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Cautious, yet a thrill seeker.
She didn’t mind taking chances.
Theo figured the rush of adrenaline she experienced was more like an addiction than anything else. The woman wasn’t going to be easy to locate. The one thing that he kept coming back to was trying to understand the lengths that Lorena had gone to for Jacob Walsh.
Would she be willing to leave everything that she had worked for behind?
Not having the answer to that question, Theo reluctantly pulled away from the curb. Rush hour traffic had eaten into the timeframe that he had given Bit, but Theo finally managed to pull into the parking lot designated for his condominium. The owners of the building were currently working on an attached garage for their tenants, but that meant purchasing the building and land behind the large structure. Not an easy feat to do in D.C. Until then, the tenants were stuck parking across the street.
Theo didn’t waste time as he opened the driver’s side door, though he couldn’t help but stare at Brook’s empty parking space in the front row. She had been one of the first tenants in the building, thus she had been able to secure a canopy with her lease. A thought occurred to him that he kept in mind as he entered through the glass doors, grateful for the overhead heaters.
“Good evening, Mr. Neville.”
“Hi, Lou,” Theo greeted as he took the time to wipe the soles of his shoes on the grey entrance mat before closing the distance to the large counter. Lou was in his sixties, and he had been employed at the condominium long enough to know everyone’s names and their daily schedules. “You haven’t seen Ms. Sloane today, have you?”
“No, but Ms. Sloane is usually arriving before the end of my shift,” Lou said as he sat back down in his chair. “Is this about that woman? Was she a client of yours? I don’t like to make judgments, but she didn’t seem very nice. Flipped me the bird when I told her that Ms. Sloane wasn’t home.”
“What woman, Lou?” Theo asked as he made sure his voice hadn’t changed in tenor. He didn’t want Lou to suspect that anything was wrong. “Are you saying that someone stopped by here asking for Ms. Sloane?”
“Yes,” Lou replied with a nod as he set down the book that he had been reading for the past week. “A blonde woman came into the vestibule earlier today asking to visit Ms. Sloane. The young lady didn’t have any identification with her. Seeing as Ms. Sloane only has a few select names on her guest list, I do my best to screen such visitors. Anyway, I explained that Ms. Sloane wasn’t available, and that was that. The woman left in a huff.”
Lou understood the importance of their work, just as he was aware of Brook’s connection to Jacob. In a rather endearing way, Lou was very protective of all the tenants in the building, especially Brook.
Theo had already removed his gloves, so it was easy for him to quickly reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. A text message had come through regarding a new gym opening down the block, but he swiped it away so that he could access his photographs. He had stored a picture of Lorena Dobbs in a folder, one that had been used in the media when she had been declared a missing person by the Idaho state police.
Theo turned the phone so that the picture was facing Lou.
“Yes, that’s her,” Lou confirmed as he lifted his gaze from the phone. “Shorter hair, but that’s the woman who was here earlier today. I’d say it was around two o’clock when she stopped by.”
Theo’s previous dilemma on whether Lorena had remained in the area had been answered, but he wasn’t so sure her presence was in their favor.
Lorena was clearly searching for Brook.
What would happen when Jacob’s so-called apprentice couldn’t locate his sister?
“Would you do me a favor, Lou?” Theo asked as he pulled back his phone, keeping it in his hand. There had to have been a reason why Bit’s facial recognition program hadn’t alerted him to the fact that Lorena was still in the city. “Would you please call me the next time this woman stops by to see Ms. Sloane? It’s important. And yes, it has to do with one of our cases.”
“Of course. I’ll notify you both,” Lou confirmed before Theo walked in the direction of the second elevator bank. “Oh, and before I forget, another young lady also stopped by the building. She was looking for you. Said her name was Mia.”
Theo simply nodded his appreciation, but he didn’t address the questioning glint in Lou’s eyes. He always seemed to be on a mission to help the tenants in his building find someone to spend their time with, even Mr. Fernandes on the second floor. The man had to be in his mid-eighties, but that hadn’t stopped Lou from helping the elderly gentleman meet Ms. Wield for coffee every Sunday afternoon. Theo didn’t have the time nor the patience to dive into a meaningful conversation about the pros and cons of a relationship with Lou.
As for Mia, Theo had explained at dinner last night that an emergency at work had taken place, followed up by a text message that he would be unavailable for the foreseeable future. He needed time to reevaluate the people in his life after what had transpired with Sylvie last night.
Sylvie had let someone into her home to take care of her father, and a foundation of trust had been built in those two months. Who was to say that Jacob hadn’t convinced others to do the same to the rest of the team?
For the first time since Theo had met Brook, he was coming to realize just how hard it had been for her to lower her guard. She had spent her entire life on edge, and now those she had let close had to do the same.
For the time being, it was best to trust no one.
Chapter Ten
Sylvie Deering
February 2024
Saturday — 1:14 am
The distant beeping became somewhat of a beacon to consciousness. The steady rhythm of mechanical noises was like an out-of-tune song playing in the background, pulling Sylvie to the surface. She wanted it to stop, but the incessant sound kept droning on and on until she tried to lift her hands to cover her ears.
