Chapter 21

SPOV

The next morning I didn't feel relaxed, and put it down to the fact that Kramer was still running about out there somewhere and we hadn't a clue where. But I had to get on with my life; I needed to get some semblance of normality back. I went in search of Lester because I didn't know how to go about ordering furniture without giving my name and that would lead to the address. I found him in his office so walked in and closing the door I sat opposite him as he sat at his desk.

"You look a bit edgy this morning Beautiful"

"Yeah well, but I have to do something. Lester how do I get furniture for my apartment without using my name?"

"I can order it in my name and take delivery and then you can pay me"

"That sounds doable"
"Let me just check with Hector first because he messaged me earlier about your apartment but I've not had time to get back to him"

He worked at the computer and then smiled at me, what was that about?

"Seems the owner of the building has already fitted it out"

"Why would you know?"

"Hector's sent an email saying he saw guys moving furniture in"
"Oh, that was quick, I was only there yesterday morning"

"Hector says to tell you to check your rental contract"
"My Dad has that, I'll give him a call"

That was really strange, what would a rental contract say, I mean why would furniture suddenly appear at the property, did my Dad have something to do with that? But he didn't know what had happened at the apartment, or did he? I headed to the office that I'd been using and immediately saw files in my in box, shit I'd do those after I talked with my Dad and before I went to the property.

"Pumpkin, how's it going?"

"Dad do you have a copy of the rental agreement?"

"Yeah, I kept it with me so your mother wouldn't find it"

"Does it say anything about being furnished?"

"I can't remember, wait while I skim through it. Weird a lawyer holds attorney because the owner isn't around, ah here it is. Hell I never really picked up on that"
"On what Dad?"

"The first sentence calls it a furnished property, so I guess yeah it should have furniture in it, strange that it was empty when we looked around, but then maybe they thought it might get dusty or the place might attract squatters. Why you asking?"

"Seems the furniture arrived yesterday evening"

"That's good then because I heard someone did a number on your apartment"

"Yeah they did"
"Anything worth saving?"

I thought of my cookie jar lying in pieces on the floor and the paint sprayed over everything.

"No not really, but I'll need to talk with Dillon and give my notice. I'll head over there and check out how decent the furniture is"

"Can't help today, got an airport run midday"

"That's okay, how's mum?"

"Same as usual, I've told her repeatedly to let you be, that and to lay off with pushing Morelli, but she ain't having it so I'd suggest you stay away from her, I'll sort it out one way or another"

"Okay, I'll speak soon, love you"
"Love you too Pumpkin"

I felt sorry that it had come to this with my mother but to be honest I didn't think I'd have the energy to go through another tirade of hers. I turned to the computer and started on the searches, they were easy and in some respect boring but hey I got paid for it. I checked my emails and noticed one from Silvio, he'd returned a reference for me and had included links to access search programs so now I needed to get over to my new apartment and start working on those files. As I went down to the garage Hector slipped out of the stairwell and walked with me, gently pushing me toward his car, I guess I still had someone with me.

"Where to Estefania?"

"East Hanover Street"

He smiled as we left the garage and did his fancy driving to make sure we weren't being tailed.
"What are you going to do there?"
"I have a file to work on"

"An FTA?"

"Yeah, but I think there's more to it than that"

"Okay, while you work I work"

Once inside I left Hector downstairs in the office. I was amazed at how it had been furnished, almost as though someone could read my mind. A desk and leather chair and cabinets made the room look professional yet comfy and there was a computer and printer there.

"I link in your laptop so it prints here"

"That's brilliant, thanks"

The middle room that I envisaged as a small conference room had a round table with eight seats around it, plus a small cupboard on the floor that held a coffee maker and mugs. The front room had a taller desk with a lower area at the back for someone to work at and upholstered chairs were placed around a coffee table. The color of them down here was black and a pale oak for the desks. I couldn't wait to see what the apartment looked like. Wow, my heart was in my mouth as I looked around, the kitchen had appliances, at least they were ones I could work and the cupboards held all the crockery and cooking utensils I could ever wish for. But the lounge area, it looked modern yet homely with a dark grey leather couch, accented with blue throws and cushions, a large TV and entertainment system sat in the corner and there was even a dining table with a glass top and six chairs, all with a chrome finish and dark blue upholstery. I raced up into the bedroom and just stood there staring, a large bed, and it even had sheets and covers on with bedside tables and lamps on top. There was even one of those clocks that shone the time up onto the ceiling. I loved the small table and low chairs, they would be ideal to sit on and relax. Whoever had furnished this place had impeccable taste, modern but welcoming and cozy. I loved it all and was grinning as I went to the closet, clothes, I would need to replace my clothes and soon. I sighed with relief on seeing that the shelves hadn't been moved and retrieved the files. Then sitting down I uploaded the apps from Silvio and began the daunting task of looking for clues. I'd already identified one of the lawyers and just one other man who had got off from going to prison. I put this mans name into a search program and started to read through his history, he was one of those people who had been in and out of trouble all of his life, only 32, no permanent address, but born in New York. No known associates that came up so he seemed like a dead end, until I started on relatives. Interesting that his younger sister was married to a lawyer, I wonder which firm he worked for? The sister, Gwenda, had only been married for a month, weird because she'd been really ill not long before they'd got married, and then she'd made a miraculous recovery. I did a search on the husband he wasn't one that I'd identified and dam he worked for a different law firm than Sandra's but maybe he knew them. I checked into the university he went to and the year and then looked across at the notes I'd made. Well hello Mr Gibson, at least I'd found a link, but so what? It didn't get me any further forward to finding Sandra. And no matter how many searches I did I still couldn't identify any of the other men. So I went to Martins file, he worked for the Department of Health, what did they do that would warrant them to have any secrets. I put a search into the Internet and read through the information. I didn't know, in fact I was intrigued by the myriad of services they were responsible for. From health insurance to mental health, social services to emergency preparedness and as Martin had said all deaths were recorded here. I picked up the

paper that had a list of dates and places a short note next to each entry, the note now made sense as they were referring to the department, and some of the departments were repeated. Social services, health insurance and mental health seemed to be the ones he was referring to, but why? I looked at the dates he'd mentioned, there was no pattern to them or to the places, but one of them seemed to set off my senses. I referred back to my notes and found the search I'd done on Gwenda, holy shit, the place, Hemstead was where she was living and the date was when she was in hospital ill. Maybe I needed to talk with her. Now I needed to try and find out if the other times and places referred to other people, but what was going on? Why did I get the feeling that I'd stumbled onto something big?

"Estefania"

I jumped at the sound of my name and turned to see Hector stood leaning against the wall.

"It is late, you work for long time, and we should go now"

A look at my watch showed it was nearly 10; I hadn't realized how long I'd been working. I carefully tidied away my notes and put them into the files then walking over to the closet replaced the files where they'd been hidden before. I kept out the information on Gwenda and tucked it into my bag; maybe I'd get a chance to follow up with her tomorrow. Hector had gone back into the lounge and was obviously waiting for me, with my coat and bag I followed him out and we made our way back to Rangeman. It was only as we were driving into the garage that I had a sudden thought.

"Hector I could have stayed there"

"No, you need someone with you, at least until Kramer is caught"

Shit that would restrict what I could do, did I really want a Merry Man with me all the time? At that thought I remembered Kramer's face, and decided yes, maybe I did. I actually felt lethargic as I entered the apartment and though I should have felt hungry I didn't want a lot. I called Ella and asked if she had any salads left, maybe that would tie me over until morning.