Page 29 of Kiana's Hero

It seemed a likely scenario. Surely, after a week, she’d want to go back to her apartment, if for nothing else than a change of clothes. If she was on the run, she wouldn’t be able to use her credit cards for fear of being tracked by anyone who could hack into a credit card database.

To hide in plain sight, she’d have to eliminate her electronic footprint. A cell phone would be the first loss. Anyone with a bit of hacking experience could get into the phone service database and track her movements.

“See anything?” Kiana whispered behind him.

He brought his thoughts back to the building in front of him. “No. But that doesn’t mean there’s no one out there.” With one hand, he pulled the pistol out of the holster. With the other, he reached for her hand. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

He took a deep breath, looked both ways one last time and then darted across the parking lot, thankful that Kiana had a tall, lithe frame and could keep up with his longer strides.

They made it to the building’s back metal staircase without incident and hurried to the second floor.

Though it had only been that morning when they’d been there last, it felt like a lot more time had passed.

Kiana had the key out and ready by the time they reached the door.

Dev twisted the handle. It was locked, unlike their first time there.

Kiana inserted the key and twisted it.

The lock clicked open.

After quietly removing the key, Kiana slipped it back into her pocket. When she reached for the doorknob, Dev blocked her hand and pointed to himself. He motioned for her to stand to the side of the door, then he carefully turned the knob and eased the door open.

The apartment was bathed in darkness, the only light a soft glow streaming through a window from the streetlights.

Dev nudged the door wide enough and then slipped through and to the side, crouching low until he could get his bearings and his eyes could adjust to the limited lighting.

The room appeared as it had when they’d left it earlier—still a mess from the man who’d gone through it, looking for Meredith and finding Tish.

He reached out for Kiana and pulled her just inside the apartment door, not wanting to leave her standing outside for any longer than he had to.

After a quick and thorough search through the apartment, Dev returned to Kiana. “All clear.”

Kiana grimaced. “I don’t suppose we could turn on the lights?”

Dev motioned toward the soft light streaming through the window. “If we turn on the light, anyone outside will see it and know someone is inside.” He fitted a red lens over the flashlight, switched it on and handed it to Kiana.

She carried the light through the apartment, shining it into corners and spaces. “Meredith worked on her laptop at the little built-in desk in the kitchen.” Dev followed her into the compact kitchen with the built-in desk that was more of a cubby hole than a workspace. The desktop had a stack of unopened mail but no laptop.

Kiana moved about the kitchen, opening a drawer full of pens, tacks, paperclips, electrical cords and batteries. She closed it and moved on, checking behind cabinet doors. “I don’t think she’d leave her laptop in here, but it doesn’t hurt to look.” Once she’d opened every door, she left the kitchen and strode through the cramped living area with a small, sectional sofa, a round, glass-topped coffee table and a small flat-screen television propped up on an old dresser.

“When she wasn’t at the desk, she would sit on the sofa with her laptop, scrolling through social media, reading the news or listening to self-help podcasts.” The end table had been flipped over, its drawer flung across the room.

Dev righted the table and fit the drawer back into its slot. Then he brushed the black powder off his hands from where the police had dusted for fingerprints.

Kiana had already moved into one of the two bedrooms. “Meredith had this bedroom. When Tish moved in, she and I shared a room.” She ran her finger along the top of a chest of drawers. “Meredith sometimes took her laptop with her to bed and read late into the night.” Kiana tossed aside pillows and looked into the nightstand. She ran her hands between the mattresses on both sides, finding nothing. Getting down on her hands and knees, she peered beneath the bed, finding a box full of memorabilia from Meredith’s high school days. Kiana sifted through the contents, finding a photograph of her, Tish and Meredith at a Hawaiian dance class. They stood with their arms draped around each other, colorful leis around their necks and grins spread across their faces.

Kiana remembered that day. It was at the end of a week celebrating Hawaiian culture. They’d each been given a scholarship so that they could attend. They’d learned to hula dance, carve coconuts and weave ribbons and flowers into leis. “What Meredith didn’t know about her past, she tried to make up for by saving pieces of her life as she grew up.” Kiana had her own box of memories. It wasn’t big, but it held cherished items from the happy days of her life.

She sighed and shoved the box back under the bed. When she straightened, she searched the rest of the room for the laptop. It wasn’t there. “Do you think the man who attacked Tish got away with the laptop?”

“He didn’t have anything in his hands when he leaped off the balcony,” Dev said.

Kiana frowned. “It has to be here somewhere unless she managed to get it out before she disappeared.” She closed her eyes. “I need to think like Meredith.” She opened her eyes and wandered through the room, touching the comforter, the clothes in the closet and a picture frame hung on the wall. In the frame was a photograph of Meredith and her boyfriend, Jason.

Moving back into the living area, Kiana sat on the sofa. She gave a short chuckle. “As creatures of habit, we had our spots. This was Meredith’s. We were always digging the remote out from between the arm and the cushion.”

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