course,” Jill said.
She looked at Mae again. “I’ll have a couple of officers drive by your place regularly for a few nights, but honestly, it isn’t likely we’ll catch whoever did this, Miss Malveaux. So, you think you’re ready to go up and see what they took?”
Mae turned to Jill. “Could you call in for me?”
“Sure. Who should I talk to?”
Mae gave Donald Leftwich’s direct phone number to Jill. “Tell him as little as you can.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Mae followed the sergeant and two uniformed officers into her apartment.
The place had been ransacked. In the living room-kitchenette combination, the cushions from the couch and chair were flung into a corner, and tables had been tipped over. The three drawers under the small kitchen counter were opened and her silverware and utensils dumped on the floor.
“They ate the lasagna,” Mae whispered, looking at the empty plate.
“I’m sorry?” Sergeant Dean asked.
“Nothing. I was just muttering to myself about the mess.”
“Have you noticed anything missing yet, ma’am?”
“No. Not yet.”
She gave the tiny bathroom a quick glance. The intruder had ransacked her medicine cabinet, but the small room was not as serious a mess as the rest of the house.
In the bedroom the chaos continued. Her bedcovers were pulled onto the floor, her dresser drawers pulled out and turned upside down. Mae blushed as she saw all her bras and panties lying on the carpet in plain view.
She checked and discovered her emergency stash of cash was gone. She looked through her small collection of modest jewelry. Everything was there, if scattered about the room. It was then that she noticed her important personal papers—her birth certificate, the official transcript from college, a couple of letters from her father, and the only photograph she owned of her mother—were on the bed, arranged neatly next to each other.
“Ma’am?”
Sergeant Dean’s voice came from the bedroom doorway. Mae turned to face her.
“They took a little money, maybe a hundred dollars.”
Dean stepped closer to her, her frown leaving deep lines on her broad, brown face. “I’ll tell you what I think, Miss Malveaux. I think this whole thing was designed to shake you up. Is there someone who would want to scare you or hurt you? Maybe an ex-boyfriend or a coworker who doesn’t like you? Anyone you can think of who would do this, anyone at all?”
Mae shook her head. She had her own suspicions, but she could not tell the detective she suspected supernatural forces were trying to stop her from digging too deeply into a case of child neglect she was not supposed to be working on anymore.
“No. No, I’m sorry. I just—I don’t know who would do this.”
Sergeant Dean sighed. “All right. Why don’t you grab some fresh clothes and go with your friend. We’ll call you when we’re done.”
Taking a small travel suitcase from her closet, Mae packed some clothes and her personal papers. Necessities from the bathroom and a few personal items went in next. Mae looked around her apartment as the officers poked through her belongings.
She found Jill waiting for her in the small lobby. Jill took her by the arm and led her past the building superintendent, who gave her an angry glare, no doubt ready to blame her for bringing trouble down on his building.
Mae was quiet on the way to Jill’s townhouse. Once inside, Mae took off her coat and shoes and dropped heavily back onto the couch she had been sleeping on only a few hours before.
“What did Donald say?” Mae whispered to Jill, who had settled on the couch next to her.
“He wants you to call him later. He sounded kind of annoyed. Do you want me to stay with you?”
Mae took a deep breath and leaned forward, her hands on her knees. “I know you need to go to work. I’ll be fine, really.”
Mae knew it was a lie as soon as the words left her lips. She would not be okay. She was in way over her head. Phantom
She looked at Mae again. “I’ll have a couple of officers drive by your place regularly for a few nights, but honestly, it isn’t likely we’ll catch whoever did this, Miss Malveaux. So, you think you’re ready to go up and see what they took?”
Mae turned to Jill. “Could you call in for me?”
“Sure. Who should I talk to?”
Mae gave Donald Leftwich’s direct phone number to Jill. “Tell him as little as you can.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Mae followed the sergeant and two uniformed officers into her apartment.
The place had been ransacked. In the living room-kitchenette combination, the cushions from the couch and chair were flung into a corner, and tables had been tipped over. The three drawers under the small kitchen counter were opened and her silverware and utensils dumped on the floor.
“They ate the lasagna,” Mae whispered, looking at the empty plate.
“I’m sorry?” Sergeant Dean asked.
“Nothing. I was just muttering to myself about the mess.”
“Have you noticed anything missing yet, ma’am?”
“No. Not yet.”
She gave the tiny bathroom a quick glance. The intruder had ransacked her medicine cabinet, but the small room was not as serious a mess as the rest of the house.
In the bedroom the chaos continued. Her bedcovers were pulled onto the floor, her dresser drawers pulled out and turned upside down. Mae blushed as she saw all her bras and panties lying on the carpet in plain view.
She checked and discovered her emergency stash of cash was gone. She looked through her small collection of modest jewelry. Everything was there, if scattered about the room. It was then that she noticed her important personal papers—her birth certificate, the official transcript from college, a couple of letters from her father, and the only photograph she owned of her mother—were on the bed, arranged neatly next to each other.
“Ma’am?”
Sergeant Dean’s voice came from the bedroom doorway. Mae turned to face her.
“They took a little money, maybe a hundred dollars.”
Dean stepped closer to her, her frown leaving deep lines on her broad, brown face. “I’ll tell you what I think, Miss Malveaux. I think this whole thing was designed to shake you up. Is there someone who would want to scare you or hurt you? Maybe an ex-boyfriend or a coworker who doesn’t like you? Anyone you can think of who would do this, anyone at all?”
Mae shook her head. She had her own suspicions, but she could not tell the detective she suspected supernatural forces were trying to stop her from digging too deeply into a case of child neglect she was not supposed to be working on anymore.
“No. No, I’m sorry. I just—I don’t know who would do this.”
Sergeant Dean sighed. “All right. Why don’t you grab some fresh clothes and go with your friend. We’ll call you when we’re done.”
Taking a small travel suitcase from her closet, Mae packed some clothes and her personal papers. Necessities from the bathroom and a few personal items went in next. Mae looked around her apartment as the officers poked through her belongings.
She found Jill waiting for her in the small lobby. Jill took her by the arm and led her past the building superintendent, who gave her an angry glare, no doubt ready to blame her for bringing trouble down on his building.
Mae was quiet on the way to Jill’s townhouse. Once inside, Mae took off her coat and shoes and dropped heavily back onto the couch she had been sleeping on only a few hours before.
“What did Donald say?” Mae whispered to Jill, who had settled on the couch next to her.
“He wants you to call him later. He sounded kind of annoyed. Do you want me to stay with you?”
Mae took a deep breath and leaned forward, her hands on her knees. “I know you need to go to work. I’ll be fine, really.”
Mae knew it was a lie as soon as the words left her lips. She would not be okay. She was in way over her head. Phantom
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