Page 37 of One Last Secret

“If there was someone here, then they’ve probably already left, or the door wouldn’t be open. And if they’re still here, the safest place for me is next to you—the man with the gun.”

He glares at me for a moment, then rolls his eyes. “Bloody… All right. Fine, come with me.”

He leads me into the apartment. There is no foyer, merely a short hallway that leads to an arched entryway. We step through that entryway, and I gasp.

The apartment is ransacked. The couch is overturned, and the coffee table and tv smashed. Vases and books and various other items lay strewn about.

Sean curses and moves through the apartment. He moves with the lithe grace of a jaguar, pushing open doorways andtraining his weapon everywhere an assailant might show. It’s impressive watching him work, I must admit.

What is also impressive, though in a much different way, is the destruction I see evidenced in each room. The bedroom is torn up like the living room, and the bathroom mirror is shattered. The kitchen cabinets are opened, and a chef’s knife sits in the middle of the floor. The microwave has been pulled from the wall and hangs by its power cable.

“There was a fight in here,” I say.

“Gee, what makes you say that?” he replies sardonically. Then he frowns and says, “This doesn’t look right, though.”

“What do you mean?”

He shakes his head. “It’s so much damage. How could no one have heard this?”

“It’s the middle of the workday,” I reply. “Perhaps no one was here. The attackers would have staked this place out and known when it was safe to make their move.”

“Maybe,” he agrees. “Yes, you’re probably right.” He sighs. “Well, let’s call the police then.”

“Wait! We should search the place first, shouldn’t we? Perhaps the killer left a clue behind.”

“That sounds like a good reason to call the police.”

“Can we just look first, please?”

He rolls his eyes. “Of course. Your wish is my command.”

We move more slowly through the house. I note right away that, like Victor's scene, there is no blood.

“They were kidnapped,” I say.

“More than likely,” Sean agrees. “You’re sure your boss is well off?”

“I thought so. I assumed he would have to be if he could afford to live in that house. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m trying to think of who might have had a motive to grab both of them. We know Lisa was in trouble financially.Maybe she’s crossed the line with a loan shark, and he’s sent goons after her. Might have sent them for Victor first. Or he might have just taken Victor for information on Lisa.”

“Perhaps Marcus is involved,” I say. “He could have lied to you to direct your attention toward Lisa.”

“And then once I was looking her way, he kidnaps her? No, if he wanted to kidnap her, he should have made me look the other way.”

I purse my lips. We’re in the bedroom now. I open the desk, one of the only furniture items not damaged, but there is nothing inside. “It seems they took paperwork with them too.”

“Hmm. Odd.”

“The whole thing is odd,” I say. “I thought for sure Evelyn was involved, but now she’s another victim. The only suspect remaining is Marcus Fairfax, but… well, frankly, I wouldn’t think him capable of this. Perhaps he could kidnap Lisa, but I feel that Victor would be more than a match for him.”

“Marcus certainly doesn’t exude danger,” Sean replies, “but plenty of killers don’t.”

I straighten and sigh. “All right. Well, I don’t think we’ll learn anything else. Go ahead and call the police.”

"Let's get out of the building first. They'll know we were here, or we wouldn't know she was missing, but it'll look a lot less suspicious if we're not in the apartment."

I follow him outside, and my phone buzzes as soon as we step through the door. It’s Evelyn.

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