check Lucy’s closet and see if any of her clothes are missing. She might have packed a bag before she left.”
“That’s a good idea. What are you going to do?”
“I’ll look around in the kitchen and the bathroom.”
“No, don’t do that.” Andrea started to shiver again. “I don’t want to be alone, Hannah. What if it was the killer? He could come back.”
“Why would he? He thinks he destroyed all of Lucy’s evidence. He doesn’t know that we’ve got the film she took of him.”
“That’s right.” An expression of relief replaced the panic that had resurfaced on Andrea’s face. “Go ahead, Hannah. I’ll be all right. What are you going to look for?”
“A clue to Lucy’s whereabouts. It could be a map, a note with an address, anything like that. But we have to hurry, Andrea. Vera’s going to think it’s weird if we’re up here too long.”
“Okay. You have a tape player in your truck, don’t you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“When I’m through with the closet, I’m going to take out Lucy’s answering machine tape. We can listen to it in your truck. Maybe somebody called her back with a reservation number or something and she’d already left.”
“Brilliant.” Hannah rewarded her with a smile, then headed off to search the kitchen and the bathroom. She didn’t think she’d find any clues, but she had to look.
There was nothing in the kitchen except pulled-out drawers and open cupboards. Hannah checked the garbage and found nothing but two tuna cans, a bread wrapper with a stale heel of bread inside, and shards of the plate and coffee cup that Andrea had broken this morning when she’d come in through the kitchen window. The worst-case scenario didn’t occur to her until she’d flicked on the bathroom light and spotted the shower curtain had it been closed this morning? She couldn’t remember, and she certainly didn’t want to ask Andrea. Hannah reached out with shaking fingers, and then hesitated, doing her best not to think about what Anthony Perkins had done to Janet Leigh in Psycho.
Chapter Eighteen
The shower had contained nothing but a bottle of shampoo and some rust stains near the drain. They’d double-checked Lucy’s doors and windows to make sure her apartment was secure and then they’d gone back downstairs to return Vera’s key. They hadn’t mentioned the break-in to her, knowing that it would only cause her a sleepless night of worries about Lucy. As far as they could tell, nothing was missing from Lucy’s apartment, and they’d decided to report it later, when they spoke to Mike and Bill. Then they’d driven to The Cookie Jar, pulled into Hannah’s space in the back, kicked up the heater so that they could huddle close to the vents, and listened to the answering machine tape.
There had been Norman’s call, the one that had told them Lucy wasn’t at his office, several calls from Rod to ask where she was, a slew of messages about Lucy’s overdue credit-card balances, and one from a telephone solicitor who’d read his whole pitch on the tape. The only call that was even remotely interesting was from Delores. She’d wanted to know whether Lucy was more interested in necklaces or earrings.
“What was all that about?” Hannah asked, when they’d played Delores’s message.
“Oh, Mother’s probably angling for another article in the paper. They ran one while you were off at college about her collection of antique clocks.” Andrea sighed as she pressed the button to rewind the tape. “There aren’t any clues on here, Hannah. What shall we do next?”
Hannah shrugged. They were getting nowhere fast. “Let’s drive back over to Lucy’s place. Vera said she was going straight to bed. If her lights are off, we’ll check the garage to make sure Lucy’s car is gone.”
“What good will that do? It’s got to be gone if Lucy is.”
“Not necessarily.” Hannah backed out of her parking spot and headed down the alley. “Lucy could have left town with someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, but we should still check. Investigating is a process of elimination. You have to explore all the possibilities, and whatever’s left, no matter how implausible, has got to be it.”
“I never thought about it like that before.” Andrea sounded impressed. “You’ve really got a good head for this, Hannah.”
“It’s Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s head. I read it in a Sherlock Holmes book. I probably misquoted it, but it’s essentially what he said.”
“Maybe I should buy Bill a set of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas.” Andrea sounded thoughtful. “Do you have them on tape?”
“Yes, if you’re talking about the PBS series.”
“Not television, audio. Then he could listen to them on his way to work.”
“It’s only a ten-minute commute. He’ll get so interested, he’ll probably sit out in the parking lot until the end of the chapter and get docked for being late.” Hannah drove around the corner. “Here we are, Andrea. Check to see if Vera’s still up.”
Andrea peered out her window as Hannah drove slowly past her house. “It’s all dark. She must have gone to bed.”
“Good.” Hannah cut her lights and turned into the alley. She didn’t want of the neighbors to spot her. Vera’s garage was an old-fashioned, freestanding structure that sat on the rear corner of her lot. Hannah parked at the side of the alley and shut off her engine. “We’re here.”
“If Vera ever listed her house on the market, we’d call that a two-car garage,” Andrea said, sounding amused. “Can you imagine two cars fitting in there?”
Hannah flicked off the dome light so that it wouldn’t shine when she opened the door. “Two little sports cars, maybe, but that’s about it. Come on, Andrea. Grab those flashlights in the back and let’s check out the garage.”
“Do you really need me for this?”
Andrea’s voice had started to shake again, and Hannah turned to her in surprise. “What’s the matter?”
“I’ve got cold feet.”
Hannah knew her sister wasn’t referring to the fact that the heater in her truck wasn’t putting out much hot air. “Why now?”
“Because the last time we searched a garage, we found a dead body.”
“The last body we found wasn’t in the garage, and this is a different situation. We’re not even sure that Lucy is missing, much less dead. She could be out chasing down a hot story.”
“Do you really believe that?”
Hannah sighed. She didn’t like to lie. “Not really.”
“I don’t believe it, either. And I have a really bad feeling about this. I think we should call Bill and Mike.”
“And tell them what?” Hannah asked. “Do you want Bill to know that we broke into Lucy’s apartment and stole her stash of evidence?”
“No.”
“Okay, then buck up. If I have to break in, I’m going to need you to hold the flashlight.”
“Break in?” Andrea sounded shocked. “You didn’t say anything about breaking in!”
“I said if the first thing we’ll do is look through the window. If the garage is empty, there’s no point in breaking in. Besides, you told me you like to be helpful.”
Andrea groaned, but she retrieved the flashlights and handed one to Hannah. “All right. But if Lucy’s car is there, I’m not going in.”
“Deal.”
Hannah got out of the truck and waited for Andrea to join her. They walked around the side of the garage and Hannah pressed her flashlight up against the windowpane before she clicked it on. She peered through the dusty pane, spotted Lucy’s car, and gave a little groan.
“What is it?” Andrea’s whisper was loud in the quiet night.
“Lucy’s car.” Hannah whispered back. “And that means I go in.”
“Why?”
