Truth and Justice - Fern Michaels Page 0,88

empty. All have bathrooms. Nothing. But there are paint and cloth swatches, both pink and blue, in one of the bedrooms. There was nothing on the second floor of any interest to us.

“Garage is clean as a whistle. You know, like someone just moved in who didn’t have anything to put in a garage but a car. No paint cans, no Weedwacker, nothing. A lightbulb, that’s it, plus an oil stain on the garage floor,” Alexis said.

Isabelle held up Sara’s laptop. “I can’t crack this here. We have to take it with us. I’m going to need Phil’s help. There are a few receipts in the cubbyholes in this little desk. All in the name of Sara Nolan. Everything I’ve seen says Sara Nolan. I wonder if she actually changed her name legally.”

“Where’s her stuff?” Maggie demanded. “Where’s her life? You know, the stuff you never leave home without. Like my backpack. I would never leave that unless my house was burning down and I couldn’t get to it. It’s not here, so she must have taken it with her. Someone text Avery and have him ask his people if they saw her take anything into urgent care? If she didn’t, have him tell them to ransack her car. And tell them to hurry it up.”

“I’ll do it,” Kathryn volunteered. She started to tap the keys on her phone in a near frenzy.

Twenty-five minutes later, Kathryn received a text from the old spy. “She went into urgent care empty-handed. Her car is clean. The only thing they found was a box of tissues and a pair of sunglasses. Okay, girls, fan out and search every inch of this house. There’s a bag or a box here somewhere with, as Maggie said, her stuff. For all we know she could have a built-in safe somewhere. Fine-tooth comb, inch by inch. Take your time and be careful.”

The Sisters muttered and mumbled as they searched the house Sara with a million aliases lived in. Two hours later, they once again met in the kitchen, hands up in the air to indicate nothing had been found.

“I don’t believe this. I don’t think she’d bury it outside. Every time she wanted something, she’d have to dig it up to get it. Maybe she rented one of those oversize safe deposit boxes at a bank. But that is more or less like burying something outside, she’d have to get in her car, go to the bank, and get into the vault. No, it’s got to be here. She’s no fool. In fact, I think she’s supersmart. Let’s all just stand here, close our eyes, visualize all the rooms, and ask ourselves where you would hide your stuff,” Kathryn suggested.

The girls did as instructed. Ten minutes went by, then another ten, before Maggie bellowed at the top of her lungs. “There is no place. She hid it somewhere else. We’re beating a dead horse here!”

“No, we’re not! I think I know where it is,” Nikki said, excitement ringing in her voice.

“Where? Where?” the girls shouted.

“Look around, girls, what do you see?” Nikki asked.

“Well, since we’re in the kitchen, a table and chairs and a bunch of basically empty cabinets. We went through them all. Canned soup, macaroni, cereal,” Maggie said.

“What’s under the sink? What did you see?” Nikki asked.

“Cleaning supplies, trash bags, dishwasher soap, dust mitten, duct tape. That’s it. I have that same stuff under my own sink at home,” Alexis said.

“How much duct tape?” Nikki asked.

“Maybe a quarter of a roll. There wasn’t much left on it.” To prove her point, Alexis opened the sink cabinet and pulled out the remains of a roll of gray duct tape. “So what are you saying? She taped something somewhere? But we took this house apart and didn’t find a thing,” she said.

“That’s because we didn’t look in the right place. Girls, grab hold of the kitchen table and be careful, it’s solid oak and heavy, turn it over, and tell me what you see!” Nikki said, bubbling with excitement.

The expletives rang loud and clear in the cavernous kitchen as the Sisters stared at all the ziplock bags duct-taped to the underside of the table. They ripped at them in a frenzy. “I always put my roasts or a big chicken in this size ziplock bag and put them in the freezer so they don’t get freezer burn,” Nikki said.

“These bags sure are jam-packed,” Nikki added. “Sara what’s her name was one busy lady. Just look at this