The Night Searchers by Marcia Muller

Author:Marcia Muller [Muller, Marcia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: detective, mystery, San Francisco, women sleuths
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-07-01T07:00:00+00:00

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

Chapter 7

6:10 a.m.

I woke with a start, oriented myself—not here in Rae and Ricky’s guest room again!—and slipped out of bed. Rae had taken my sodden clothes away, and I had only the too-big bathrobe from the guest room closet, but my house wasn’t all that far away and nobody would notice what I was wearing in the car.

The car…

I went downstairs, looked out the kitchen window. There was the Mercedes, parked exactly where I’d left it in the driveway yesterday. Nobody else was up; I supposed Mrs. Wellcome was still off on her birthday adventure.

The coffeepot, set on a timer, was brewing. Either Rae or Ricky had anticipated my early departure. I sat down to wait till it was finished. Then I drank a cup, found my car keys in my purse, and left for home.

7:09 a.m.

The cats were starving. They wound around my legs and made frantic sounds, and dug in as soon as I’d put their chow down. Hy still wasn’t back, and they’d gotten into the food I’d left out for him and eaten it all.

“You guys are pigs,” I said.

They didn’t even look up.

“Yeah, you two—pigs.”

Jessie gave me a “So what?” expression. Alex kept eating.

I grabbed my cell and called Mick, who sounded tired and cross when he answered. “Rae filled me in on what happened last night. I’ll get the film from the infrared and have it developed.” There was a pounding sound in the background. “Hold on.” Voices muttered, and then he returned to the phone. “Cops,” he said, “looking for you.”

“Me? Why?”

“Didn’t say, but they asked where you were living. They’d already been to the agency; I suspect the Avila Street address hasn’t made it into their databases yet.”

“Why the hell are they after me?”

“You haven’t seen the early TV news?”

“You know I don’t watch news on the television.”

“Van Hoffman claimed to hospital staff and then to the police that he was kidnapped and held in an unknown location by you and other people who wanted him to give up confidential information and, after he did, you took him down to the Bay and threw him in. Then you dived in and tried to drown him. Fortunately an unknown Good Samaritan rescued him. He says he can’t give any reason for your actions.”

“What? I was the Good Samaritan! I saved the bastard’s life, and this is how he repays me?”

“Shar, take it easy. RI operatives are already all over him, demanding he tell the truth. He’s not responsive to them now…but when Hy gets back—”

My blood was at full boil now. “Why would he tell such an outrageous lie about someone who’s trying to protect him? What is he covering up?”

“I don’t know, but you’d better concentrate on protecting yourself now. It’s only a matter of time till the cops find out about the Avila Street address.”

“I think I’d better clear out of here.”

“And go where?”

“I don’t know. I’ll be in touch.”

I punched the Off button, fuming, then speed-dialed Glenn Solomon.

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