Different angles? Colin thought.
Maria shot him a questioning look, then turned back to Margolis just as a knock sounded at the door. One of the officers who’d been searching for Lester poked his head in. Margolis excused himself and stepped outside for a minute, then returned to Maria and the family. The other two officers joined him inside, remaining near the door.
“The officers said they couldn’t find him. They went through the neighborhood a couple of times, talked with a few people who were out, and no one had seen him.”
Colin opened his mouth, then closed it again. Margolis noticed.
“Something to say?”
“I was wondering if they checked the park,” he said. “And the house on the next block that backs up to this one.”
Margolis stared at him. “Why?”
Colin told them what he’d learned, as well as his suspicions about the vacant house and Lester’s spying activities. He also mentioned where he suspected Lester had been parking his car. At Margolis’s prodding, Colin admitted he’d been visiting the neighborhood late at night and early in the morning, and had spent time researching license plates. Maria’s parents looked sick at the revelations; meanwhile, Margolis’s stony gaze never swerved from him.
“You’re just telling me this now? That you’ve been playing private investigator all this time?”
Colin nodded toward the officers. “I told the cops when they were arresting me where Lester might have gone. They didn’t want to listen.”
It was quiet for a moment. One of the officers shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“But he wasn’t running toward the park,” Serena ventured softly. “Or for the house.”
“Excuse me?” Margolis said.
“The park is a few streets over that way,” Serena said, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. “And unless he wanted to take the long way around the block, he wasn’t running toward the vacant house, either. He ran the other way, in the opposite direction.”
Margolis absorbed this before excusing himself to huddle with the officers, two of whom subsequently departed. About half an hour too late, Colin thought.
Margolis returned to Maria. “Assuming Lester drove here, and since there are no cars registered in his name, they’ll find out if any of the cars have been stolen or if we can link them to Lester in another way. Of course, Lester may have doubled back and taken the car or he may have simply run off, but the important thing for now is that I’m confident that you’re safe. Are you planning to return to your place?”
“She’ll be staying with us,” Felix announced. “Serena too.”
Margolis thumbed over his shoulder. “Your front door is broken.”
“I have some two-by-fours in the garage. I’ll brace it, and then tomorrow, I’ll have it repaired.”
“Do you have an alarm?”
“Yes,” he said. “But we don’t use it much.”
“Use it tonight, even though you’ll have to bypass the front door. And brace the door and keep the shades drawn as a precaution.”
“What about police protection?” Serena asked. “Having someone at the house?”
“I won’t be able to swing that,” Margolis answered. “Pick your reason: budget cuts, not enough manpower, limits on overtime, or even that the Fifty-C hasn’t been filed. But I’ll call the commander, and I’m pretty sure I can arrange for a patrol car to swing by every few hours.”
“What if Lester comes back?”
“I don’t think that’s likely.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because he’s afraid of the police, and for all he knows, there will be an officer here.”