Marine's Mission - Rebecca Deel Page 0,21
what to look for.”
Owen handed her a pair of rubber gloves. “See what catches your eye in the living room and kitchen. I’ll take the bedrooms, bathroom, and office.”
Gigi decided to start in the kitchen. Although she doubted she’d find anything of interest in there, she had to start somewhere.
She picked her way through debris scattered on the kitchen floor, scanning the contents. Although the searchers had dumped the contents of the drawers, she didn’t see shattered dishes and glasses.
Pulling open the doors, Gigi looked inside each cabinet. Glasses, bowls, plates, and coffee mugs sat on a few shelves. Nothing fancy, just good everyday dishes in a matching set. Ellis definitely wasn’t a party guy. Only four place settings sat on the shelves. Most of the cabinets were empty aside from a standard cookware set that looked unused.
Next, she turned her attention to the pantry. The shelves were filled with processed food easy to grab for breakfast or a snack, and perhaps to pack in lunches. Typical bachelor food.
She turned her attention to the refrigerator and noticed the pictures of Ellis and Toni. Gigi’s heart twisted at the sight of her friend.
Ellis was a good-looking guy. Not as attractive as Owen, but she wasn’t surprised that Ellis appealed to Toni. He was tall, slender, and fit. What made Gigi like him was the expression on his face as he looked at Toni, as though she was everything to him. Ellis Matthews adored Toni. All she and Owen needed to do was find Toni and Ellis so they had a chance at a life together with their baby.
After a cursory look in the refrigerator which confirmed his bachelor status with a few concessions to Toni’s food preferences, Gigi returned to the living room. She scooted aside video game after video game, astonished at the number of games that Ellis owned. She shouldn’t be surprised, though. After all, the man’s job involved computers. Made sense that he enjoyed playing video games in his downtime.
Gigi studied the chaos. The television and sound system were in place along with an expensive gaming system. Various computer and gaming magazines as well as science magazines covered the coffee table. On top of the scattered magazines lay a tablet.
She edged closer. Must be the newest model. Gigi had never seen a tablet like this one. Her own tablet was several years old, but it still allowed her to surf the Internet and read books.
Like the kitchen, drawers that held small objects had been upended and tossed aside. The searchers weren’t interested in objects easy to fence like electronics. They were after something specific, something small, but what?
Her gaze returned to the computer and science magazines. Was it possible the people who broke in wanted a flash drive or something that size? If so, Toni’s boyfriend could have hidden the object almost anywhere in this apartment.
Ellis worked for a defense contractor. His work must be classified. She couldn’t imagine that he’d bring home sensitive information. Was it possible Ellis was working on developing a program on his own time, something of interest to these men? Gigi sighed. She might be grasping at straws and on the wrong track altogether.
Wandering to the triple-stacked bookcase filled with science fiction, computer science, drones, and programming books, Gigi spotted a photo album. Nice. She loved looking through photo albums. After pulling the album from the bookshelf, she sat in the recliner to scan the contents.
She smiled as she studied the cute baby pictures of Ellis. If Toni’s baby looked like the father, her child would be adorable.
Gigi continued to flip pages until she reached the last page. Although the pictures in the album were a series of interesting snapshots of Ellis’s life, nothing inside helped find Toni or Ellis. She started to close the photo album when she noticed the end paper covering the thick cardboard cover was peeling away.
She frowned. How odd. The photo album looked new. The end paper shouldn’t be peeling. Smoothing the paper down with her fingers, Gigi paused, puzzled at the odd gap under the paper. Something was wrong with the cover. She peeled the paper from the cardboard and peered underneath.
Her eyes widened. A flash drive lay in a hollowed-out portion of the cover. Clever hiding place. From the outside, the photo album appeared to hold pictures of Ellis that stopped when he’d been in high school. She suspected his mother created the album and gave it to him as part of his graduation present.
Afraid to