He laughed. “You’re getting to know me too well. I appreciate this, Kathleen.”
“It’s no problem,” I said, thinking that actually most of the time I felt as though I barely knew Simon Janes at all.
I handed the cell phone back to Mia, who told her father she’d see him later.
I finished my circuit of the main floor, shut off the lights, locked the doors and set the alarm. Then the three of us made a mad dash for the truck across the puddle-splattered parking lot. Once we were inside the truck I set the canvas tote on my lap and helped Owen out. “That collar makes a pretty good umbrella,” I said to him. He cocked his head as he seemed to consider the point.
I set the cat on the seat next to me and introduced him properly to Mia.
“Nice to meet you, Owen,” she said, as though she were meeting another person. Then again, both Owen and Hercules considered themselves to be people, so it wasn’t that odd, I told myself.
The rain pounded on the roof of the truck as we headed across town. Water was pooling in places on the road already.
“If Dad wasn’t so paranoid about me driving in the dark and the rain . . . and, well, ever . . . I just could have taken the car and gone back to get him later,” Mia said. “He’s so . . . old about some things.”
I laughed. “I think it’s a father/daughter thing. My dad was the same way when I was your age. The first time I drove from Boston to Cape Cod by myself—which is only about an hour-and-a-half drive—I found out later that he literally sat next to the phone until I got there and called to say I was fine, and when the phone rang he made Mom answer it so I wouldn’t know he’d been hovering there the whole time.”
“The first time I drove by myself at night—which was just down to the community center—I found out after that Dad borrowed someone’s car and followed me to make sure I made it safely.”
I glanced over at her. She rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing he’s not a detective, because he sucked at it. I recognized the car right away. It belonged to his assistant. There’s a big Minnesota Wild bumper sticker on the front fender—‘Wild’ in big red letters.”
“He loves you,” I said.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile. “Yeah, I know that,” she said. “It’s just, you know, sometimes it would be better if he could just do it from a distance.”
A vehicle passed us then, headed in the opposite direction, driving a bit too fast for the weather. It sped through a large puddle in a low spot on the road, sending dirty water splashing on the windshield like it was thrown from a bucket. Just as the water hit, I realized it was Harry Taylor in the truck and wondered where he was going in such a rush. I didn’t think the storm was going to ease up like the forecast had predicted. My left wrist, which was a pretty good weather predictor since it had been broken, still ached, which told me that there was still more wet weather ahead.
I was about to turn the corner when a woman darted out in front of me. She was wearing a dark raincoat and holding a big black umbrella, head down, walking rapidly. I hit the brakes. Luckily I wasn’t going very fast thanks to the rain. The woman glanced in my direction but didn’t give any sign that she recognized how close she’d come to being hit. Beside me Mia put a hand on the dashboard and put her left arm out in front of Owen. He managed to right himself and stay on the seat despite the abrupt stop. But he was annoyed and made it very clear with a loud meow.
“What’s wrong with people?” Mia said. “She didn’t even look. You could have run her over.”
I nodded. “So remember to look both ways when you’re walking, especially when it’s raining.” I looked at her, realizing that I sounded like a preachy adult and gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I think I was channeling my mother there.”
Mia smiled back at me. “It’s okay,” she said.
I glanced in the rearview mirror. There was something familiar about the hooded woman under the big umbrella heading down the street, something about the way she moved that I couldn’t place.
Finally, I pulled in at the curb in front of Everett’s house. Owen went into the bag without argument, first looking out the windshield and making a sour face at the rain.
Mia grabbed Rebecca’s parcel from the floor mat on her side. “I’ll bring this,” she said.
We made a mad dash for the door, sprinting through the raindrops, sending water splashing onto our jackets. I caught sight of something on the sidewalk—a scarf maybe, probably Rebecca’s. I grabbed the wet fabric and stuffed it in my pocket. Inside the entry Mia pushed her grandfather’s bell. I could hear Owen making grumbling noises in the bag. I pulled the scarf that I’d used to keep him dry off the top. “I think you’re fine,” I said. The look he gave me made it clear he didn’t agree.
We waited but Leo didn’t come to let us in. Mia pulled out her phone and sent her grandfather a text. There was no response. “He’s probably listening to music with the headphones on,” she said. “I’ll just go outside and knock on his window. That’s what I did the last time. He gets so caught up in the music he forgets about everything else.”
I put a hand on her arm. “It’s raining too hard to do that. Hang on a minute.” I leaned over to push Rebecca’s doorbell and in a moment I could see her through the glass in the door, coming down the stairs to let us in.
She opened the door and smiled at us. “Hello, Mia,” she said. “Did you come to see your grandfather?”
Mia nodded. “I think he has his headphones on. He didn’t hear when I rang his bell.”
Rebecca nodded. “I came up behind him yesterday when he was headed up the walkway and I almost scared him out of his shoes.” She leaned down and smiled at Owen. “Hello, Owen,” she said. “Thank you for coming to see me. Even injured you look as dashing as ever.” She straightened and I was the focus of her smile. “Hello, Kathleen. Thank you for making the trip over here on such a wet night.”
“I don’t mind,” I said.
We stepped inside and Mia handed Rebecca the padded envelope from Matthew.
“I wonder what he sent me this time,” she said, turning the package over in her hands.
I glanced down the hall, wondering why Leo hadn’t heard us by now and come out of the apartment. At that moment I felt the tote bag wriggle beside me. Before I could react Owen had jumped out and was heading down the hall to our left.
“Owen!” I called sharply.
He ignored me.
“It’s all right, Kathleen,” Rebecca said. “He can’t get outside. He just wants to explore.”
“I know. That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said.
We moved down the hall and found the cat sitting in front of the door to Leo Janes’s apartment in his green fabric collar. He turned to look up at me and made a low murp. I knew that sound. Something was wrong. I felt my chest get heavy, like a large rock had just settled on it.
“Kathleen, can I take Owen in so Grandpa can meet him?” Mia asked.
The apartment door was pulled to, but not actually closed, I realized.
The hairs rose on the back of my neck. I tried to keep my expression neutral as I put a hand on Mia’s arm. “Wait here with Rebecca for a minute,” I said.
She leaned around me. “Why?”
“Stay here. Just for a minute.”
I shifted my gaze to Rebecca, who put her hands on Mia’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?” the teen asked, fear making her voice sharp and loud. “Do you think something happened to Grandpa? Is he sick?” She tried to move forward but Rebecca slipped one arm around her shoulders and held her in place.
It seemed to me I could actually hear my own heart hammering in my chest. “Let me find out,” I said.
Mia pressed her lips together and I saw the tears standing in her eyes. She nodded.
I moved over to the door. “Stay with Rebecca,” I said to Owen, who had stayed in front of the door the whole time like he was guarding it. Now he moved over to stand next to Rebecca and Mia.
I knocked on the door. “Leo,” I called. “It’s Kathleen Paulson.”
There was no answer.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Please don’t let this be bad, I prayed silently. Please let me find Mia’s grandfather listening to John Coltrane with his headphones on.
But it was bad.
Leo was lying on the floor. I made my way carefully across the room to the man. I bent down and felt for a pulse and confirmed what I already knew.
Leo Janes was dead.