“I don’t know if I want to wait that long, but I have patients and I’m going to be backed up as it is.”
Janet rose from her desk. “I’ll make a couple of calls. Go take care of your patients.”
Bree pushed away from the door frame. “What about your patients?”
“My next appointment cancelled. I have a few minutes.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Janet rubbed her upper arm. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks.” Bree hurried back to her office and her next appointment.
An hour later, Janet tapped on the exam room door and popped her head in. “Hey. Sorry to interrupt. Come by when you get a chance.”
Bree glanced at the wall clock. “Give me about fifteen?”
“Sounds good.” The door eased close behind her.
“We can finish up now if you need to go,” her patient said.
Bree grinned. “Nice try, Mr. Hanson. You’re not getting out of it that easily.”
She tapped on Janet’s open door. “What’s the verdict?”
Janet swiveled in her chair. “The police did a drive-by. No one answered the door when they knocked. Without a reason, they couldn’t go in.”
“Crap. I figured.”
“Do you know anyone who might have a spare key?”
“No idea.”
“What do you want to do?”
Bree brushed a hand over her ponytail. “I’ll keep calling. If she’s not in tomorrow, it should be enough time for the cops to go into her house, right?”
Janet looked at her with wide eyes. “I don’t have a clue.”
Bree sat in her car and let the air conditioner cool down the interior. Screw it. She pulled the office employee roster from her purse and tapped Cindy’s address into her GPS. The directions led her to a well-maintained apartment complex north of the base. Cindy’s car wasn’t in any of the spaces close to her apartment, and no one answered when Bree knocked. The only window visible on the small, second-story threshold was covered by a thin curtain.
Bree hit the bottom step as Cindy’s downstairs neighbor exited his apartment, carrying a bag of trash. “Excuse me. Hi. Do you know the woman in 2C?”
“Cindy?” he asked. “Yeah. Nice girl. Kind of quiet. Why?” He set the bag of trash down on the grass next to the walkway.
She fiddled with her keys. “She didn’t come in to work this morning. Did you happen to see or hear her?”
“That’s weird. She left at the normal time. I work nights, so I’m usually coming in as she’s leaving. We waved as we drove past.”
“Shoot. Thanks. If you happen to see her, would you ask her to call her boss?”
“Sure thing. Hope she’s okay.” He leaned down and picked up the bag.
Bree gave him a tight smile. “Me too.”
She continued to think about Cindy on the drive home, and her mind flip-flopped between thinking Cindy was just sick and thinking she was lying in a pool of blood. Shit. Who could she call?
“Tim!” She sat upright in her seat. She was such a ditz. She checked her rearview mirror as she pulled to a stop at the intersection. Grabbing her phone from the console, she pulled up her contacts and thumbed Tim’s number. His voice boomed out over Bluetooth and she adjusted the volume.
