Absence of Alice

by Sherry Harris

  I looked straight at him. “I did.” His muscles tensed. “And I would do it again if it meant saving Stella.” I hadn’t meant to add that last bit, but every word was true. Sometimes you had to do things you didn’t want to. This had been one of those times. I slipped by Awesome to Emil. I felt like a wooden toy soldier walking away.

  “Are you okay? He looked angry,” Emil said.

  “I can’t blame him.” I made it all the way to the parking lot before my shoulders sagged.

  * * *

  Emil parked in front of my house. Seth sat on the top step of the porch. It was almost two thirty in the morning. I sighed, uncertain if I was happy to see him or not. I almost laughed at myself. Not long ago I had been offended he’d only sent me a heart emoji and a note saying he was sorry he couldn’t be there for me.

  “Do you want me to walk you up there?” Emil asked.

  “No. Thank you.” I looked at Seth and then back at Emil. “Thank you for everything tonight.”

  “It’s my job.”

  “Driving me home. Offering to walk me to the door isn’t part of your job.”

  He grinned. “I’m a full-service lawyer.”

  I even managed a brief smile back. “You’re a good man.”

  He tilted his head toward where Seth sat. “Go get it over with.”

  “Okay.” I opened the door, but turned back. “Thank you.”

  “You said that. Go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Seth trotted down the stairs and pulled me into his arms as Emil drove away. We just stood there with my head resting on his shoulder. The fabric of his jacket was cold. Maybe it was time to give him a key. I breathed in the spring night air and Seth. The first moment of peace I’d had since the first phone call from Stella’s kidnapper.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured into his shoulder.

  “Don’t. Don’t. I’ll walk you up to your apartment.” He looked at a car parked on the street and pointed toward the apartment.

  His guards must be there with him. Of course, they would be. It didn’t sound like he planned to stay, which disappointed me. On the other hand, I was exhausted and discombobulated. Being alone was probably best. I clutched his hand as he went in and up the steps to my apartment. Mike’s brother Diego sat outside Mike’s door doing another Sudoku puzzle. A bag of chips and a Coke were by the chair. He gave us a brief nod. Mike. I’d have to talk to him tomorrow. Explain that the threat that had brought him out here to Ellington might be tied to the kidnapper.

  Seth and I settled on my couch after I got us two glasses of water. They sat in front of us on the trunk. Seth’s arm was slung around me, protecting me. I’d been very worried about his reaction to all this. Feared he’d be gone. But here he was. For now anyway. It seemed like we were both waiting for the other to say something. I drank half my glass of water.

  “I didn’t know what the right thing to do was. Do you hate me?”

  Seth shook his head. His chin brushing back and forth across the top of my hair. “No. Of course not. You were in an untenable situation.”

  “But you must have at least second-guessed what I did.”

  “I’ve had a lot to think about since Emil called.” Seth pulled away from me. Rested his arms on his legs and dropped his head in his hands. He sat that way for several seconds before sitting back up and turning to look at me. “I don’t understand why you didn’t trust me. I would have taken precautions. You didn’t have to do this alone.”

  “I did what I thought was best. I wasn’t completely alone.”

  “You trusted Harriet, a woman you barely know, before trusting me.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. It was about keeping you safe after I found out about the kidnapping attempt. And you were listed in his rules—no contacting Seth. If there’d been a leak, Stella—” I couldn’t say it again. That Stella would have been killed. I hoped Seth would come to understand that, if not now then at some point. I didn’t want to lose him. “Thank you for the immunity.”

  “I had to recuse myself. You know I’d do anything for you, but I couldn’t put the office at risk of criticism.”

  “It could happen anyway. They might say your staff would do whatever to please you.”

  Seth nodded. “That could happen. But we followed procedure.”

  Another thing to worry and feel guilty about. “I don’t want to hurt your career.”

  He folded me into his arms. “Screw the career. How many times do I have to tell you that? I care about you. I love you. I’d rather quit and work with you on your garage sale business than lose you.”

  My heart burst. “I love you too.” While Seth could say “screw the career” all he wanted, and he had said it before, I didn’t want to be the one to put him in a position where he’d have to choose. He was smart and helped a lot of people. I wasn’t the only one who should matter to him. I could picture his mother if he ever decided to chuck his career for garage sales. I couldn’t decide if I should laugh or cry.

  “You weren’t really planning to buy a house?”

  “No. It was a spur of the moment lie when I was trying to save Stella.”

  Seth nodded, opened his mouth to say something, but shook his head instead.

  “Are we okay?” I asked as he stood. “Can’t you stay?” I realized how much I didn’t want to be alone.

  He hugged me to him, but didn’t say anything for a minute. “I have an early start in the morning, and I imagine you need to catch up on your sleep.”

  He had often spent the night under those circumstances.

  “And I still have the guards. At least for tonight. If I stay here, one will be in the hall and one on the couch.”

  “Wait, you won’t have guards after tomorrow? The kidnapper is still on the loose.”

  “I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be with me. They can’t guard me forever.”

  I wasn’t going to press him further. A few minutes later, as I watched him leave, my unease returned. Despite his lovely words about his career, it felt like the canyon between us might still be there. I’d hurt him by trusting Harriet over him. Even though he said he loved me, I wasn’t sure how much he liked me right now. I hoped I could build a bridge back to his side.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I woke up at seven thirty Tuesday morning. Earlier than I wanted to, but I needed to talk to Mike and to buy a new phone before I went over to Alice’s house to work. Thank heavens my phone number would roll over from one phone to another.

  After I showered, I made some coffee, procrastinating because I didn’t want to face Mike. I thought over my conversation with Seth last night. We’d left some things unsaid. Like it could have been Seth I’d been trying to rescue instead of Stella, and we both knew it. Seth might not have the guards for long, and the kidnapper was still on the loose. That was worrisome.

  I didn’t think Stella had come home last night. And I didn’t hear any noises from her apartment now. She was probably with Awesome or her family. Somewhere that she felt safe, if one could ever feel safe again after what she’d been through. I also thought over the grim looks on Awesome’s and Pellner’s faces. Would they ever be able to forgive me? Would Stella? Perhaps the only way to earn their forgiveness would be by finding the kidnapper.

  Before I could start searching for the kidnapper I had a few other things to take care of. I drained the rest of my coffee, set my shoulders, and headed over to see Mike. Francesco slouched on the chair, arms folded, head tipped back. He stood when he saw me.

  “I need to talk to Mike,” I said.

  “Lemme check with him.” Francesco went into the apartment, closing the door behind him.

  Nice. I waited a couple of minutes. Mike opened the door and came out, his hair wet from a shower.

  “You wanted to talk to me?” He didn’t look surprised. Maybe he’d somehow heard the whole story by now. He had lots of resources.

  I nodded. “Let’s go to my place.” I didn’t want
to have all three Titones sitting there judging me.

  “This about that itchy feeling I had?” Mike followed me down the short hall and into my apartment.

  “Maybe. Coffee?” I asked.

  “Sure.” Mike plopped down on a chair at the small kitchen table I had. It was covered in a vintage tablecloth with bright red salad bowls, jars of green olives, and salad tongs on a white background. One side of the table was pushed up against the wall. Three mismatched oak chairs were around the open sides.

  I poured the coffee into vintage Fire King jadeite mugs. I loved their soft green color and sturdy rounded handles. “Is black okay? I don’t think I have any cream or sugar.”

  “Then I guess it’s okay.”

  I pulled out a chair across from him. Blew across the top of my coffee like that would cool it off. Mike waited, watching me. I straightened my shoulders. I’d been doing that a lot. Sitting up, shoulders squared, somehow it gave me a bit of courage. I launched into the story once again. However, in this retelling I left out the parts about Crystal since it was an ongoing murder investigation. Mike’s face remained impassive, but those blue eyes seemed to get icier as I went along.

  “I think that maybe the kidnapper planted the threat to scare you out here to complicate my life.” I lifted my chin slightly.

  Mike leaned back. “You coulda told me.”

  I shook my head. “What if someone close to you is behind this?”

  “To what end?”

  “You’ve helped me out lots of times. Maybe someone doesn’t like it.”

  “Nah. Everyone close to me knows the slate is clean between us. I made that clear.”

  “It doesn’t mean someone doesn’t resent me.” It seemed unlikely, but no stone unturned. “Who told you there was a threat in the first place? Who got you to come out here?”

  Mike stood, walked to my apartment door. He paused, hand on the knob. “My brothers. I won’t tell you who gave them the information.”

  Mike left without saying anything else, even though I called out to him. We weren’t done with this conversation. Finding out who had told his brothers there was a threat wouldn’t be easy and maybe downright impossible. I checked the time. I had just enough time to get a phone and get to Alice’s house to work.

  After I bought a new phone, as I drove to Alice’s house, I pondered Mike and his brothers. Why wouldn’t Mike tell me who gave the information to his brothers? Who was he protecting?

  Who did I know that had connections to Mike? The list was short: Vincenzo, possibly Emil through Vincenzo, and Seth. Seth couldn’t be involved in any of this. He was a victim himself. Vincenzo had no reason to do this. He was a successful attorney—at least he appeared to be. Emil was the wild card, but he’d seemed surprised when I’d mentioned Stella. Authentically surprised, not faking it. But I’d been exhausted by the time I talked to him. Would I have really noticed if there had been subtext? Did I know him well enough to pick up on it? I shook my head. I didn’t have the bandwidth to figure this out now.

  But there was something else I could check. I pulled up and parked in front of Alice’s house at 9:15. Instead of going in I grabbed my phone and looked up the realtor’s office I’d mentioned to the police last night. Five realtors smiled out at me. I recognized one because she was one of Ellington’s selectmen—selectmen were the chief executive body for the town. We’d clashed a bit once, a year ago, when someone had complained about a sign I’d put up, which was why I was so careful with placement now.

  And of course I recognized the woman who I’d met the night of Crystal’s murder. She also had the listing for the empty store the kidnapper had sent me too, and the property the barn was on. None of that could be a coincidence. I’d have to do more digging, but it was nine-thirty. Time to meet with Alice.

  * * *

  When Alice didn’t answer my knock, I let myself in with the key she’d given me. Alice was in the living room. On the floor. Not moving. With a broken Lladró figurine smashed on the wood floor beside her. I stared down for a moment. Frozen. But then I noticed the lift and fall of her chest. Not dead. Not dead!

  I called 911 with my new cell phone.

  “Are you safe?” the dispatcher asked after I described Alice’s condition. She looked very pale, but her breathing seemed okay.

  “I-I think so.” Alice’s house was silent except for the normal creaks and groans of old houses. I jumped when the furnace clicked on.

  “Stay on the line.”

  I grabbed a fuzzy blue afghan off the couch and covered her with it. The broken Lladró was worrisome. I sat down on the floor beside her and took her hand. Poison, stroke, heart attack?

  “The door’s unlocked,” I told the dispatcher. And then I questioned myself. What if the dispatcher was the kidnapper? What if help wasn’t coming? But then I heard sirens. Most times I didn’t want to hear a siren. Today I was happy to.

  Alice came around shortly after the paramedics arrived along with a police officer. For once it was someone I barely knew, but she curled her lip at me in derision. I guess the whole force knew what was going on. Probably half the town did by now too.

  Alice insisted she was fine. “It was my blood sugar. I didn’t check it this morning, and I ate something I shouldn’t have. I passed out. That was all. I just need a glucagon injection.” She told the EMT where to find the medication.

  The police officer did a walkthrough of the house after Alice gave her permission. The officer didn’t find anything amiss. She left, casting one last stink-eyed look at me as she did. The paramedics packed up shortly after and suggested Alice make a doctor’s appointment forthwith.

  “That police officer didn’t seem to like you,” Alice said once we were alone.

  I was sweeping up bits of the Lladró even though Alice hadn’t wanted me to. “Just sit and rest. Can I make you scrambled eggs?” I might not be a great cook, but I could handle fixing eggs. “The protein would be good for you.”

  “It would be nice,” Alice admitted. She stared at the floor as she said it. “Make some for yourself too.”

  Alice wasn’t one to sit or let people do things for her. She must not feel well. As I whipped up the eggs I wondered if the kidnapper had a hand in this. But why target Alice? Although he’d wanted me to take the shoebox to her yesterday evening. A few minutes later I took two plates of eggs with some cheddar cheese mixed in out to the living room and handed one to Alice. “I’d be happy to drive you to your doctor.”

  Alice nodded. “Okay. But I’ll pay you for your time.”

  I didn’t answer. I wouldn’t accept money for helping someone out, and I had a nagging worry that even though everyone agreed that Alice had passed out because of low blood sugar, maybe there was another reason.

  * * *

  An hour later Alice was sitting on her couch again. On the drive back to her house she had said the doctor had scolded her for not taking better care of herself. While Alice had been in with her doctor, I’d stewed about Stella’s kidnapper. I hoped the police had found something in the barn or on my phone that would help find him. Stella sent me a text asking if I was okay. After all she’d been through, Stella was worried about me.

  I told her I was fine. She said she was staying with Awesome. That he was so freaked out that he’d actually taken leave to be with her. I couldn’t blame Awesome, and it made me happy for Stella that someone cared about her that much.

  I spent an hour pricing while Alice napped on the couch. I was going to sell this batch of things through my online garage sale that I’d been running for over a year. A few minutes after Alice woke up and assured me she was fine, I drove home. It was after one as I pulled into the four-car parking lot on the side of the house. My phone rang. Caller unknown. I hoped it was a new client.

  “How are you today, Sarah?”

  Rats. The kidnapper. “Better than I was yesterday.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I think you know, but I’m happy to spell it out for you.”r />
  “Oh, please do.”

  “Stella’s safe, and the police are going to find you.” If I don’t first.

  “Did you think you’d won? I let you find Stella.” He laughed.

  He’d let me win? “No, you didn’t.” I didn’t like the uncertainty in my voice. “You just want me to think that because you lost.”

  “Oh, Sarah, the only way I could have made it any easier for you is if I would have sent you a map with an X that marked the spot where she was.”

  Was that true? I’d thought I was so clever last night, figuring things out.

  “Honestly, if you hadn’t put together where Stella was with the train horn and the articles, I would have been very disappointed in you.”

  “Well, I’m glad I didn’t let you down. But why don’t you just turn yourself in? The police are probably outside your house right now with the evidence they found at the barn.”

  “Ooohh, I’m so scared. Let me check out my front window. Nope. No one’s there.”

  “Just leave me alone,” I said.

  “Did you think it was over because you got Stella back? Do you really believe Alice just had low blood sugar? The game’s just begun, Sarah. No one you care about is safe. Let’s have some fun.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I hung up. He was toying with me. He was scared, not me. Before I thought much about what I was doing, I ran down the block to DiNapoli’s. I hoped Emil was there. I needed to go to the police, but I didn’t want to go alone. The kidnapper didn’t know it yet, but there were new rules this time, and he was going to have to play by mine. He no longer had a hold over me.

  By the time I got through the door at DiNapoli’s, I had convinced myself that the kidnapper was lying to scare me. He’d slipped up, and we both knew it. At least I hoped that was true. His comment about Alice had me worried. Although, he’d probably heard about the call to Alice’s house through a police scanner app and just tried to use it to his advantage. To make me think he was still in control.

  Angelo was teaching a class to the left side of the restaurant as the last of the lunch crowd finished their meals. A group of people stood around a table watching Emil carry a large tray of meatballs toward them. He frowned in concentration and hadn’t noticed me.