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?“What about Sheryl?”
?“She shouldn’t plan on taking any trips,” DeStadler conceded. “Kane here?”
?“Yeah, in the guest room.” I pointed at the closed door next to the sofa. “I’ll get dressed.”
?DeStadler headed to my guest room, as I opened the door to the bedroom, which almost knocked Sheryl over as she stood with her ear to the door.
?“Is he going to arrest you, again?” she worried.
?“He can if he wants to,” I pointed out calmly. “I want to get some clothes and grab a quick shower.”
?DeStadler burst through the door.
?“Okay, funny man, where’s Kane?”
?He stopped and gaped at Sheryl, who had, once again, put on one of Susie’s nightgowns. This one, however, was silk and though not transparent, it hugged her body tightly and only reached halfway down her thighs.
?I was apparently so sleepy I hadn’t noticed.
?Sheryl quickly grabbed Susie’s robe and covered herself.
?“What do you mean?” I said. “This is a small apartment. He’s in the other bedroom.”
?“No, he’s not!”
?I walked past him, through the dining room, and into the spare room. DeStadler was right. The bed was rumpled but empty. I walked over and pulled the closet open, which was filled with boxes of my own paraphernalia—but no Jon.
?I bent down and glanced under the bed, just in case.
?I stood and turned to DeStadler, who stared at the window.
?“I don’t understand,” I told him. “I slept on the couch. He couldn’t have slipped by me.”
?“Yeah,” DeStadler grunted. “When did you last see him?”
?“When we all went to bed. He took the printout of those financial reports with him. He said he wanted to try to figure out who had found the files and where they came from.”
?“Did it occur to you that maybe you shouldn’t put him in the room with the fire escape right outside his window?”
?I followed DeStadler’s gaze to the open blinds where, indeed, outside the window was the metal framework of a fire escape.
?DeStadler went to the window. It was shut, but the lock wasn’t fastened, which suggested that it was pushed closed from the outside.
?“It wasn’t cold last night,” DeStadler said. “He could've just gone out and down.”
?“It—it never occurred to me,” I stammered.
?“How long have you lived here?” He eyed me suspiciously.
?“More than twenty years, but I’ve never used the fire escape.”
?DeStadler shook his head and pulled out his cell phone as he made his way to the door.
?He glanced back at me. “Forget the shower, throw on some clothes. You’re coming with me, after all.”
?I sighed and walked into the bedroom.
?“I’ve gotta get dressed,” I said to Sheryl. “You hear?”
