When the detective answered, Nico said in a low voice, “Nico Elliott here, Detective. I work for Julia Stewart at Madeline’s restaurant. I saw Kent Dawson go into Carole Hastings apartment building this afternoon. About five minutes later, her daughter walked into the building. I called Harper and got her downstairs, and Dawson took off. I think you should have a locksmith change the locks on Carole’s apartment, then put a police seal on the door.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then Gorowski sighed. “Damn it all to hell. I’ll do that, Mr. Elliott. Thanks for letting me know.”
“No problem. Thanks for taking care of it.”
He clicked off on the call a few moments before Harper opened the apartment door and came out, clutching a thin tablet with a plastic cover. “Got it.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, they walked in the door to Madeline’s. “Come on back. When Julia has a moment, we’ll take you to your friend’s house.” He couldn’t let Julia go alone. It would negate the whole reason for a bodyguard. Where she went, he went.
When he reached the kitchen, Nico stuck his head in the door. “Ms. Stewart? Could you come out here for a moment?”
Julia came toward him, wiping her wet hands on her apron. “What’s up, Nico?”
“This is Harper Hastings, Carole’s daughter. She needs a ride to her friend Kendall’s house. Could we drive her there?”
“Absolutely. Let me grab my keys and wallet, and we’ll go out through the kitchen.” She turned to Harper. “Are you hungry? We’re tasting today’s special, if you’d like some.”
Harper nodded slowly. “I’d love some, Ms. Stewart. Thank you.”
As Julia led her toward the kitchen, Nico wondered if Harper had eaten lunch that day. With no money and no credit card, she wouldn’t have been able to buy lunch at school. Had Kendall’s mother made sure she had a lunch, or money to buy it?
Moments later, Julia hurried back with her bag. “Everything okay?” she asked in a low voice.
“It is now. I’ll tell you after we drop Harper off.”
“Thanks for doing this, Nico,” she said, laying a hand on his arm. “Harper’s a nice kid. I feel terrible that she’s gotten caught up in her mother’s mess.”
“Not your fault,” he said. “And she’s staying with her BFF, so it’s all good.”
“Let’s go,” she said to Harper. “Nico’s going to come with us so he can navigate while I drive,” she said.
Nico studied Julia as they all climbed into her car. She’d been worried about Dawson earlier. After today, she’d worry about him even more.
Dawson must have hidden somewhere in the apartment when Harper came home. At least he hadn’t hurt Carole’s kid. Nico had to give him credit for that.
But Nico really wanted to know what he was looking for in Carole’s place. And he wondered if the new locks Detective Gorowski promised to install would be in place quickly enough to prevent Dawson from finding what he was after.