“Indeed you did,” said Mr. Higginbottom, a big smile spreading across his round face. “I saw your beautiful friend this morning, the one with the long black hair.”
“This morning?” Vivian frowned. She hadn’t left for the mall until the afternoon. If Amal had returned this morning, why hadn’t she come back to the condo?
“Yes, I was out here trying to capture sand crabs. For some reason, they are particularly bad this year. As you know, it is against the island law to kill the little critters. I must carefully lure them into a shoe box and transport them back to the beach. A painstaking process.”
Smiling, Vivian sat her bags on the ground. “Did you let my friend into my condo?”
“Oh no! I would never let anyone into your condo. That is against property management rules.” Mr. Higginbottom shook his head vigorously.
“It’s okay. Remember, I told you she’s my best friend from high school. She’s staying with me for the next week.” Vivian placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. “Where is she now?”
“Who?”
“My friend that you saw this morning ...” Vivian raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, your friend! She told me to give you a message, and I promised her I would, just as soon as I finished gathering a few of the sand crabs. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, you know. I caught about five, but in my younger years, I would catch twenty to fifty a day!”
“I see.” Vivian nodded slowly and then asked, “Mr. Higginbottom, what was the message my friend wanted you to give me?”
“Yes, she wanted you to know that she was going on an overnight excursion to St. Mateo with her special friend and that her cell phone battery was dead. Or maybe that she wouldn’t get reception out on the sea. I can’t remember. But she left a note! Let me go grab it for you, wait here.”
Vivian placed a hand on her hip. Amal had planned to visit her so they could hang out like old times, and less than six hours into the trip, she had disappeared for the night and planned to be gone for another day and night.
Looking at her watch, she saw it had been almost twenty minutes since Mr. Higginbottom had gone to fetch the note. She wondered what was taking him so long. After another minute had passed, Vivian peered toward the small window of the office building, seeing no activity.
Stepping over her bags, she headed for the door and turned the knob. Vivian pushed the door open slightly and saw the elderly man playing solitaire on his computer. What was going on? Had he even looked for the note?
“Excuse me,” Vivian said, making a concerted effort to control her annoyance. “Did you find the note from my friend?”
“Oh my, no, I couldn’t find it,” Mr. Higginbottom said, as he hastily lifted a few of the piles of paper on his desk. “I will keep looking for it and let you know as soon as I locate it. It has to be here somewhere.”
Vivian sighed heavily. “Okay, thank you.”
Pulling the door shut behind her, she thought the likelihood of him finding Amal’s note was slim to none.
8
By the time Vivian turned down the narrow sidewalk toward her condo, she was drenched in sweat. Dragging the three bags filled with a thousand dollars’ worth of clothes, Vivian lamented the time wasted with Mr. Higginbottom. Her frustration was not the old man’s fault. He hadn’t made her best friend ditch her for some “good D” as Amal would say. If she was honest though, her ill temper had nothing to do with Mr. Higginbottom or Amal and everything to do with Leo.
Vivian lengthened her strides and grabbed her keys from the front pocket of her jeans, anxious to get inside the cool air-conditioned condo. Angry yelps from her neighbor’s dog grew louder with each step. Something had agitated the mild-mannered Yorkie. Vivian couldn’t remember a time when the dog had barked this intensely before.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Vivian tried to soothe the dog, as she sat her bags down in front of the door. Through the gaps in the wooden fence surrounding the courtyard, Vivian could see the Yorkie pacing back and forth. Inching closer, she peered through the slats and saw no signs the dog was hurt. Maybe the dog was just hungry and upset from being left behind. She could relate to that. Vivian hoped her neighbor would return soon. She was in no mood to hear the dog barking for much longer.
Walking back toward her door, Vivian held the key out to place it in the keyhole and paused. Her hand began to tremble.
The door was slightly ajar.
Had she opened it before checking on the dog? Could she have forgotten to close it before she left?
Pushing the door in slightly with her right hand, Vivian peeked through the opening. Nothing looked disturbed in her living room. Vivian took a small step forward. Her eyes roamed over the kitchen and dining room. Nothing was out of place. Distracted by thoughts of Leo, she might not have closed the door completely when she left.
Grabbing her bags, she crossed the threshold, sat them on the couch, and then closed the door behind her. Vivian took off her tank top and stood in the middle of the room, allowing the cool air to embrace her skin. Walking over to the refrigerator, she grabbed a bottle of water before checking her cell phone again for a message from Amal. Vivian wasn’t sure if she could trust Mr. Higginbottom’s memory. The man was befuddled at best and absentminded at worst. Amal’s cell phone could be dead, but she expected her industrious friend to have bought a replacement charger by now to allow them to keep in touch. Or maybe
