Something Missing_ A Novel - Matthew Dicks [79]
A cup containing a dozen identical black Bic pens (no fancy colors, indicating she was a woman without pretense), a stapler, and a three-hole punch were lined up on the left side of the desk. A letter organizer on the right-hand corner of the desk contained several unpaid bills, electric, gas, phone, each addressed solely to Laura Green. The envelopes were already affixed with return address stickers (black and white, no frills) and stamps, awaiting the checks that would be deposited therein. A quick scan indicated that none of the bills were yet overdue.
Based upon what he had already seen, he was surprised that someone as organized and efficient as Laura Green might have gotten the date of the party wrong. An unlikely occurrence in her life, to be sure.
Next he opened the three drawers in the desk, searching each one carefully. The first contained an organized selection of office supplies: staples, tacks, Post-its, etc. This continued evidence of organization boded well for his search. Organized people kept meticulous files and maintained orderly records of their business and financial transactions, all of which might eventually lead Martin to his ultimate goal.
The second drawer contained envelopes, stamps (eight books in all, a gold mine in a regular client’s home), and half a dozen boxes of thank-you cards in a variety of designs. Though lacking pretense, Laura Green apparently believed in the importance of etiquette.
In the third drawer Martin hit pay dirt. First, a box of personal checks, with only her name appearing on top, indicated to Martin that she was certainly unmarried. Also, there were no business checks to be found, indicating that it was likely she did not own a business but worked for someone else. Beside the box of checks was a box of business cards, and this alone was all that Martin would need to continue with his plan. The business cards indicated that Laura Green was a notary for the Town of West Hartford and listed her business address as 50 South Main Street in West Hartford, Connecticut. Not surprising to Martin, the box appeared nearly full. Lacking pretense, a woman like Laura Green would find little reason to pass around business cards unless specifically asked. Conveniently, it appeared that she worked in Martin’s hometown, and based upon the address, he had an idea of where her place of employment might be.
This was all Martin needed to proceed. The business cards had been a lucky find, but had they not been there, he was certain that he could have found pay stubs, performance reviews, an employee award of some kind, letterhead from her place of business, a URL bookmarked in her Web browser, or a dozen other artifacts that would have led him to her job site. Though tailing clients had proven to be an effective means of identifying their occupations, the truth was that Martin had already determined many of their jobs long before he ever left his home. As had Laura Green, clients often left mountains of evidence behind indicating their place of employment.
And if Martin’s guess as to where Laura Green worked was correct, things were looking up.
As long as he could escape her house alive and undetected.
Using the digital images as a reference (though he didn’t need them), Martin returned the desk to its original state, the whole time singing his alphabetic melody and committing Laura Green’s place of employment to memory. Normally he might have photographed the business card as well, but memorizing a simple street address was something that Martin was sure he could handle.
With Laura Green’s desk back in order and the address of her place of employment memorized, it was time to examine his