Page 17 of No Good Deed

Marcus tapped the pencil on his book. “I agree. Why don’t you tell us about the next incident?”

This one was more difficult. More personal and definitely more traumatic. “Okay. A few days after the break-in, someone mugged me.”

When she paused, the deputy nodded again. “Tell me more about that.”

“There are police reports on all of this. Wouldn’t it be easier to just call the local police?”

He smiled. “I’ll do that but it’s always good to hear first-hand accounts.”

She huffed out another breath. She didn’t have to like it, but if there was even a chance she’d brought danger to Carl and Jim, she’d do this. “I was walking home from work one night about eight. When I passed an alley, someone grabbed me from behind. He dragged me into the alley, and shoved me to the ground. He sliced off my cross-body laptop bag.”

She kept her eyes on her mug. “He knelt on my back and pressed something into it, telling me not to move and he’d let me live. I don’t know if it was a gun, knife, or stick.”

The next part always made her shudder. She closed her eyes to control her nerves before speaking again. “He slammed my head into the ground. I was dizzy and scared, and he started touching me. At first, I believed he was going to rape me, but he searched through my jacket pockets instead. When he didn’t find anything, he slammed my head onto the pavement again. I heard some shouting and then he disappeared. They found my bag and my laptop but not my wallet. I had to cancel all of my cards.”

Troy’s large hand moved from her knee to wrap around her shoulder. “That’s horrible, Piper. I’m sorry you experienced that.” Then he brushed back her hair to check where she’d pointed. The scab was hidden by her hair, and he grimaced when he saw it.

She nodded but didn’t respond. Instead, she drew in more breaths, preparing her for the rest.

“Did he take your keys?”

She shook her head. “No, they were in the front pocket of my pants, and he didn’t get that far.”

Marcus wrote in his notebook. “Okay. What happened next?”

“Someone broke into my apartment. I came home from work one night and found the door ajar and the knob broken. I pushed it open and saw someone had ransacked the place, so I called the police.”

Troy squeezed her shoulder. “I’m glad you weren’t home.”

She nodded and leaned into his warmth and strength. “Me too.”

The deputy nodded. “What did they take?”

She shrugged but didn’t move away from Troy. “Not much. I don’t have much. There was some cash I had for tipping delivery people. An old computer tablet. I don’t own jewelry or anything expensive. They had to walk down the hallway and out through the lobby, so they apparently only wanted things they could stuff in their pockets. The police think they tossed stuff around because they were angry they couldn’t find anything valuable.”

Troy made a humming sound that didn’t sound like agreement. Deputy Ramirez sighed. “Do they think it’s connected to your office break-in? Is there anything you might have had that was private or valuable information?”

Piper shook her head. “No, although the police asked about that as well. I don’t work on the inner city stuff that is worth millions. My work focuses on suburbs and recreational spaces. Nothing secretive. Nothing sensitive.”

Marcus nodded again. “I’m glad they looked into the connection. Just because they didn’t find anything doesn’t mean there’s nothing there. You could have something you don’t realize is important.”

She sighed. “That’s what they said, too. I’ve gone through everything I can think of, but I have no idea what I might have.”

Troy squeezed her shoulder again. “Tell us about the car crash.”

Another tough one. The sound of nails clicking on the floor had her looking up. Oreo trotted through the kitchen door and into the room. He made a beeline for her and stood up with his paws on her knees. She scooped him up, and he licked her face before settling into her lap.

Troy reached over with his free hand and scratched Oreo’s head. “Good boy.”

Carl looked into the room, to see if they wanted him to take the dog. Piper smiled at him. “It’s okay. He’s good here.”

She knew the men wouldn’t forget about the crash, so she decided to just tell it. Get it over with. “One day, I drove to the nursing home to review the proposed activity center with the director. I used a company car because I didn’t own Rusty at the time. A few blocks from the facility. I drove through a green light, and a truck came flying through the intersection and slammed into my car, sending me crashing into a pole. The airbags deployed like they were supposed to, but I was still stunned by the crash. I remember a man opening my door. I thought he was helping me, but when another car drove up, he got into a truck and took off. The witness said the truck’s license plate was covered with mud. The police called it a typical hit and run. Someone hadn’t seen the red light.”

But now her brain was clicking through the incidents. When she told them all in a row like that, having so many issues without some connection didn’t seem likely. At least between some of the incidents. The break-ins? What could they be looking for?

Troy’s thumb rubbed her shoulder, and she focused on that to keep her nerves under control. She was safe.

The deputy tapped his notebook. “What about information? You said you had a work laptop, but what about your personal one? Do you keep anything from work on there?”

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