Finding Sarah by Terry Odell Page A

sure your
prints have obscured any that might have been left on the keyboard or mouse
even if he took his gloves off. Besides, other than the fact that we’re pretty
sure someone was in here, nothing was taken or damaged.” He turned and focused
his eyes on her. “I can call the lab and they’ll come by and make a big mess
out of everything. Or, we can assume that whoever was here was only interested
in your computer files.”
    “What’s your recommendation? You’re
the pro here.”
    “I have to be honest. Since
nothing was taken and nobody was hurt, I’m afraid it might take quite a while
to get someone out here. This kind of thing is low priority.”
    “I don’t think I can face another
round of fingerprint powder, especially if it’s not likely to give us anything.
Do you think I’m being stupid?”
    “No, I think you’re being
realistic.” When Randy reached for the mouse, she began to pace the living
room. He noticed her rush down the hallway, but kept his attention on her
computer files until she came from the bedroom carrying an armload of flimsy
garments.
    “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m
going to wash these things. Probably twice. I can’t afford to replace them and
there’s no way I’m wearing them until they’re clean.”
    “You know, he probably never
touched them.”
    “Probably isn’t good enough. Just
the thought … yuck.”
    Randy watched Sarah try to open
the porch door without dropping any of her bundle. He started to offer help,
but didn’t think she’d want him dealing with her underwear, either. He focused
on the computer screen, reminding himself that this was supposed to be a
professional relationship.
    All he knew was he couldn’t let
her down. His gut told him he was dealing with something deeper than a series
of coincidences, even if he didn’t have much evidence beyond a probable
breaking and entering.
    Fifteen minutes later, Sarah wasn’t
back. It shouldn’t take that long to start a load of wash.
    Randy pushed his chair back,
crossed through the kitchen and stopped in the porch doorway. Sarah leaned
against the washing machine, head down. Randy’s heart tugged. First the
robbery, then the break-in. She was hanging on by a thread.
    He hesitated, then walked up
behind her and let his fingers brush her shoulders. Sarah stiffened at his
touch. She kept her head down, her soft trembling resonating through the woolen
bulk of her sweater. He turned her around and gathered her against his body, inhaling
faint traces of peach.
    The washing machine clunked and
she pulled away. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”
    Randy tilted her chin up with his
fingers and looked into her eyes. Sarah looked down, avoiding his gaze. “It’s a
normal reaction.” He told himself that his automatic response to holding a
woman in his arms was a normal reaction, too. And hoped she’d been too upset to
notice.
    “You must think I’m such a wuss.”
    He pulled her face up, forcing
her to meet his eyes. “No, I think you’re someone who’s had a run of trouble.
And I’m here to make things right.”
    “Did you find anything in the
computer?” Sarah asked, sniffling and wiping her hands on her skirt, a resolute
expression on her face.
    Randy returned to the business at
hand. “Not much. I didn’t see anything modified yesterday except your shop
files, but I’m hardly a computer geek. All we have is Maggie’s word that
someone was in your apartment.”
    Sarah pushed past him and went
toward her bedroom, returning with a CD, and slipped it into the drive. “These
are the backup shop records.” She opened several files, then turned back to him.
“Everything looks the same, so, I guess he didn’t change anything. What should
I do?”
    “Do you bank online? Do a lot of
online shopping?”
    “No, the bank is close to the
shop, so I never bothered with that. I don’t use the Internet much—this
computer is a dinosaur, anyway.” She shrugged. “I have