Page 59 of K-9 in Pursuit

“You remember she came in Tuesday and made such a big deal of making all these appointments with me, then failed to show up Wednesday?” Chloe grabbed a mister and began misting the ficus beside the front counter.

“Right. And she came back yesterday and said her mother was ill or something?” Nadia added two packets of sugar to her cup.

“That’s what she said.” Chloe plucked a dead leaf from the plant. “The thing is, someone broke into my apartment Wednesday, while I was here, waiting for Bunny. Then she shows up here the next day and my purse goes missing.”

“You think she wanted to make sure you were stuck here while she broke into your apartment? But why?”

“I don’t know! But the place was trashed.” She took a shuddering breath. “It was like whoever broke in was looking for something. But I don’t have anything someone could want.”

Nadia pursed her lips. “I don’t want to upset you,” she said. “But do you think your sister could have had something? You said she got sent here to live with you because she got into trouble back in Virginia. Was she involved in drugs? Did she steal some from the wrong people and they killed her, and now they’re trying to get their drugs back?”

“Drugs?” Chloe blinked. How naive was she that she hadn’t even considered this? “No one ever said anything about drugs. The sheriff’s department searched Sharee’s room and they didn’t mention finding anything. I went through the room, too, and didn’t find any drugs or signs that she was using.”

The only thing she had found was the photographs. But those weren’t threatening or dangerous. They were merely pictures of a happy family. She had given the photos to the sheriff’s detective, except the one in her purse. A chill engulfed her. Was her burglar after those photographs? But that made no sense. Nothing in those pictures was a threat to anyone.

“If it wasn’t drugs, why was Sharee sent here?” Nadia asked. “Or is it a big secret?”

“It isn’t a secret. I was just trying to protect Sharee’s privacy. But I guess it doesn’t matter, now that she’s gone.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Nadia said. “I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s all right. Sharee started stalking a guy she was crushing on and he filed a restraining order against her,” Chloe said. “That made it impossible for her to go to school.”

“Some kid filed a restraining order on a crush? That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”

“It wasn’t a kid. It was a married man. One of her teachers. And he has an ironclad alibi for her murder. I don’t see why he’d go to the trouble of wrecking my apartment, either.”

Nadia winced. “Okay. So maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with Sharee. Maybe it’s someone who’s unbalanced who decided to go after you.”

“But why do something like that?” Chloe thought of herself as so…ordinary. She worked and she went home. “I’m not a threat to anyone.”

“No matter what’s going on, it’s awful for you.” Nadia sipped her coffee. “So you spent the night here? Alone? You should have called me.”

“I wasn’t alone.” She fussed with the plant some more, avoiding Nadia’s gaze. “A…a friend came over.”

“Your guy friend? The one whose name you won’t reveal?”

“It was Brian Weeks.” Chloe’s cheeks warmed. “And his dog, Daisy. She’s the one who alerted us to someone at the front door. Brian tried to chase whoever it was, but they ran off.”

“Brian Weeks? The man the cops arrested for your sister’s murder?”

“They released him. He didn’t kill Sharee.”

“You obviously know the guy better than I do,” Nadia said. “And I’m glad you didn’t have to deal with everything by yourself.” She leaned back against the counter and sipped her coffee. After a moment, she said, “You know, this is the first man you’ve talked about since I’ve known you, and that’s been, what, four years?”

“About that.”

“So he must be pretty special.”

“Yeah.” For years she had told herself she didn’t have room for a man in her life. But she wanted to make room for Brian. Being with him made her stronger. More the person she wanted to be.

“Then I’m happy for you.” Nadia said. “But remember, he isn’t the only person you can count on for help. You have lots of friends. You can call me anytime.”

“Thanks.”

The doorbell rang, announcing an arrival, and Nadia straightened. “That will be my nine-o’clock color and cut.”

The locksmith arrived at ten and spent the next hour changing the front and back door locks. Chloe distributed new keys and put the extras in the safe, then tried to catch up on paperwork. The normal routine settled her nerves, until the phone rang right after lunch with a call from Darinda.