“Correct.”
“Well… There’s someone else out there. Someone who’s figured out all that…”
I pause.
He’s waiting for me to elaborate.
“I think the baseball bat didn’t end up under the sofa on its own. And I think someone else was in the house while I was gone. And it wasn’t my father’s people. Those people had searched the place, found nothing, and moved on. Later, they got, maybe, into my friend’s place. And that was that. And this is new. A new player.”
A cold grin tugs at my lips.
“I don’t know what it is, but the stakes are seemingly higher than I thought. The people that you had…” I murmur.
“They were on the street. No one stopped in front of the place, not even a neighbor.”
I look into the kitchen, my gaze flying to the windows.
“They came through the backyard. And must’ve used the back door. They’ve never entered her street. They surely knew someone was watching or simply thought it would be easier that way.”
“Maybe she knocked over her baseball bat and forgot about it. And you read too much into it.”
“I wish you were right, but she’s not the type to be sloppy with these things. She’s too used to taking care of herself to leave anything to chance. Plus, she expressed her surprise when she heard about it. She knows exactly where she left it. So yeah… Someone else was here.”
“Who do you think it was?”
“Someone who knows about the missing piece. Someone who has something to gain. Or someone who’s been hired. A PI, maybe?A rogue PI? Someone who doesn't mind using unorthodox methods to gather the necessary information. Whoever it was, they had the house under surveillance too. They knew she was gone. Like the other people, they weren’t interested in her. But what her place might hide.
* * *
KAI
At Kai’s place.Minutes later.
“Hey,”Raven says.
“Hey,” I reply curtly, putting her on speaker phone and retrieving a water bottle from the fridge.
“Did I wake you?” she asks. “I called you before.”
“No, no. I was working out. And I didn’t have my phone with me.”
“In the house?”
“Yes.”
She sounds curious, not suspicious.
“I have a gym at my place. I’ll show it to you next time you come here,” I toss at her casually.
I gulp water down, somewhat demonstratively.
“Things okay?” I murmur, capping the bottle.
“Yeah, yeah. Listen… I asked my sister to go to my place.”
“Uh-huh.”
"She needed a dress for a party…”