CHAPTER 2-A DISAPPEARING ACT
The next morning, Melissa took Nicole shopping-"Well, you need a new outfit to wow all those buyers!" She'd explained. Nicole didn't have the heart to tell her that it was her art she wanted to wow them with, not her appearance. But she was content to go along with the plan.
It was Amy who had not only cemented her place in the college, but had managed to get her a job at a restaurant. True, it was only a job waiting tables, and it was only part-time, but her accommodation and college course were free, so her money was her own. The college was run almost exclusively on private funding; that was to say, from Amy's not-inconsiderable bank account. Her own art continued to sell well, but her parents, having died seven years ago, had been very successful business people and investors, and since Amy had been an only child, they had selected their daughter as their sole inheritor. Thankfully, though, her undoubted wealth had not adversely affected her personality. Amy was faultlessly generous, decent and kind-hearted, and, next to Robert and Mickey, the one person to whom Nicole owed the most.
Having bought a new and reasonably priced outfit of tight blue jeans, black knee-high boots, and classy purple top with spaghetti straps, the two girls turned to go back to the college, Mel chattering incessantly, Nicole characteristically lost in thought.
To get to the college, they had to pass Amy's apartment, and the two girls stopped short when they got to her brownstone, to find a police car parked outside.
"What do you think's going on?" Melissa seemed nonchalant, but Nicole felt her blood run cold. For her, a cop car meant an unwilling trip down memory lane, to a conveyor belt of foster homes, one worse than the next. But it wasn't just that-she had a feeling that something bad had happened.
Even as she thought it, two police officers exited the building, shaking their heads and muttering something about 'wasting time'. Swallowing her instinctive dislike and mistrust of the police, Nicole approached. "What's going on here?" He demanded, pointedly ignoring Melissa's shocked expression at her impertinent tone. The two officers shared a bemused look, and one said, in a condescending tone that seemed to be a particular specialty of people in authority and irritated Nicole no end, "Do you live here, Miss?"
"I know someone who does." Nicole replied shortly, and then, because her gut told her she should, she added, "Amy Knox. She runs the art college we go to." At 'we', she made a vague gesture toward Melissa, unable to shake the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
The policemen shared another look, and then the other said, "A neighbour said she heard a commotion coming from Miss Knox's apartment. But when we managed to get in there, it seemed she'd just left. There was a note to the housekeeper she employed saying she'd gone on holiday for a time and could she watch the place while she was away?" A pause, and he added, "I take it she didn't tell anyone else she was going?"
Nicole shook her head emphatically. "That's not right." She retorted firmly. "There's an important exhibition three days from now that she wouldn't miss, and the college is her life...she wouldn't just take off!"
The first officer sighed, then asked of her, "Would you take a look at the note, see if it's her handwriting? If it's not...we'll investigate further."
Amy never flaunted her wealth; when she donated to charity, it was done quietly and discreetly. Ditto, when she'd purchased The Gallery. She didn't partake in the media circus other rich people seemed to enjoy, and was rarely pictured in the papers, so not a lot of people knew how much she was actually worth. And certainly, the NYPD would have no reason to.
The apartment was neat, far too neat for any breakneck intrusion, as Nicole had half-expected to see proof of. On the kitchen countertop, lay the note, to which was attached a wad of cash, which was, to Nicole's shock, in Amy's neat handwriting:
Maria,
I'm sorry to do this without giving you any notice, but I've decided to take a break for a while. I'm feeling stressed out and need a change of scenery. Would you mind keeping an eye on the apartment while I'm gone? I've left you a month's pay, am hoping to be back soon.
Thank you,
Amy.
"Well?" The first officer who had spoken didn't even bother to try to conceal his impatience, but Nicole couldn't answer straight away. She didn't know what to think. She had seen Amy's handwriting often enough to recognise it, but...it just felt wrong. She wouldn't just leave, three days before one of the biggest events the college had ever held. She wouldn't leave, period. Not without telling someone, surely.
"It's Amy's handwriting." It was Melissa who was speaking. "But it couldn't..."
"Something's wrong." Nicole turned to face the room, looking at the police officers and seeing that she had probably already lost their interest, or even their curiosity. Even Melissa looked doubtful.
"With all due respect, Miss-?" The second officer paused to allow Nicole to supply him with her surname, which she didn't, and with an aggrieved sigh, he continued, "There's no break-in, not even a forced entry; money left for the housekeeper, and a note which your friend here says is in Miss Knox's handwriting."
"It is her handwriting." Nicole affirmed. "But...what about the commotion the neighbour heard?"
"He said there was the sound of breaking glass, like a window being smashed, which was why he thought there was a break-in." Cop number two seemed slightly calmer. "But when we got here, we just found a lamp overturned, which must have been what the neighbour heard. He says he didn't see Miss Knox leave before he knocked, but that she may have, because he wasn't paying attention all the time. There was certainly no window broken. We checked. The window was open in the kitchen though."
"You saying that Amy knocked over a lamp, and didn't bother to pick it up before she left?" Nicole was incredulous. Law enforcement? She'd do a better job herself! "And left a window open?"
"Maybe she was in a hurry." Cop number one was getting increasingly snappy; obviously, he didn't like being questioned. "Unfortunately, open windows and overturned lamps don't constitute a crime. There's no evidence of any crime, no sign of intrusion...much as you may not want to believe it, Miss, it seems Miss Knox really has gone on vacation. She's been careless-not kidnapped."
Nicole was practically incandescent with rage by the time she and Melissa got outside the apartment, and her friend's dubious expression really wasn't helping. "It does look like Amy's just gone on vacation, Nicki." Melissa said meekly. "I mean, the note..."
Knowing she shouldn't take her anger and sense of hopelessness out on her friend and not caring, Nicole rounded on Melissa. "Do you really believe that?" She snapped. "Do you honestly think that Amy would just leave without telling us? That she'd just disappear without making sure her apartment was secure? Do you, Mel?"
Tearing her gaze away from Melissa's hurt expression and already regretting her outburst, she said, "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I just have a bad feeling about this."
And then, she knew just what she had to do. The only thing to do. The idiot police might think Amy had simply gone on an impulsive holiday, but she knew better.
Nicole headed for the nearest payphone, and when Melissa threw her a questioning look, she simply said, "The police won't help, Mel."
She reached the phone, yanked up the receiver, fed it coins and dialled a number she had long since memorized, Melissa asked, "What are you doing?"
The reply was again simple, and grim: "Calling somebody who will."...
Next: Nicole and Robert meet again, and she tells McCall about Amy-but will (he share her misgivings? Please read & review!)
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