Stranger in Town

CHAPTER 21





“Is it possible to lift a print from an envelope?” I said.

Maddie held her hand out. “Anything’s possible, sweetie. What do you have for me?”

I took the envelope out of my bag, using a tissue to handle the edges and handed it to her. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to put it in anything. I just grabbed it.”

She read the address on the front and peeked inside. “Where’s the rest of it?”

“Cade McCoy has it. They’re probably processing it now.”

“And you didn’t want this processed along with it?”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking. I saw it inside the top drawer of Mrs. Tate’s nightstand, and I couldn’t resist. I knew I had to leave the coloring page, but I thought I could get away with nabbing this part, so I did.”

She raised a brow. “All righty, then.”

“Can you do anything with it without being at your lab? I doubt we have access to the chemicals you’d need here.”

She raised a finger. “There is another way—a new technique we’ve been using lately in the lab. Believe it or not, I can get prints off this by using a ceramic hair straightener.”

“You’re not serious?” I said.

“Completely. I’ll need my glasses to see the prints though.”

“You don’t wear glasses,” I said.

“I’m not talking about regular glasses. They’re special goggles with orange lenses. Under a certain light, I’ll be able to see the prints. It would probably be easier just to mail this to my guys and let them do it, but then we run the risk of this getting lost somewhere along the way, not to mention what could happen if one of my guys screws up.”

“They know what they’re doing, don’t they?” I said.

“Lifting prints from paper is delicate. If the straightener is on the paper for too long, the paper turns brown, and the prints are lost. Once that happens, there are no do-overs. They’re lost forever.”

I sighed.

“I shouldn’t have taken it,” I said. “Even if you get a print that doesn’t belong to you, me, the mailman, the processors at the post office, and Mr. and Mrs. Tate, you still can’t run it. Not here.”

It was like my brain was running on half a cylinder. I was practical, not irrational. I thought things through. I didn’t talk first and think later. My words were orchestrated, almost rehearsed. So what the hell was I doing?

“Well, it’s too late now,” Maddie said. “What do you want me to do with this?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t know.”

Maddie grabbed a container out of her suitcase, emptied it out, and placed the envelope inside. Then she shoved it into her purse. “While you’re thinking about things, I’ll go pick us up some dinner.”

Maddie scooped Lord Berkeley up with one hand and walked out the door. I stripped down to nothing and stepped into the shower. I stood beneath the faucet wishing the moisture could wash away a lot more than a few flecks of dirt. In some ways, I felt I was getting somewhere locating the missing girls. I’d found a new witness and convinced Mr. Tate to turn over the drawing. But in other ways, I wasn’t anywhere near finding the answers. Maybe that’s why I’d taken the envelope in the first place. I wanted to grasp at something, even if it was the wrong thing.

I thought about Giovanni and wondered if he’d found his sister yet. I should have been there helping him, even if he didn’t want me to—but I was committed to finding Olivia and Savannah. I couldn’t stop now.

I turned the water off and reached around the shower curtain for my towel. I dried off, wrapped the towel around me, and stepped out. A hand grabbed at my arm, slapping a handcuff around my wrist. I looked up. Cade McCoy lifted my cuffed hand into the air and snapped the other half of the cuff around the shower rod. Not the greatest idea, but since it was bolted into the wall on both sides and the rod appeared to be industrial-strength, it wouldn’t be the easiest thing to get out of. And he knew what he was doing. He’d wrapped it so tight, even with my small wrists there was no way for me to break free.

“What are you doing?!” I said.

“Where’s the envelope, Sloane?”

“What?”

“I know you took it from Tate’s house.” He dangled a key in front of my face. “Tell me where it is, and I’ll unlock you.”

“I don’t have it,” I said.

He shrugged.

“Guess I have no choice—I’ll have to find it myself.”

He walked out of the bathroom. A moment later I heard the sound of various items being strewn around the bedroom.

“How dare you—you can’t just go through my things!” I said. “What right do you—”

He stuck his head into the bathroom and winked. “You wanna stop me, go right ahead.”

The nerve of him breaking into my hotel room and rifling through my personal items was too much for me. I braced myself against the wall and tugged on the cuffs, using every muscle at my disposal. They wouldn’t budge.

Cade burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny!” I shouted.

“Not to you maybe, but it is to me. How long do you think it’ll take you to get out of those?”

“Maddie will be back any minute, and then we’ll see if you still find it so amusing.”

“No, she won’t.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“I saw her down at the Chinese place a few minutes ago. Paid my friend a few bucks to uh, keep her busy for a while. She’s easily distracted, so I’d say I have all the time I need.”

“You could have just talked to me. You didn’t have to hold me against my will.”

“I’ve tried talking to you,” he said. “It never works. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I’ll keep it in mind for next time.”

Drawers opened and closed, and then Cade walked somewhere else. I heard the sound of papers shuffling around, followed by the unzipping of a suitcase. So much for privacy.

“Stay out of my bag—you can’t go through my personal items!”

“You know, Sloane, this would be a lot easier if you’d just told me where I could find it,” he said.

“Fine. Let me out of these cuffs, and I will.”

“Oh, no. Somethin’ tells me once you’re released, you might have a change of heart.”

He was getting ready to experience that change of heart first-hand. While he’d been sifting and sorting, I’d used my foot to inch over a sewing kit on the bathroom counter, a complimentary item provided by the hotel. Once it was close enough, I slid the plastic lid open with my hand, carefully and quietly pulling out the needle inside.

“You give up yet?” Cade shouted.

I thought about turning on the waterworks, but even I wouldn’t buy that. “I have nothing to say to you. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop talking.”

“Works for me,” he said.

I lifted the needle into the air, lining it up with the hole on the cuff around my wrist. All I had to do now was stick it in, make sure it was in the correct position, and I was free.

“What do you think you’re doin’?” Cade said.

The needle dropped as I glanced up. Defeated. Cade was inches from my face, staring down at me. My damp, soggy hair splashed droplets of water into my eyes, probably causing my mascara to run. I knew I should have scrubbed it off in the shower. I imagined I resembled one of the female zombies in Shaun of the Dead. No wonder he’d been laughing. Cade smelled like a mixture of spices and some kind of wood, which I shouldn’t have found intoxicating, but I couldn’t help it.

He leaned in, and I leaned back.

What was he doing?

“You know, you’re very pretty,” he said. “Even with all the wet hair in your face.”

“Don’t talk to me,” I said. But it was more of a whisper than a demand.

He raised his arms, and a moment later, my hand was free. I considered slapping him across the face but tended to my throbbing wrist instead. There was plenty of time to slap him later. Cade stepped back, fully prepared for me to strike. He was perplexed when I didn’t.

“Wait—that’s it?” he said. “I was prepared for some kind of retaliation. What’s gotten into you?”

The door to the hotel room had opened, and it took no time for Lord Berkeley to realize something was amiss. He bounded into the bathroom, teeth clenched, barking loud enough for five floors of guests to hear.

I looked at Cade.

“I suggest you don’t touch him. He may be small, but don’t let his size fool you.”

Cade nodded.

Maddie walked into the bathroom and came to a standstill, taking in the scene around her. The handcuffs were still dangling from the shower rod, and with me in nothing but a robe and Cade staring at me, key in hand, I could only imagine what she was thinking.

“I, umm, don’t really know what’s going on here, but ahh, do you two want me to go?” she said, pointing at the door.

I shook my head and reached down, scooping up Lord Berkeley. “Maddie stay, Cade go.”

“Can I say one thing before I leave?” Cade said.

“You’ve said enough, and you’ve done enough,” I said. “I’d like to get dressed now.”

He walked out, closing the door behind him.

I was relieved Cade hadn’t thought to ask Maddie about the envelope. He simply left the room like I’d asked.

A giggling Maddie looked at me and said, “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”

So I did.