“Braver Hund! I love you. But your daddy’s going to hit the roof in two seconds. Be prepared.”
Xander stopped in the doorway, his eyes narrowed, then entered the room. Fletcher was right on his heels, his cell phone to his ear.
“What’d she take? What’s missing?”
“I don’t know yet. Is it okay to start looking?”
“Jordan, hold on a sec, she trashed Sam’s bedroom, too,” Fletcher said. He took three shots of the room with his phone’s camera, just in case they were needed for evidence. “Okay, Sam, go ahead. See what she took.”
She started with her jewelry box, carelessly left unlocked on the dresser. She didn’t have a lot of jewelry. As a doctor she always had her hands in gloves, so rarely wore rings. That’s why Xander’s ring was so perfect: tiny and thin, it wouldn’t catch on things and she could always leave it on. She touched it once in thanks.
And bless all that was holy, she’d put her wedding set in her safe-deposit box after she’d moved to D.C., knowing having them in the house would make her life hell. They’d been safe away from Kaylie’s sticky paws.
She combed through the box, saw nothing overtly out of place. Her TAG Heuer watch had been lying on the bathroom sink. It was gone, along with the cash from her wallet.
She waved it at Fletcher. “There was three hundred dollars in here. And she took the watch my father gave me for my high school graduation.”
“Fast money. She can hock the watch, and clearly the cash was a necessity. Nothing else missing?”
“I love that watch, Fletch. She better not hock it. There are some clothes gone, too. She snagged some tops and pants. There are hangers empty that I know had stuff on them, but with the pile here in the middle of the floor, it will take me a while to figure out which ones. I hate to admit it, but I’m not the best at keeping my closet in perfect order.”
Fletcher gave her a half grin. “I am completely and irrefutably disillusioned by that fact, Dr. Owens.” He spoke to Jordan. “Rousch is funded and mobile. Get them on it now!” He hung up and looked around the room. “This is a lot of disorder for such a short time frame. What she took was easily reachable, right?”
“Yes. Out in the open. My wallet was at the top of my bag and the watch was on the bathroom counter. Grab some clothes to change into on the road, and she’s on the move.”
Fletcher spun around in a circle. “So why make such a huge mess? Do you think she was looking for something specific?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, Sam. Something Doug Matcliff might have sent you? Did anything come in that letter he mailed to the office?”
“No. Just the letter. Benedict gave me the key, but that was to the safe at Matcliff’s cabin, where we found all the pictures of me and the copy of the will.”
“Well, he’d been stalking you for a while. Maybe she thought he left something else for you.”
A chill ran down her spine. “Jesus, this gets better and better. What can we do to help, Fletch?”
He looked at his watch. “God, it’s 2:30 a.m. Honestly, there’s nothing more you can do right now. Get some sleep. We’ll pick this up in the morning.”
“I can’t sleep knowing she’s out there.”
“Every cop on overnight patrol will be watching for her. I’ll ask someone to park it here, in case she decides to come back.”
“That’s not necessary,” Xander said, but Fletcher held up a hand.
“Yeah, it is,” Fletcher said. “Damn, man, she sliced Sam’s neck and snuck out right under your nose. She’s been off the grid and off the radar for at least ten of the last seventeen years. Matcliff clearly educated her. You have to assume she has every bit of training you have. He was a marine, a cop and an FBI agent.”
Xander openly bristled. “Oh, bullshit on that. I was a ranger. Our training is highly superior to those powder puffs.” But he smiled, and Fletcher laughed.
“Good.” He nodded toward Sam. “Make her sleep. Knock her on the head if you have to. I’ll call in a few hours, give you an update.”
“We’re meant to interview Anne Carter, Matcliff’s old boss, and then go to Lynchburg,” Sam said.
“Well, with any luck, it won’t be necessary and we’ll have it all wrapped by then. See ya.”
Xander walked him out. Sam stood staring at the mess in her room, knowing she’d never get to sleep until she cleaned it up.
No good deed went unpunished, that was for sure.
She started pulling the clothes from the floor in piles. Xander joined her, and they got everything sorted out quickly.
“Fletcher’s right, you need to get some rest,” Xander said.
“I know. I can probably talk myself into popping a quarter tab of Ambien. Do you want one?”
“No way.”
His vehemence stung her. “I thought I’d offer.”
“One of us needs our wits about us.”