The elevator opened again behind me, and I realized I was still standing where Colin Slade had left me bewildered by his presence and his offer.
I wasn’t sure exactly what had changed, but something had.
CHAPTER FOUR
Iwoke up to a bright Wednesday morning. I’d forgotten to close my curtains the night before, and sunlight streamed in. Outside, people were dragging trash cans to the curb, the sound of wheels disrupting the quiet.
Ugh. I hadn’t taken the trash out. In my robe and the first sandals I could find, I took the trash can from its hiding place in my yard and placed it where it belonged on the street. Cars on their way to work zoomed past me.
Back inside, I started my morning coffee, and as I grabbed my phone to check the daily news app, I noticed two missed calls from Grant. My brow furrowed, and then my phone rang. Grant again.
“Hello?” I answered slowly.
“Finally!” His voice was frantic. “I’m in front of Kirkman’s house. Can you meet me here?”
“Grant, no! I have that meeting today, remember? I can’t be late. What are you doing there?”
“I have to get inside. I’ve seen no movement since last night.” His voice was raspy.
“You’ve been watching his house all night?!” I squeaked.
“How else would I find out what’s going on?”
“Knock on the door?” I left out theduh, noting that would be my one act of patience with Grant for the day.
“I’d need an excuse, and anyway, it’s not like he’ll be like, ‘Here, come let me show you where I’m holding Margaret in my secret den of horrors.’ No. If you come and find an excuse to knock on the door and get him out of there, I can go in through the back.”
“Breaking and entering?! You need some sleep, Grant. That’s insane. I’m not going to be an accessory to a crime!”
“Never mind, then,” he said and hung up.
I squinted at the phone and shook my head. He was way too invested in this. I was worried about Maggie too, but he had already called the police. We’d tried everything in our power to find her. There was no way I’d break into someone’s house, much less the house of someone we onlyslightlysuspected might be a kidnapper on zero evidence.
Plus, I had the meeting later.
I pushed the coffee away, thinking all that caffeine wouldn’t help the nervousness that was creeping up on me. I made non-caffeinated herbal tea instead, banging my elbow on the kitchen counter twice in the process, which led to a minute-long cursing tirade.
My mom called. I stared at the phone, considering not answering. I almost pressed the red circle on the screen, but sighed loudly and went for the green one.
“Hi, Mom!” I lied about how I was feeling with my cheerful tone.
“Sweetie, I saw your text from last night. I was already asleep, but Katie, sweetie, go on that work trip.” All the “sweeties” were like a hammer to my guilty heart.
“But Mom, you need the medium pan. I’ve got a different bathing suit picked out. Roni and Lisa were going to teach ushow to salsa dance.” It all sounded so ridiculous when I said it aloud. When had I replaced people my own age with retirees?
Oh, yeah. I remember.But I didn’t want to remember.
“This is a chance to make connections at work and show them how wonderful you are. Katie, you are going to go and you are going to work hard and have a great time. I’ll see you the following weekend. You definitely can’t miss that one because it’s Roni’s birthday party.”
“I know,” I said, reaching into my closet for the burgundy sweater I liked. “She said she was going to teach us salsa dancing because it’s a Latin Nights theme.”
“Let’s face it, sweetie. You were never going to learn to dance salsa in one weekend.”
I threw the sweater on the bed. “Mom!”
“You can’t dance. That’s the truth of it. It’s better to be accepting of ourselves and love ourselves just the way we are. You are never going to win a ballroom dancing competition, and I’m never going to win a Grammy.”
I laughed. “Definitely not. In fact, you’re forbidden from ever singing any lullabies to any future children I might have.”
