Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [66]
“What?”
“You heard me. I said break the door down.” She gave him a determined look. “Caitlyn may not be there now, but she might have been there before, and I want to know for sure. If you won’t do it, I’ll find a way to do it myself. There must be something I can use to—”
“I’ll do it; hang on.” He took a step back, then launched forward, slamming the door with his shoulder. It shuddered but didn’t break. He tried again, using every bit of strength that he had. The door cracked and then flew open. He stumbled into the apartment.
Sarah pushed past him, searching the small area for any sign of their daughter. The floor plan was basically the same as Sarah’s place, although Amanda had added more color with fake flowers and cozy, bright blankets on the couch and bed. Sarah zeroed in on a set of plastic keys lying on a table. “Cait-lyn’s,” she whispered, her heart in her eyes.
Jake saw the pain of her loss, and knew that at least that emotion was real. Sarah still had a deep connection with their daughter, even if she couldn’t remember anything else.
“Take a breath,” he advised, directing the words at himself as much as at Sarah. His heart was beginning to pound, and all kinds of crazy theories were running through his head. “You visited over here with Caitlyn. Amanda said she’d babysat for you. It doesn’t mean anything that those keys are here.”
“What about this?” she asked, picking up a child’s picture book. “You think I casually left these things behind?”
“Maybe not. I don’t know, but there’s no real proof Caitlyn was here a few hours ago, which is what you’d like to believe.”
“Amanda said she had a lunchtime class, and she didn’t. She lied about that.”
“Maybe she has a second job at another gym.” He didn’t know why he was trying to defend or explain Amanda to Sarah, but deep in his gut he just couldn’t believe that Caitlyn had been with Sarah’s next-door neighbor for the past few days. “Think about it, Sarah. If someone attacked you in this building, you would not have left Caitlyn here while you drove up the coast. You wouldn’t have believed she would be safe, not after that man tried to get into the elevator with you.”
Sarah stared back at him, unblinking, as she processed his words. He could see the light dim in her eyes when the logic took hold and the hope faded. Finally she nodded. “I can’t argue with your reasoning, but I still think it’s strange that Amanda didn’t come back. She seemed so suspicious of you and worried for me. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, one thing is clear to me—when we go to your workplace next, you’re going in alone. You might get a better reception that way. It’s possible Amanda would have said more to you if I hadn’t been standing right next to you.”
“Amanda could still know where Caitlyn is and just have been afraid to tell me,” Sarah suggested.
“It’s a possibility. We can try to find her. You have her cell phone. You can leave her a message. Maybe she’ll call back.”
“What should we do about the door?” Sarah asked. “We can’t leave her apartment open.”
“We’ll try the landlord before we leave. Maybe he can nail the door shut until she gets home, and we’ll leave a note, some money to fix it.”
They walked down the hall and back into Sarah’s apartment. Jake noticed that Sarah was still clutching the toy and the book. She couldn’t seem to let the items go, and he couldn’t blame her. They were a tangible link to Caitlyn.
“Why don’t you pack up some clothes in case we don’t come back here for a while,” he said.
“Why? Where are we going?”
“To where you worked—maybe back up the coast. Who knows? Caitlyn isn’t here, and I’m not sure it’s a wise idea for us to stay long. Obviously the person who is after you knows where you live.”
“It seems so hopeless. I thought my memory would be back by now.”
“Don’t quit on me, Sarah. I need you in this all the way or we’ll never find Caitlyn. You can’t give up.”
She bristled at the idea, as he’d known she would. She immediately gathered herself together, throwing back her shoulders, lifting her chin, a new light back in