CHAPTER TWO
Ashley stood outside her apartment with Mrs. Moretti’s meat cleaver in her hand.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Bonnie whispered. “What if the man came back when no one was looking?”
Ashley held her finger to her lips and pressed her ear against the door. “I can’t hear anyone moving around.”
Bonnie stepped forward and held her head against the door, too. “You’re right. Unless he’s super quiet, your apartment’s empty.”
Sweat trickled down Ashley’s spine. She hoped none of her neighbors saw her standing in the hallway. They’d get the fright of their lives and call the police—which is what she should have done. And she would have—if the explanation about why the man was there hadn’t made her partly responsible for what was happening.
She bit her bottom lip. “I’ll open the door.”
“I’ll stand behind you. Be careful—the meat cleaver is heavy.”
Ashley inserted her key into the lock, wincing when the pins dropped into the tumbler. She pushed on the handle, opening the door a fraction of an inch, listening for any noise.
Bonnie stood right behind her, holding her jacket.
Taking a deep breath, Ashley opened the door wider. She tried to see beyond the deepening shadows in the room and the furniture she’d bought from thrift stores.
“It looks okay,” she whispered. “I think we’re safe.”
“Turn on the lights.”
Bonnie’s breath tickled Ashley’s neck. She patted the wall until she found the switches. “Are you ready?” Her jacket pulled as Bonnie’s hand gripped the fabric.
“I’m ready.”
“Okay. Here goes…one, two, three…” Ashley flicked the row of switches and stared at her living room.
“What do you see?”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Nothing.”
Bonnie gasped. “Did he take everything?”
“No. Not nothing as in no furniture. Nothing as in no one seems to be here.” Ashley moved further into the room, still holding the meat cleaver. Until they searched the entire apartment, she wasn’t giving up her only form of defense.
Bonnie followed her as they checked her bedroom, the closet, and the small bathroom. By the time they’d searched the kitchen, it was obvious that the man Mr. Stokes had seen wasn’t there.
Ashley left the cleaver on the counter and frowned. Something was wrong.
Bonnie moved around her living room, stopping when she reached the bookcase. “Your TV and sound system are still here. Where’s your laptop?”
Ashley rushed across the room. The battery recharger was where she’d left it, but her laptop was gone. “I left it there this morning.”
She ran into her bedroom and checked the bedside table, under her bed, and in her closet.
“Did you find it?”
“No—it’s gone.”
“Did you have any information about Jasmine Alfredo on it?”
“No. I moved everything to my cloud storage account.” Ashley sat on the end of her bed and sighed. “I need to tell you something.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
