care of him. His sisters complained that he was spoiled, that Mom never did those things for them. Which was true. There were a few perks to being the only male in a family of girls.
The thought squeezed his chest. He’d been the only male since his dad had died when he was in high school. That was a mixed bag of emotions. Things had been good between them when he’d died, but a life of alcoholism had taken him all too soon, something Joe had a hard time forgiving his father for. Among other things.
His stomach growled. He carried his clothes to the bedroom, put them away, and started thinking about lunch. What was Sarah doing? She’d been on his mind all day yesterday while he’d been on shift. She and Heather had come over to let Shadow out and feed him last night, still thoughtful after all she’d been through. Though he and Shadow got through their morning workout faster by running, he’d missed her company. Shadow did too, it seemed. He kept looking at Joe like, “Where is she?” He’d give her a call. Most likely she’d be coming to her condo today, and he didn’t think she should be there alone.
He shoved the last drawer shut and pulled out his phone. She picked up on the first ring. “Hey, just checking to see how you were doing, and if you were heading over to your condo today.”
“I have an appointment with the adjuster in, oh”—he heard the phone shift—“half an hour. I’ve got to get a rental car so Heather can have her car back. Then, depending on how much I get done, I might be back over there later. But I’m staying with Heather again tonight.”
“I’m off today, so let me know when you get over here. I don’t think you should be in your condo alone. And I’ll go with you to pick up the rental car.”
“You don’t have to do that. I feel like I’ve imposed on you a lot lately.” Her voice was soft in his ear.
“It’s not an imposition. I want to help.”
A moment of silence, then a sniff. “I appreciate that.”
“I’ll see you in a few.” He slid the phone back into his pocket but stood there for a moment. She hadn’t mentioned Ryan. And obviously Ryan wasn’t helping her with the adjuster or her rental car. So maybe things weren’t so solid in that area. He shook his head. He couldn’t figure out why Ryan wasn’t doing those things for her. Those were the kinds of things you did for… people you cared for.
Sarah sat in the parking lot at work in Heather’s Miata, driver-side door propped open to let the heat escape while the air conditioning started working. One of Heather’s CDs shuffled on.
The weight of everything that had happened pressed against her chest. Tears spilled out her eyes, and she dashed them away. All of her things could be replaced. So why was she so upset? She hoped Joe couldn’t tell over the phone. She was glad he was going to be there. The thought of entering her condo again alone was something she hadn’t let herself think about.
She put the phone away then checked her hair and makeup in the rearview mirror. Her hair was past her shoulders now—probably needed a trim—and felt a little wilder than usual since she had to use styling products meant for Heather’s straight hair and not Sarah’s wavy mane. Of course, that could pretty much sum up the last twenty-four hours. Even the car smelled like Heather’s pear lotion. She shook her head. Time to go.
Cool air now blew out of the vents, and Sarah headed toward her condo. She switched off the CD, needing the quiet to soothe her. Until she could get her condo back in shape, she’d have precious few moments of alone time staying with Heather. She would need what she could get if she expected to stay sane through this nightmare.
She pulled in front of her condo, and a chill washed over her. It was weird parking out here and not in her garage. How was she going to feel when she got inside? At work, she’d been able to focus on Mark’s problems and take care of what needed to be done for the office. But here it all came crashing back.
