Page 23 of Witness To Murder
Bolling waited outside the apartment. The repair work was moving along. A door had been framed in, but the drywall around it had not been finished, and there was still the painting and necessary trim work. She was actually surprised it had happened so quickly.
The manager unlocked the door and passed the key to Leah. “This is the key you’ll need when the repairs are completed. Shouldn’t take more than another day.”
That really was fast. “Thank you.”
Bolling nodded and headed back downstairs.
Walking into her apartment now, knowing all that she knew, felt strange. It no longer felt like home. And certainly no longer felt safe.
Where was Isla? Had she been injured? What in the world had happened to Raymond, and what did any of it have to do with Leah?
The most damning and startling piece of this puzzle was the fact that she had been named a beneficiary on his life insurance policy. The idea was ludicrous, irrational. Totally out of left field.
How could she be a beneficiary of his when she hardly knew the man?
“Let’s start in this main room,” Owen suggested. “We touch everything. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Whatever is here, we want to see it and feel it, as well as recognize its reason for being in this space. A piece of the puzzle could be hiding in plain sight…anywhere in this apartment.”
He was right.Deep breath.“Okay.”
They started at the door. Checked every piece of furniture. Inside and under the drawers. Behind doors on the lower portion of the one large bookcase and inside every single book that lined its open shelves. Every item discovered was picked up and examined. Leah found a couple of appointment cards she’d forgotten about entirely. One was from the dentist’s office for her annual cleaning. The other was for a meeting with her mother’s doctor.
When they had handled every item in the main living area, they moved on to the bedrooms. There were only two, and each had its own bath.
“I’ll take your room,” Owen said. “You take Isla’s. It’s important to determine if anything looks out of place. I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never met Isla or been in her room. As for your room, I’m sure you would have noticed anything out of place already. I’ll just be a fresh second look.”
Made sense, even though Leah was embarrassed at the idea of him going through her things. “Sounds good.” He was right about her needing to be the one who went through Isla’s things.
In Isla’s private space, Leah first got down onto all fours and looked under the bed, the night table and the dresser. All stood on legs that left about fifteen inches of space beneath them. Prime territory for storage, particularly under the bed. Nothing but a few dust bunnies. Isla wasn’t one to hoard, even a little bit. Then Leah moved on to the window. She checked the drapes and the chair and the table that sat in front of it. Isla’s desk was on that same wall. Leah surveyed the cluttered desktop and awakened her friend’s computer in hopes of perusing her email and having a quick look at her search history.
The computer required a password.
Leah wasn’t even going to attempt figuring it out. Instead, she surveyed the notepad and two sticky notes posted on the sleekwood surface. One was a list of personal items she needed. The other sticky note reminded Isla to talk to her boss about a raise.
“You go, Isla,” Leah murmured.
Leah moved on, checking the drawers in Isla’s dresser. Nothing unexpected or seemingly out of place so far.
Next, she checked the closet. Lots and lots of clothes. Isla really was a clotheshorse, but she shopped smartly, never paying full price for anything, she often bragged.
Even after a thorough second look of the room, Leah found nothing that didn’t belong.
She walked out of the room just as Owen exited hers.
“Anything?” she asked. “I found nothing in Isla’s room.”
“Is this yours?” He opened his hand, revealing a black cell phone. Smaller than the one she carried.
“No.” She pulled her phone from her pants pockets. “This is my phone.”
“This one,” he said, “was tucked into your lingerie drawer.”
The idea that he had touched herlingerie, as he’d put it, made her heart thump hard against her sternum. She hadn’t even considered he would have to filter through her most intimate apparel. Ridiculous. Of course, searching each drawer was necessary.
She shook her head, not daring to touch the phone. If she didn’t touch it, her prints wouldn’t be on it. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“The battery is dead. We should charge it up and see what we find.”
“I agree.” She folded her arms over her chest and suppressed a shiver. The idea of what else they might find was terrifying.
