“On the porch, please, ma’am.”
She walked up with him, and to her great joy, the porch lights came on. “Do you think that was Kelly?”
Morris glanced up and shook his head. “No, these are motion-activated after dark. Let me just take a look inside. I’ll be right back, but holler if you need me.”
Five minutes passed before he returned, and all the while, her foreboding grew. When the deputy stumbled out onto the porch, looking green and queasy, she knew. But she shook her head anyway at the horror she saw in his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I need to call this in.”
Mia followed on his heels like a puppy. His calmness was keeping her from breaking down, so she figured she’d better stay close. She was surprised to hear him use plain English when describing the situation to Dispatch.
“I need the county coroner on scene immediately. Looks like a burglary-turned-homicide when the homeowner interrupted the perp.” Morris turned then, intercepting her puzzled look. “We retired the codes after 9/11. Different counties had different codes, and it hampered our ability to respond to real emergencies. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you some questions. Want to get in the squad car where it’s warmer?”
“Sure.”
Once they’d settled in the front seat, he got out his notepad. “How long did you know Ms. Clark?”
“Not long. A few weeks. I worked with her.”
“But you became friendly on the job?”
“Yes. We were going to hang out tonight.”
“So you came to her residence at the appointed time and…” He trailed off, inviting her to fill in the blanks.
“The house was really quiet, and I knew we were supposed to meet. I tried the door. Saw the rug and the lamp, and I called nine one one.”
“You didn’t go upstairs?”
“No, I just had-” She broke off, feeling foolish.
“A bad feeling? There’s nothing wrong with trusting your gut. Turns out you were right. Lucky you didn’t show up any earlier. You might’ve surprised the perp.”
Jesus. It didn’t bear consideration. Kyra would rip the guy’s arms off and feed them to him. Mia could offer to do his taxes with hella-good deductions.
“So, you think it’s a robbery gone wrong?”
“Looks that way. I don’t have any other questions for you right now, Ms. Sauter. If you’d like to go, you can leave your name and contact information. If we have more follow-up, I’ll get in touch.”
She thought about Kelly’s family-her mom and dad, those four brothers she’d talked about. Jay, Vince, Brant, and Lyle. “Who calls the family in these cases?”
“Generally, the sheriff finds out where the family lives and then informs local police. It’s not the kind of news you want to give over the phone.”
“I guess not.” Except once Kelly’s parents knew, they’d have to call her brothers. Mia felt sick. “Yeah, I think I will go home. Thanks.”
She slid out of the squad car and headed for her Focus. It took a couple of minutes before she could even start it. Eventually, she started the engine and maneuvered around the deputy’s vehicle. He waved as she went by.
Fiddling with the radio gave her something else to think about other than how doomed her situation was. Mia knew what had happened to Kelly was no accident. They might’ve made it look like a burglary gone bad, but she didn’t believe in coincidences of that magnitude. Just a few days ago, she and Kelly had been talking about Micor here at the house. She’d guessed the facility wasn’t safe, but how could she have ever imagined they’d go this far? Invade Kelly’s privacy so completely? Dammit, she didn’t have the mentality for cloak-and-dagger shit.
Mia didn’t want to go back to the condo; the killer could be waiting for her. But she needed her stuff. She couldn’t afford to let her laptop fall into the wrong hands, or she’d have the police after her, too. There would be traces of the accounts she’d hacked searching for the embezzler. And who was going to look after the damned cat? Maybe she could impose on one of the neighbors. She drove, trying to work out a strategy in her head.
Withdraw a large amount of cash. No use of credit cards.
No question, she was done at Micor. She had to run. Maybe Kyra could help; she knew all about staying one step ahead of people who wanted to kill her. Once she reached the condo, she scanned the parking lot as she remembered Søren doing in Vegas. Everything appeared quiet.
Mia hopped out of the car and dashed for the building.
Though she heard nothing, someone leapt on her from behind, pushing her into the pavement. A knife pricked her throat, and blood trickled downward. She froze. The attacker stank of stale sweat with an acrid chemical undertone, a stink she’d remember forever.
The voices of people exiting the structure gave her hope he wouldn’t kill her right here. “Hey, what’re you doing, pal? Get off her! I’m calling the cops.”
Mia tried to speak, but before she could get the words out, the man slammed her head into the cement. Pain exploded through her skull.
Mia wasn’t home.
He told himself he wasn’t worried. Maybe, despite being in an unfamiliar town, she’d made friends at work and they’d gone out for a drink. Just because she’d been home the other times he stopped by, it didn’t obligate her always to be there.
His agitation increased as the time ticked on. Søren slid out of his car and went up to knock again. Maybe she’d parked somewhere else or switched vehicles for some reason. Maybe she’d arrive shortly. There was no reason to fear for her, despite her involvement in his business.
And then, coming down the walk, he saw her.
Blood had dried on her neck, and there was an enormous knot on her forehead. She moved with the careful pace of someone pretending not to be drunk… or injured. He sprinted toward her-and it nearly did him in when she flinched, her eyes taking too long to focus in the light outside her front door.
A couple trailed behind her. “Are you okay? Should I call the cops?”
The female half of the pair didn’t seem too eager to get involved. “We have reservations,” she mouthed at her boyfriend or husband, whatever he was.
“No, it’s all right. I’ve got her.”
Søren led her to the door by the hand, ignoring the onlookers. To his relief, Mia didn’t question his presence, but she stood in front of the condo door looking smaller than usual. Her blouse was ripped on the elbow. Beneath the golden skin, she looked pale, fighting a profound reaction to whatever had happened.
“I’ll follow you in. Try not to worry.”
Her fingers trembled when she attempted to unlock the door. It took her three tries to get them into the condo.
Instinct took over then. “Wait here. I’ll check things out.” Søren prowled through the flat, wishing she set tells like he did. From what he could see, the place was untouched. “Does anything look like it’s been moved, Mia?”
“I don’t think so.” She stood like an automaton, reinforcing his fear she was in shock.
But he knew she wouldn’t be content until they got her things, and she was in shape to pack, so he helped her silently. Then he put the kettle on, intending to get some tea in her, lots of sugar this time, no sweetener. She let him put his hands on her, tilting her face toward the light.
“Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
“A man attacked me.”
“Talk to me, princess. Give me more.”
“Kelly, a woman I know from work, has been killed.” Tonelessly, she gave him a summary of what had happened-and why.
Jesus. Her cover had been compromised. Søren tried to tell himself it wasn’t the dumbest thing she could’ve done. She had no reason to suspect they were dealing with a monstrous enemy, one that didn’t balk at total infringement of civil rights. They didn’t even hesitate at murder. Christ, I should’ve warned her. She doesn’t know these things by heart, like I do. Ordinary people don’t assume their homes might be violated. They don’t assume they’re being hunted.