A few minutes later, they got off at the lobby level and then moved to stand slightly away from the crush of people. Tyler's gaze scanned the lobby, and she followed in kind, but she wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for or even why he was suspicious of the victim's sister.
"What are you thinking?" she asked. "You seem a little edgy for what's happening right now."
"That man—Max Malone—I've met him before."
Now she was surprised. "Seriously? Why didn't you say something yesterday?"
"Because he didn't look the same when I met him. He had a beard, and his hair was much longer. He also had a different name that I can't recall now. But today, when I looked at his green eyes, I recognized him."
"Where did you meet him?"
"I'm not sure. Afghanistan, Iraq, maybe Syria." His lips tightened. "It was three or four years ago, when I was serving overseas. I believe he was working with the CIA."
"That would explain why his work history has been scrubbed. But what does it mean for this case?"
"Maybe nothing. It's not unusual for a former CIA agent to go into private security, and Dominic Ashford has global interests."
"Since Dominic was seeing Samantha, it makes sense he'd be looking into what happened," she added. "But Max Malone is cagey. He answers questions with questions, and I'm not sure if he's trying to find out what happened to Samantha or make sure no one else does."
"As in protecting his boss?"
"Maybe. Although it seems unlikely Dominic Ashford would blow up a café filled with people to get rid of a girlfriend."
"Unless she had something on him, and he wanted it to look bigger than a targeted attack."
"Something to consider," she said, happy to see Julia step off the elevator. Getting into Samantha's apartment would be more than helpful, and not having to wait longer for a search warrant would be even better.
Samantha's apartment was in Tribeca, in an old but elegant building with a uniformed doorman out front. There was also a security person at the front desk, who alerted the building manager, and shortly thereafter, the manager appeared and escorted them up to the tenth floor. He opened the door for them, and they stepped inside.
The apartment was modern and bright with white walls, light-gray floors, and a mix and match of thick accent carpets. There were paintings on the walls, expensive pottery and sculptures in showcased alcoves. It felt more like a museum and less like a home. But that seemed to fit the person they were getting to know.
Julia wandered around, an awed look on her face. "I had no idea she lived like this," she murmured.
"You haven't been here before?" Kara asked.
"No. She moved in last year. She said it was nice, but this is beyond nice. God, she must feel like she's in the ghetto when she comes to visit me."
For the first time, there was an edge of bitter jealousy in Julia's voice, which surprised Kara. Maybe the sisters weren't as close as one might think. She made her way through the living room into a glass-partitioned office, while Tyler headed down the hall.
"There's nothing of us here," Julia muttered a moment later as she followed her into the office. "No family photos, none of the crayon drawings my kids send her. Maybe she just throws them away. She probably just humors me by saying she likes them."
As Kara flipped through the drawers in the filing cabinet, she found the aforementioned drawings in a pile and was relieved to have something to cheer Julia up. "She doesn't throw them away." She pulled the pictures out and placed them on the neat and organized glass desk.
"Oh," Julia said in surprise, picking up the first one. "Now I feel terrible for saying that, because she did keep them." Her lips trembled as she stared at the childish drawing of a family at a park. "She was supposed to come to this birthday party, but she couldn't make it because she had to work, so my son drew a picture and put her in it." She struggled to compose herself. "She might never be at another party." She shook her head in terrified grief. "I can't do this. I can't be here right now. It feels like we're cleaning things up after she's gone, and I don't want her to be gone."
"You can wait downstairs," she said. "We won't be long."
"No. I'm just going to go to the hospital. I need to see her. I need to sit by her bed. I'll take a taxi."
"Okay, but before you go, would you know any of her passwords? For her computer?"
Julia gave her a blank look, then shook her head. "No. Sorry. I wish I could help, but I can't." With the drawing in her hand, she whirled around and headed out of the office.
A moment later, Kara heard the front door close. Maybe that was just as well. She needed more time to go through Samantha's office.
Tyler joined her about ten minutes later, a frustrated expression on his face. "I got nothing. And everything is so neat it's unsettling."
"I agree. If anyone looked through my things, they'd find a lot more mess."
