Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [44]
“You can’t turn this around on me.”
“I’m not doing that, Jake. I’m just trying to figure out where the memory might have come from. And at the moment you’re the only man in my life, that I’m aware of. Did I ever mention any ex-boyfriends when we were together?”
“No. You said we didn’t need to be one of those couples who shared every little secret.” He uttered a bitter laugh. “Little did I know just how many secrets you were keeping.” He tipped his head toward the street. “Why don’t we table this for the moment and deal with what’s right in front of us.”
Looking around, Sarah noted that they were in a modest, working-class neighborhood on a street filled with apartment buildings a few blocks from the beach. “Which building did Margaret Bradley live in?”
“The three-story salmon-colored building about a half block down. I think there’s a good chance that you may have lived in the same building. It’s difficult to believe you’d be driving her car unless you knew her. I think she must have given you her vehicle because she wasn’t driving anymore. She was in a convalescent hospital before her death, so that makes sense. It would also make sense that you were a neighbor or that someone who knew Margaret
might also know you.”
“I hope that’s true.”
“Only one way to find out. We start knocking on doors.”
“Are you sure no one followed us here?” She checked the mirror once again. There was no one on the street, but quite a few cars were parked along the curb.
“I’ve been watching closely. I don’t think we were followed, but if you did live in this area, whoever is after you might already know that.”
“Maybe this is a bad idea. We could be walking into an ambush,” she said.
Jake stared at her. “We could be,” he agreed. “But I don’t see that we have another choice.”
“No, you’re right. We have to find Caitlyn. And I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish that.” Opening her door, she got out and waited on the sidewalk for Jake to join her. A man came out of an apartment building across the street with his dog on a leash. He headed away from them, and Sarah let out a sigh of relief. She felt tense and on edge, acutely aware that there could be danger anywhere, from anyone, and she had to be ready.
They walked down the street and up to the main door of the apartment building. It was locked. There was a row of buzzers next to a speaker.
“Deputy Manning said that the people in Margaret Bradley’s apartment didn’t know her or you; at least, they didn’t know anyone by the name Sarah Tucker,” Jake said. “But we might as well start with them.” He pushed the buzzer for apartment 310. When no one answered he tried the landlord. No response.
Sarah felt more uncomfortable with each passing minute. They were too vulnerable out in the open. “Maybe we should come back later. It’s the middle of a workday. No one is home.”
“Someone has to be home,” Jake said, moving down the list of buzzers.
“They’re not going to let in a stranger.”
“They might.”
A moment later a young couple came through the front door. They were each so busy talking on their cell phones that they didn’t give Jake or Sarah a second look. Jake caught the door before it shut. “After you,” he said. “We finally got a break.”
“Those two didn’t recognize me,” she said, following him into the building.
“Nor did they care who we were. So much for living in a secure building.”
“Where are we going now?”
“Third floor. Might as well start at the top.”
As they approached the steel doors of the elevator, Sarah hung back, her stomach clenching with fear. “I can’t go in there,” she said shortly, her chest tight.
“In where?”
“The elevator. I can’t go in that elevator.” She backed away as an image flashed before her eyes.
She was holding two bags of groceries. The metal doors were closing, but at the last second a man’s hand came around the edge of the door. He slipped inside. She’d seen him before.
A silent scream of terror ran through her. She began to shake.
Jake grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him. “Sarah,