moved to the map board and his eyes searched over the pins.
“We realize we may be chasing after nothing, but we were hoping to see if we could discern where he might strike next.”
With his hands on his hips, shaking his head slowly, Chauncey said, “Well, this is one for the books. I would’ve never thought of something like this.”
Sean emitted a rueful chuckle. “It was pure dumb luck that I stumbled upon this.”
Chauncey turned his attention back to Sean. “You’re smart enough to know that for most detectives, we never ignore luck when it falls into our lap. A lot of cases have been solved with pure, dumb luck.” Turning toward Colm, he offered, “How about I take you to lunch if you’re almost finished here?”
“Dad, you’ve already given us the direction to pursue. Go have lunch with Commissioner King.” With his hand out, he shook his dad’s hand and then stepped back so that Jonas could do the same. He watched as the two old friends walked out the door before turning to Jonas and saying, “Besides this location, we need to keep looking at the lists, looking for retired or fired firefighters who also are on the list from the chemical company’s sales.”
Having downloaded their lists into spreadsheets, he sat back and let the computer begin looking for matches.
The day after Sean asked her to move in with him, Harper had sent a formal one-month notice to the apartment rental agency. She also left a note on Daniel’s door for him to come by. They had become so close, she wondered how he would take the news.
“As much as I’m going to miss you, I’m excited for you.” He pulled her in for a hug as soon as she welcomed him into her apartment.
“I promise that I’ll still see you. I’ll come back to visit, and Sean and I will have you over.”
He patted her arm. “Now, don’t go worrying about me. You know I’ll be well looked after in this building.”
She laughed. “I know you’ll be well fed!” Sobering, she said, “Please, believe me, Daniel. I’m not just saying it when I tell you that I appreciate our friendship. Just because I won’t be living across the hall, I don’t want it to end.”
They had hugged again, and she had gone across to her apartment to grab some things to take to Sean’s. The first day, she had taken Smokey in his carrier, along with his litter box, dishes, and food.
Once she had arrived at his house, she had placed the litter box and other items in the laundry room, setting the carrier in there as well. Closing the door, she had let Smokey out and he immediately scrunched into the back of his carrier. Sitting on the floor of the laundry room next to his food dish, she had waited patiently. Curiosity began to creep over the cat, and he finally stuck his head out of the carrier, eyes wide, looking around. Several minutes later, he crouched low and began slinking around the room, sniffing in each corner and behind the washer and dryer. After ascertaining that Sean’s laundry room did not contain any creepy cat dangers, he moved to his food dish and nibbled while she stroked his fur.
Leaving him closed in the laundry room for a little while to get used to where his litter box would be, she had carried her suitcase upstairs and unloaded her toiletries and a few items of clothing. It’s going to take several trips just to bring my essentials. And what about furniture? Forgoing the decision about furniture, she decided to focus on the things she needed immediately.
Now, Harper could not wait for the weekend. For the past three afternoons after work, she had stopped by her apartment with her rolling suitcase, filled it with as much as she could pack into it and still get it zipped, and then drove to Sean’s house to unpack and spend the night. She had transferred her in-season clothes, leaving behind her spring and summer items for later. Toiletries and personal items had also made the trip, and today she managed to pack up her essential kitchen items.
By now, Smokey had spent the last several days exploring every nook and cranny in Sean’s house, and while he would eventually find a sunspot to sleep in, he still spent much of his awake time skulking low to the floor, looking around for whatever might jump out.