By the time Rob walked back in his front door—just a few minutes after seven—he was no longer interested in sleep. The sky was bright blue, but the streets of Sausalito were still quiet. The house was blessedly silent as well. Karin and the kids were likely still tucked in and fast asleep at her folks’ place.
There were so many intriguing places for Rob to start this story. How should he explain to his readers the mystery of William Benedict’s life and Warren Bradley’s death?
He was indecisive for a time, knowing the story had many points of entry. But, as he’d learned after years of turning out one story after another, there are times when you start writing and allow the story to take shape as you move forward. There was always time for taking a second, third, and fourth pass. Now was the best time to start putting words on a page.
With each new sentence, Rob could feel the weight of the mystery lifting off of him. His final deadline would be Tuesday afternoon. Even with news of the arrest of Chris Harding almost certainly breaking the morning before The Standard would arrive in-home, Rob was now fully confident that only his readers would have the full story.
He was so busy working away at his laptop that he hadn’t realized it was going on nine. He decided he would wait until ten before giving Holly a call. Whatever else, Rob was sure that his longtime assistant would fall off her feet when she learned that Warren Bradley’s killer was a Sausalito police officer.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rob called Holly’s home number precisely at ten. Having no luck, he tried her cell, but again there was no answer. He was disappointed, but it was okay; he had enough on his plate and Holly had little enough downtime from her average workweek.
Through Sunday afternoon, he shaped, changed, and re-worked his story. Shortly before five in the afternoon, Karin returned home with the children. Rob kissed her like she had been gone for a month. “I’m going to put on a movie for the kids. You and I have to talk."
When he told Karin his news, he wasn’t surprised that she sat there for a time utterly speechless.
“I knew the butler didn’t do it, Warren could never afford one,” Karin proclaimed with the crooked smile that first caught Rob’s interest and led him to, in his uniquely awkward way, ask her out on a date.
After hearing the outcome of the mystery, Karin was happy for Eddie, thrilled for Rob, and pleased that the shadow of guilt would soon be lifted from Grant Randolph.
“Holly said for years that Warren Bradley was a creepy guy. That gal was spot on! I guess she’s a pretty good judge of character. Speaking of Holly, what does she think of all this?”
“I’ve been trying her since ten this morning, but I’ve had no luck.”
“Maybe she finally got smart, and she’s hiding out. You can’t blame the poor thing for wanting a little peace, given how hard she works all week.” Having done Holly’s exhausting weekly routine for several years, Karin knew this better than anyone, other than Rob.
After dinner, Rob asked Karin if she objected to his walking down to the office. “I have to clear some items off my desk so that I can spend most of Monday and Tuesday before press time getting the Bradley story as good as I can make it.”
“Of course I don’t mind,” Karin said. “I know what a huge week this is going to be for you. I’m very happy for you, and I’m proud of the way you and Eddie worked together. You’re quite a team.”
By seven on a Sunday evening in downtown Sausalito nearly all of the day visitors have traveled back to San Francisco, leaving the town once again to its citizens.
Rob walked along Bridgeway toward his office on Princess Street. He passed cafes busy with diners, street cleaners sweeping up after another busy weekend, and bike rental kiosk operators closing up their stands and tallying their weekend profits. As he walked by the No Name Bar, he stopped in for a moment.
Since I’m here, it’s worth a shot, Rob thought, as he stopped, turned, and went inside. The place was starting to fill with the usual after-dark locals. Rob did a quick look around and was disappointed not to see Holly.
“Rob,” he heard a voice say. He turned and saw Alberto standing behind him.
“Got the night off?” Rob asked.
“Just finished working the day shift. You looking for Holly?”
“Yes. I was hoping she might be here.”
“No, I haven’t seen her since Friday. It was pretty funny.”
“What was?” Rob asked.
“She and that new cop in town were sitting at the bar, making goo-goo eyes at each other. I think she’s landed a keeper," Alberto smiled as he flashed Rob a thumb's up. "Anyway, they both beat it out of here—must have been around nine Friday night, and I haven’t seen either of them since.”
Trying to remain calm, Rob asked, “You don’t mean Chris Harding, do you?”
“Yeah, Chris. Seems like a great guy,” Alberto called out as Rob rushed out the door.
A few minutes later, Rob was at his desk. This could be bad, he thought, as he took a deep breath and collected himself before calling Eddie.
“What the hell do you want?” Eddie said, only half joking on a Sunday night.
“Are you sitting down?”
“No, but I could be. What’s up?”
“I’ve been trying to find Holly all day, with no luck.”
“That’s no big deal, given that it’s the weekend.”
“I just saw Alberto down at the No Name. He last saw Holly Friday night. She left the bar—with Chris Harding. She hasn’t been seen since.”
“That’s not good! Where are you right now?”
“Down at the office.”
“I’ll be right down.”
After checking in with Rob, Eddie went to Holly’s apartment on Caledonia Street. He got no answer when
