Page 31 of The Inmate
To: Dawn Schiff
From: Mia Hodge
Subject: Re: Greetings
Oh no, that’s awful! I’m going to find you another mug ASAP. My brother is visiting at the moment though, and he’s dragging me to every tourist attraction. Maybe he can help me look for another mug. He sends his love, by the way. I know you always had a bit of a crush on him, wink wink.
XXO
Mia
To: Mia Hodge
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Re: Greetings
Dear Mia,
I hardly remember your brother, and I assure you that I did not have any sort of romantic infatuation with him. But if you feel he would be of assistance in finding another turtle mug, feel free to take him with you.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
ChapterSixteen
PRESENT DAY
NATALIE
I don’t endup leaving work after all. Ican’t. It would be worse to sit at home, wondering what was going on here. Wondering what everybody was saying to that detective.
I have a view of the conference room if I stand up inside my cubicle. It seems like Santoro is interviewing every single person who works at the company. I just had the honor of being first. And the only one whose fingerprints are all over Dawn’s house.
Seth was second. Like me, he didn’t seem thrilled about the idea of being interviewed by the police. He spent a long time with them. Definitely more than half an hour. I wonder if Santoro asked him about me.
I don’t know why Santoro is so suspicious of me. I was just being a good coworker, checking up on Dawn when I was worried about her. If I did something to her, I would have gotten far away from her house. How could he possibly suspect me? And what does he think she wanted to talk to me about?
He can’t possibly know about…
No, I’m being paranoid.
Usually, I eat lunch with Kim, but I’m too anxious today. I just grab a bag of chips from the vending machine downstairs and eat it in my cubicle. I make a few sales calls to take my mind off of everything, but every twenty minutes or so, I stand up to see what’s going on in the conference room.
It’s just after lunch when Caleb sits down with the detective.
I didn’t even know Caleb was going to be at the office today. He usually doesn’t come in on Wednesdays. But there he is, sitting across from Detective Santoro. He looks nervous—his left leg keeps bouncing on the floor. Twice he scratches at his head until his hair sticks up.
Caleb hardly knew Dawn. So it’s unlikely the detective is spending a lot of time asking him about her. I have to assume the questions being fired at him are all about me.
Yesterday, he agreed to tell the detective we were together all night last night. But he wasn’t happy about it. If I had known he would be interviewed today, I would have checked in with him again and made sure we were still on the same page. Caleb is too honest. I can imagine him cracking and telling the detective the truth—we were together last night, but not thewholenight.
I check my watch. How long has he been in there? For God’s sake, what could they be talking about for so long?
Finally (finally!) Caleb emerges from the conference room. As soon as he gets out, his eyes meet mine across the room. He doesn’t look away, which I consider a good sign. I raise my eyebrows at him, and he comes over to me. I nearly yank him by the arm into my cubicle.
“What were you talking about all that time?” I’m trying to sound casual, but my voice comes out screechy.
