Page 54 of Alibi for Murder
“Trespassing,” Steve said, rolling down his sleeves as they walked out of the building. “Vandalism.”
“Well, you and Ms. Foster were digging on private property,” she argued.
Alfred Mannington held up a hand. “I believe we’ve cleared this up, Agent Potter. I see no reason to continue with this discussion. Mr. Durham has been through enough tonight.”
Mannington was the agency’s top attorney. Steve hated to drag him down here at this hour, but he’d needed help in a hurry. Help with serious connections. Mannington was close friends with the governor as well as several other state representatives. Woodstock’s chief of police was only too happy to put in an appearance to handle the situation.
Potter acknowledged Mannington’s suggestion with a nod. “Very well. Good night, gentlemen.”
Steve waited until she had climbed into her vehicle and driven away before turning to Mannington. “Can you give me a ride to the Foster home? When they returned my personal items, I had a text from Allie—about an hour and twenty minutes ago—saying she was running to her house for her laptop.” He scanned the parking lot. “But she’s not back, and that worries me.”
“Sure thing.”
As they strode to Mannington’s sedan, Steve considered that as tired as Allie had been she might have fallen asleep at her desk or on the sofa. But he wasn’t banking on anything that simple. She should be back by now. At the very least, she should be answering her phone, and she was not. He’d called twice.
Worry and outright fear had his pulse shifting into overdrive. He had promised her everything would be okay. She was safe with him.
He’d let her down.
Steve gave his colleague the directions as they drove. He could use a decent cup of coffee. The stuff back at the police station had been in the pot far too long. He’d drunk two bottles of water trying to get rid of the bitter taste. But coffee would have to wait. He had to find Allie and make sure she was safe first.
The instant they turned onto Allie’s block, he spotted the emergency vehicles, lights blazing in the darkness. Neighbors had come out onto the sidewalks.
Fear grabbed him by the throat. “Oh hell.” He leaned forward in an attempt to see more clearly.
Mannington slowed for the officer standing in the middle of the street blocking traffic.
The uniform came around to the driver-side window. “I’m afraid you can’t—”
“That’s my house,” Steve interrupted him with the necessary lie to cut to the chase. “I have to get over there.”
The officer stepped back and waved them through.
“This does not look good,” Mannington pointed out.
“Park here.” Steve was already opening the door when the car eased to the curb. He jumped out and rushed across the street.
More uniforms tried to stop him. He gave the same story, which got him directed to the man in charge.
“Can you tell me if anyone was home this evening?” the fire marshal asked.
Steve was grateful the man didn’t ask for identification. His driver’s license showed his address in Chicago. “My girlfriend was here.” He spotted his SUV then. It was parked to the side and didn’t appear to have been damaged. He would have felt better if it hadn’t been here. “She drove my SUV here around ten thirty or so.”
Despite the fear funneling inside him just now, somehow calling Allie his girlfriend felt right. At the same time, he was terrified she was hurt…or worse.
“Where were you?”
Steve pushed aside the distracting thoughts. He had expected the question. “I was at the police department. We’ve been looking into an old case.” He put a hand against his chest. “I work for the Colby Agency in Chicago. I’m helping my girlfriend with the case. Anyway, I was speaking with Special Agent Potter from the FBI and Chief of Police Williams this evening. She needed to get home and…” He gestured to his SUV. “I need to know that she’s okay.”
What he needed was to get closer…to scream her name. To find her!
The fire marshal nodded. “Would this investigation trigger something like this?” He indicated the burned-out house with his notepad.
Steve fought for patience. If he expected to be allowed anywhere near the house, he had to play the damned game. “Unfortunately, that’s a strong possibility.” The house—it was atotal loss as was everything inside. The reality crashed into him again that Allie could have been in there. “I have to go in there. I have to make sure she’s not in there.”
The urgency was a palpable force inside him. He started for the house, but the fire marshal grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.
“I’m afraid no one can go in there right now, sir. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but if she was in there, it’s too late to help her now.”
