Page 41 of In Her Eyes

To them? “I’m not a stranger to you?” My voice is small and unsure.

He chuckles without humor. “It’s been, what? Not even two weeks since you walked into my office and turned everything I believe upside down. You told me things about myself that even I’d forgotten and then said more things no one should know.”

He parks in front of a townhome and turns off the engine. Then, looks at me. “No, I don’t think you’re a stranger to me. We are way past that.”

My pulse beats so loud it drums in my ears. “What am I then?” We have so little time together, and none of this time is what I hoped it would be when I dreamed about meeting him again. Could there ever be more than just this awkward professional truce between us?

He looks at me for a long time, his gaze traveling all over my face and body. “I have no idea.”

* * *

Ruby opens the door to Alice’s bedroom and steps aside. “The room is as she left it. I can’t bring myself to go in there and touch anything.”

“Thank you, Ruby.” I try to give her a reassuring smile, but don’t quite make it. She wears her sorrow like a mantle.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Ruby walks away.

I walk into the small room alone. Jake stays at the door and watches me. I don’t touch anything yet. There are drawings on the walls, some pencil sketches, and some in full color. Beautiful renditions of dragons, unicorns, and other fantasy creatures. Each piece of art has her name and date in one corner. A small desk holds paper pads, pencils, and other art supplies. She was an artist. A good one, too.

Across from the desk is a twin bed, a purple blanket messily pulled over it. Pillow askew. Folded laundry on a chair. Open curtains over a single window. A small bookshelf with a couple of dozen paperbacks. Most with stickers from a used bookstore.

I drag my fingers over her desk, catching glimpses of her working with her art. “She loved this, loved sitting here and escaping into her drawings. She was so full of hope. But also pain. She felt so alone all the time.”

I sit at her desk and splay my hands over an unfinished drawing of a man. He’s wearing armor, thick bands around his wrist, dark bat-like wings at his back. His features are blank. “She was working on this piece. It was the last thing she worked on. I think she was drawing him, but I don’t think they had met yet.”

“I’m getting flashes of her talking to someone on a phone. Not a cell phone. One of those phones you see in an office with multiple lines. What did she do for work?”

“She worked as a receptionist in a real estate company.”

I grab a pencil next. “Hmm . . . she spoke with him on the phone. More than once, and she was keeping it a secret because of her job.”

Jake walks into the room. “Could it be someone she worked with?”

“No, I don’t think he worked there. I think he was trying to pass as a client to get her to trust him. She was hesitant the first few times he called, but she warmed up to him.”

“Both her roommate and the people at her job said she was not seeing anyone.”

“She wasn’t. I think he took her the first time she met him.”

I stand up and walk around the room, allowing my senses to guide me. Brush my fingers along the walls, the bed, and the dresser. “I don’t have anything else. She was quiet. Went to work, read, and drew her pictures.”

Jake nods, and we leave the room, closing the door behind us.

Ruby waits in the living room, a cup of tea in her hands.

I sit across from her. “I’m sure the police have already asked you this, but do you know if she was talking to someone? Perhaps someone at work. Did she even mention anything like that?”

“No, Alice kept to herself. We met in tenth grade and became fast friends—the two girls who didn’t really fit with any of the school clicks. She had a rough life, you know. She didn’t trust easily, but she was my best friend. I still can’t believe she’s gone. I keep expecting her to come in and show me a new picture. She loved drawing.”

I nod and look around the condo. “How are you managing without a roommate?”

Ruby’s gaze goes to her teacup. “Oh, she rented this place from her job. They told me not to worry about her half of the rent. They changed the lock, too. I should move. It’s too hard being here. But I don’t want to lose hope that she’ll come back. If I go, then this is it. She’s gone forever.”

I meet Jake’s eyes and stand up. “Thank you for letting us come in, Ruby.”

She nods.

“We’ll see ourselves out.”

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