lot of those. This older section of town has all sorts of sheds and garages that have been built in alleyways or behind buildings. Those, I don’t go past much to see, so I can’t tell you what shape they’re in.”
Thanking him again, Sean shifted the box to his left hand and reached his right hand out to shake. “Let Harper know what you find out from the apartment manager,” he reminded. “I know we’re planning on using her bedroom furniture in one of my spare bedrooms, but she’s decided that her sofa, coffee table, end table, plus her dining room set are not needed. We won’t move any furniture that she doesn’t want until we hear from you.”
“Will do.” Daniel smiled, giving a wave with his hand as he headed toward the stairs.
Back at work, Sean called Harper and told her he picked up the last box labeled for the move. He also let her know what Daniel had suggested about leaving some of her furniture there.
“Oh, my goodness, that would be wonderful! If we take my bedroom furniture and can leave everything else, that would save us so much time and trouble.”
“Daniel said he’d check with the manager and call you later. I’ll let you go, babe. See you tonight.” Disconnecting, he looked across his desk at Jonas, catching his partner's smile. “Yes, yes, I’m domesticated. Hell, with my house, I was domesticated before Harper came along.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t domesticated with a big smile on your face.”
Flipping him off, Sean laughed but had to agree.
Looking back at the papers on his desk, Jonas said, “I finally got the computer to check on the comparison of chemicals with the names we have of current and former firefighters. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, but I thought we could go over it together.”
“Sounds good,” he said, and the two partners moved to the table in front of the map and evidence board. Spreading the papers out in front of them, they began digging.
Harper was driving back to her office after dropping off some evidence to John at the lab. She had tried to act normal, but it was hard not to watch every move and utterance that John made. As usual, he was excited to show her something new, while promising to immediately begin work on the evidence she had collected. She hated that Sean’s questions now had her looking at John through suspicious eyes but knew that he had to investigate every angle possible.
She had just pulled into the parking lot of her office when her phone rang. Seeing Daniel’s number, she picked it up. “Daniel, Sean told me that you would be calling.”
“I talked to Mr. Zambini, and he said that as long as your furniture was in good shape and the upholstery was clean, it would be fine for you to leave it in the apartment for a thirty day period while they listed it as partially furnished. He said if he finds someone to rent and they don’t want the furniture, then you would still be responsible for having it removed.”
“I can live with that. I know when I was looking for a place, I would’ve loved to have found something that already had some furniture in it so that I didn’t have to buy everything.”
“I think you’re right. I don’t think they’ll have any trouble renting the place. I know Sean said he was moving the last of what you needed today. Does that mean I won’t see you anymore?”
Hearing the wistfulness in his voice, she assured, “No. Actually, I’m coming over after work. There are a couple of boxes of kitchen items that I’m going to give away. I thought I would take them to Goodwill. I just want to go through them one more time to make sure I’m not getting rid of something I need.”
“I’ve also been gathering some things that I’m going to give away. If you want to bring the boxes to me, I can take them for you,” he offered.
Thinking of the time that would save her, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, Daniel, that would be wonderful! When I get there today and check the boxes, I can bring them to your place.”
“Don’t go to the trouble of hauling them around. You can just leave them in your apartment. I’ve got a master key and can get them sometime. No need to work on your last visit.”
She spent the afternoon writing up