“If you say so. Doesn’t say much for my current situation, does it?” She waved him off. “Thanks for the coffee delivery.”
He pointed to the carafe and said, “There’s more, if you want it.”
She nodded. “Please stay in touch. I don’t want to be sitting here, wondering what I’m supposed to do at checkout time.”
“We’re here for at least tonight,” he said.
She frowned up at him. “That’s expensive.”
“That’s not your problem right now,” he said. “We have bigger issues.”
She snorted at that, but he was soon gone. She tried not to worry about the cost of the hotel, but she had few options right now. Almost immediately another knock came at her door.
After looking through the peephole, she opened the door and said, “Come on in.”
Kai poked her head in, saw the coffee, and grinned. “Here I was going to offer you coffee,” she said, “but Johan beat me to it. I should have known.”
There was just something so teasing about her voice that Joy could feel the heat washing up her cheeks. “Well, I slept alone,” she said, “so obviously there isn’t anything going on between us.”
“Oh, he would have stayed with you, if you’ve given him a chance,” she said. “But he was more concerned about you getting a good night’s sleep after last night than anything else.”
“Well, I did get some,” she said, relaxing against the headboard, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s just so unbelievable, and I have so much now to deal with that I don’t even know how to start.”
“Right,” she said, “and that’s something we can sort out right now.” She pulled up a chair, sat down beside Joy, putting her feet up on the bed.
“Don’t you want coffee?” Joy pointed at the carafe. “More is in that, and an extra cup is nearby.”
Kai nodded, hopped to her feet, went to the tray, and poured herself a cup. She came back with the pot and topped off Joy’s cup while she was at it. “Let’s make a list,” she said, “and see what we need to do first.”
“Well, seeing how we didn’t go to the mall last night,” Joy joked, “I need to shower, get dressed in the same dirty clothes, then find new clothes.”
“Malls don’t open until at least nine o’clock here,” she said, “so we’ll have breakfast first.”
The two women put their heads together, focused on the list, and jotted down things she needed to get. “What about your IDs?”
“In my purse,” she said. “I don’t really have much else.”
“Passport?”
“I just applied for one,” she said. “I don’t have it yet.”
“Well, that’s good,” she said. “So you’ve got your laptop, your phone, your purse, all your credit cards, and stuff like that. So you really just need clothing and personal items, right?”
“Right,” she said. “Especially considering I couldn’t even brush my teeth last night or this morning.”
Kai looked up and nodded in understanding. “So we need to hit a drugstore and a place to buy clothing.”
“What’s Tyson going to do while we’re roaming around in the malls?” she joked. “I highly doubt he wants to come with us.”
Kai smiled. “Tyson went with the guys.”
*
With the three of them on different corners of the property, Johan left the other two outside and approached Barlow’s house from the back. He’d already done a quick reconnaissance earlier and knew this was the best entrance. He made his way inside the house, popping the lock easily.
It was early morning, and nobody was out and about. It was a Sunday, so most people were asleep, but he could never assume that he hadn’t been seen, so he walked calmly and naturally, as if he were expected to be here.
Johan pulled on disposable gloves. Inside the house was nothing but silence. The man Barlow had lived alone per their research. He’d had a series of girlfriends, but apparently nothing lasting since Phyllis, which was close to twenty-four years ago now by Johan’s preliminary research. He quickly searched the main floor, went downstairs, but it was just a basement, empty except for weight equipment gathering dust in a corner. The other side held a kayak and a canoe, both shiny and clean, yet dusty. As if never used. He made his way now to the second floor. The spare room was empty but laid out in case somebody wanted to stay, including a robe across the bed. He frowned at that and stepped into the bathroom, wondering if that was the way he treated all his visitors