Page 26 of Silent Sin

“Mr. Neville, it’s Dennis Baranski. Lou told me to give you a call if a blonde woman showed up here looking for Ms. Sloane. Let’s just say that the woman wasn’t too happy to hear that Ms. Sloane wasn’t taking visitors.” Dennis paused to say good morning to someone before returning to their conversation. “Anyway, this lady wanted specifics. You know, was Ms. Sloane home and instructed not to be bothered, or was Ms. Sloane not in the building at all? I explained that I couldn’t give out that information. It wouldn’t surprise me if the woman returns later today. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good look at her face.”

She being Lorena Dobbs.

Theo should have gotten a call from the officer stationed in an unmarked vehicle outside the building. After discussing the possibility of Dobbs returning to the condominium, Detective Beeson had agreed that they should have someone monitoring the foot traffic. Dobbs must have spotted the car.

“Dennis, did the woman try and enter the building?”

“Oh, no. Sorry for the confusion. I was taking a smoke break out in the alleyway when she came up from behind. I assumed that she was using the alleyway as a shortcut. It’s a cold one out there, Mr. Neville. Now would probably be a good time for me to stop smoking.”

Theo thought back to Bit’s phone call when he gave in-depth details about his conversation with Sylvie. One of her first questions had been if Erin Smith was still alive, which gave credence to Arden’s theory that Lorena might have been grazed or actually shot. No one matching her description had turned up at the hospitals, clinics, or even the local veterinarians.

“Dennis, did you notice anything odd about her? Did she seem in pain? Have a limp? Have any bandages visible?”

“Come to think of it, the lady was favoring her left side. Kept her left arm close to her body while using her right hand to keep her hood close to her face. She bummed a cigarette from me. I tried to see her face, but it was pretty dark outside, even with the light outside the side entrance. The wind out there is terrible, at least fifteen miles an hour. Maybe even more through the alleyways.”

Dennis was a talker, and he could ramble on for hours if one wasn’t careful. Theo quickly thanked the man for his time, reiterating that he should call if the woman approached him again. Bit hadn’t bothered with the three laptops on the windowsill to gain access to the condominium’s security cameras. Instead, he had used the one that hadn’t left his side since Theo had entered Sylvie’s room.

“There,” Bit said as he pointed to the small screen. It was too difficult to make out the frame of the person walking in the alleyway let alone have the software pick up her actual identity. “Black jacket this time, and it’s one of those long ones that go down to the ankle.”

Theo didn’t hesitate to place a call to Detective Beeson. He answered on the second ring.

“Beeson, can you send someone to check out the local shelters? I believe Dobbs went to one looking for numerous jackets. She’s evading the security cameras that we have access to, and I think she knows we have Brook’s building under surveillance. Have an officer show her picture to the volunteers at all the shelters in the city. See if anyone recalls her stopping by for winter coats. Hell, maybe we’ll get lucky and find that she is staying at one of them, too.”

Theo glanced out the interior window of Sylvie’s room to find one of the nurses glaring in his direction. He never understood why a cell phone couldn’t be used in a hospital setting. Plus, there were enough computers in the room using more internet access than his phone.

“If they get confirmation, all I need is an address and a time range of when Dobbs was at a shelter,” Theo advised the detective. “I’ll obtain a warrant and then have our tech specialist confirm her identity.”

Such a lead would go a long way in trying to locate Dobbs. She had become so focused on finding Brook that a mistake was likely to happen sooner rather than later.

“Are you friends with a federal judge, Neville? You better be if you want to comb through the footage of a place like that. Those shelters sure as hell won’t give it up willingly,” Detective Beeson warned, having no idea that Theo and Bit had already crossed those lines. Theo would still attempt to follow protocol, even if it meant using Supervisory Special Agent Harden’s contacts. “I guess it’s worth a shot, though. Are you headed this way? I have maps of the neighborhoods from those listings you gave me.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” Theo disconnected the call, still ignoring the pointed look that he was receiving from the nurse. As much as he would have liked to stay, he needed to keep advancing the investigation. “Bit, where is Paula?”

Bit had just shoved the last bite of his bacon cheeseburger into his mouth. Theo got the sense that Bit wasn’t too put out over not being able to answer the question.

“Please tell me that you haven’t involved Paula in this case.” Theo’s gaze fell on Sylvie. His concern for her hadn’t been eased in the least. She might have regained consciousness for a time, but her not being cleared after a cardiac incident raised other concerns. “Your sister should be here with you, Bit.”

“I’m fine,” Bit countered defensively. The way he adjusted his knitted cap told a different story. “And Paula just went out for some coffee.”

Theo rubbed his left eye in frustration. He didn’t have to ask which coffee shop was the intended destination.

“Fine,” Bit relented a little too easily. His ability to do so was the reason that Theo never wanted him taken into federal custody. Bit would go down, and he would do so on his own to protect everyone else. “When I noticed that Boss’ tablet connected to the internet, I decided to send Paula to the coffee shop. Boss is too smart to make that kind of mistake if she wants to remain off the grid. It was a message to me, Big T. I know it was.”

“I won’t lie to you, Bit.” Theo lowered his hand as he concentrated on his colleague and friend. He didn’t have time to argue with Bit, and doing so wouldn’t change the circumstances, anyway. “I’m angry. I’m angry that we allowed Jacob to get the upper hand. I’m angry that Lorena Dobbs was able to infiltrate Sylvie’s life as if we haven’t taken precautions for the past few years. Most of all, I’m angry with Brook for allowing Jacob to win. She up and disappeared because she felt responsible for what happened to Sylvie. I know that Brook has her reasons for going radio silent, but I don’t have to like them. With that said, I still trust her. I don’t know what the hell is going through her mind right now, but I have faith that she’s working right alongside us. She damn well better be. In the meantime, it’s our job to not only track down the woman who put Sylvie in that hospital bed, but to also keep everyone else safe.”

“Fine. I’ll call Paula and tell her to come back to the hospital.” Bit crossed his arms in disappointment. “All she was going to do was go inside, grab a coffee, and see if she spotted Boss at one of the tables. I’ve also been keeping track of my sister’s movements the entire way.”

Theo didn’t doubt that Bit had made his sister’s safety a priority, but Brook wouldn’t want them wasting time and effort on locating her. Besides, she would surface when she was damn good and ready.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but Jacob’s decision to come at us from a different angle has altered the stakes. Sylvie almost lost her life, Brook took herself out of the equation, and we don’t know who we can trust.” Theo settled his gaze on Sylvie. In a perfect world, the entire team would be here by her side. “Between you and me? I can’t even bring myself to call Mia back after I left her sitting at the restaurant on Thursday night.”

“Big T, I am so glad you shared that with me. I thought it was just me. I haven’t been able to return Zoey’s calls or texts, either,” Bit admitted with relief as he walked over to stand beside Sylvie’s bedside. He slipped his hand into hers. “I can’t bring myself to trust anyone else but my sister and the team. I know it’s not fair to Zoey, but no one else understands. This just feels like it’s…”

“A family matter,” Theo finished for him.

“Without its matriarch.”

“Bit?” Theo waited to ensure that he had Bit’s full attention. It was time to get to work, and neither one of them would do so by continuing to wallow in self-pity. “When Brook does decide to return to us, I suggest for your own wellbeing that you not mention you think of her as a matriarch. I think there’s been enough bloodshed, don’t you?”

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