A shocked screech burned her throat as she tried to slam the door shut, but Kent’s foot shot out and stopped it from closing.
“I heard about what’s going on. I had to see you,” he said. “Please, just listen to me.”
“Get the hell off my porch! I’m calling the cops,” Sadie threatened, trying to keep fear from her voice.
“I just want to talk. I’ll stay right here—you don’t even have to let me inside.”
He didn’t have a weapon that Sadie could see, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hiding one inside his jacket. Her mind raced. She knew that by the time she could get to the phone or to her closet for her gun he could easily slit her throat or shoot her.
“Okay, go ahead and talk,” she answered, surprised at how calm her voice sounded. Her breath came in and out in adrenaline-laced gasps. “I’ll give you two minutes. You can start by telling me why you lied about going to Tahoe.”
“I’m sorry about that, but I have a real good reason for asking my friend to cover for me.”
He relaxed a bit and even offered her a deceptively sexy smile.
“You’re looking good, by the way.”
“Start talking,” she barked.
“First of all, I don’t know why you told the cops that I put a diamond pin in your coat when we went to dinner. I didn’t do that. That’s not exactly the best way to end a date with a woman when you’re hoping for another.”
He had the audacity to wink.
“Are you actually flirting with me? After you slit my tires and shot Mrs. Toth?”
“What?!” He jerked backward, as if surprised, and his foot slid out of the way.
Sadie abruptly turned and shouldered him hard so that he stumbled backward at least a foot. Hurriedly she tried to close the door, but just as quickly, Kent snaked his hand out to stop her and she slammed the door on his fingers, making a sickening crack.
“Argh!” he screamed. “My fingers! You’re breaking them!”
He tugged and finally yanked his hand free. Sadie successfully forced the door the rest of the way closed and speedily bolted it.
Her heart pounded as she raced to get the phone at the other end of the kitchen. She was dialing 911 while Kent hopped around and cursed outside on her deck.
“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”
“I’ve got a man trying to break into my house,” Sadie panted into the phone. She rattled off the address and promised to stay on the line.
“The cops are on their way!” she screamed for Kent’s benefit.
He leaned against the door.
“I’m sorry, Sadie,” he called out. “That’s all I wanted to say. I’m just sorry you got mixed up in all this. You’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m sorry.”
“You should tell that to Sylvia Toth!” Sadie screeched, her voice warbling with emotion. “Hell, you should send your apologies to Trudy and Grant too, you no good, backstabbing, mentally defective, lying son of a bitch!”
She heard his footsteps as he walked down the stairs of her deck and toward the back lane. When she was sure he’d gone, she slumped onto the linoleum and began to cry, her sobs coming in strangled gasps.
The sirens came, but not fast enough.
“He’s gone,” she told the officer when she opened her front door. “He was at my back door when I came home and he tried to force his way inside when I went to put a bottle in my recycle box. He took off when I told him I’d called the cops.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. I was able to slam the door on him. I’ve no doubt he would’ve killed me if he’d had the chance.”
“You know the man?” the officer asked.
“Yes. Kent Lasko,” Sadie said. She pointed to her door frame. “You can tell Detective Petrovich he admitted to having his friend lie for him. He wasn’t in Tahoe skiing.”
“Petrovich is on his way, and we’ve got vehicles searching the area for this guy,” the officer assured her. “You just need to calm yourself and stay put.”
“As if I’m going anywhere,” Sadie mumbled to herself as the officer left to make his calls. She took a seat on her sofa and stared blankly at the wall. She stared so hard her eyes began to burn.
“I should probably paint this place,” she said, as if seeing the pale walls for the first time. “Or move.”
When the officer returned from a look at the deck, he sat down in the chair next to the sofa.
“Kent killed Trudy and Grant Toth and made it look like a murder-suicide,” she told him. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it. There’s got to be a way to make the evidence tell the truth.”
He tapped his notepad with the tip of his pen and frowned. “We’ve got cars all over the neighborhood looking for this man, but you say you didn’t see his car?”
“No. He could’ve parked far away or maybe he was on foot. He used a green Toyota when he was after me before.”
“That’s what Petrovich said. Our guys are looking for him either on foot or in a green Toyota. I’m sure we’ll find him.”
Sadie sighed and blinked back tears as she focused on the feature wall of her living room.
“I’m thinking green, but nothing too dark. Maybe a light seafoam color.”
“Excuse me?”
“Paint.”
“Ma’am, are you all right? Do you need medical attention?”
“Maybe I need a vacation. I don’t think I can wait until next week for a massage.”
“You know, my brother takes rescue dogs. You should consider one for protection.”
“I’ve got a rabbit. Hairy and I have agreed a dog wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Even a well-trained dog would be tempted by the taste of rabbit,” he admitted. “But you could always keep your bunny locked in a cage or in a separate room.”
Sadie watched as Hairy hopped over to his little basket and hunkered down with Mini-Hairy.
“I don’t think keeping Hairy locked up would be good for either of us.”
He handed her his brother’s business card.
Sadie looked down at the card and smiled. “Kalvin Newton. Huh. I went to school with a Kalvin Newton, except he spelled Kalvin with a C.” She looked up. “Thanks for the card. I promise to give serious thought to the dog thing.”
Petrovich arrived but didn’t talk to her until he’d spoken with the officers searching the neighborhood, and even then he wasn’t much help. They hadn’t found Kent Lasko and by now he could’ve been anywhere. Kent’s brother, Christian, had been at his house alone, but he claimed he hadn’t seen Kent for days and appeared genuinely shocked that his brother wasn’t off skiing in Tahoe.
After Petrovich and all the other cops had gone, Sadie double-checked all her windows and doors and set the alarm as Petrovich had insisted. Then she had a lengthy discussion with Zack on the phone and promised not to leave her house. There was no danger of that. She was exhausted. Even though it was midafternoon, she climbed into bed, pulled the covers up to her chin, and began reading a romance novel that had been waiting on her nightstand for months.
She nodded off and was enjoying an erotic dream involving a blond with washboard abs and a penchant for whipped cream when the phone rang. She pulled a pillow over her head and tried to go back to sleep, but a woman’s voice echoed through the house through the speaker on the answering machine.
“Sadie, it’s Maeva. Pick up the phone. I know you’re there.” Pause. “If you don’t pick up I’ll keep calling every five minutes until you do.”
With an exasperated sigh, Sadie flung the pillow off her face and snatched the phone.
“Why don’t you use your evil ESP on someone else?” Sadie demanded.
“That wasn’t ESP. I drove by your house an hour ago and all these cops were around. What’s up?”
“Someone tried to break in. Now I’m going back to sleep.”
“How can you fall asleep after someone just broke into your place?”
“He never got inside. It was Kent Lasko. He was lurking in my backyard and wanted to talk.”
“Good for you for calling the cops. Did you find out first why he killed Trudy and Grant?”
“No, I didn’t,” Sadie said evenly. “Since he probably would’ve killed me, I didn’t invite the man in for tea.”
“Don’t get grumpy.”
“I’ve had a rough day. I’m going back to sleep, where I’m hoping to find a muscled man-slut waiting to service me.”
“Fine, but I’d like you to help me communicate with Grant again. He keeps interrupting every séance I have, but his messages are so jumbled they don’t make sense. Will you help?”
“I’m not in a helping kind of mood.”
“But you could uncover some clue that would help prove Kent Lasko’s guilty and put him in jail.”
Sadie considered this.
“You know, Maeva, I’m just not overly in touch with my inner Nancy Drew. If you’re able to uncover some clue that will put this all together, go for it. I’m just going to mind my own business and maybe get a dog.”
“Hairy would hate it if you got a dog.”
“I’m hanging up now,” Sadie said, and she did.
Regardless of her attempts, the Adonis of Sadie’s dreams was gone for good. After tossing and turning for a while, she ignored her promise to Zack. She knew one place she could go and still be safe. She headed for the mall for some retail therapy.
After an hour of wandering she’d only managed to eat some greasy fries and hadn’t found a damn thing that interested her. However, she did feel safe among the throngs of shoppers.
She walked into a small lingerie shop all decked out in Valentine’s Day splendor, but it only made her feel old and alone. Besides, she’d been considering a simple bra; she wasn’t aiming for one in hot pink with sparkly hearts, thank you very much. She thought of asking the perky clerk for help, but her tolerance for perky was low these days. Instead, she abruptly whirled, walked out of the shop—and bumped directly into Christian Lasko.
“Ah, jeez,” he grumbled.
He tried to keep his head down and walk around her. Unfortunately, Sadie had the same idea and when she stepped to one side he did the same, and when he reversed directions she matched his. It was as if they couldn’t get away from each other.
“Stop!” Sadie shouted, attracting unnecessary attention from shoppers walking by. “I don’t want to see you any more than you want to see me.” She pointed to her left. “I’m going in that direction. Feel free to go the opposite way.”
He nodded abruptly and took one step to the right. Then Sadie had second thoughts and grabbed him by the arm.
“By the way, tell your crazy brother to stay the hell away from me and my house. Tell him I’m getting a pit bull.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
He tried to yank his arm free of her grip, but Sadie held him fast.
“And tell him that I’m working on proof that he killed both Trudy and Grant and I’m not going to give up until he’s in jail.”
“You’re crazy. Leave my brother alone or you’ll regret it,” Christian hissed, but he looked around furtively and he was obviously afraid.
He freed his arm from Sadie’s grasp and broke into a run, nearly capsizing a middle-aged woman leaving the lingerie shop with an armload of purchases.
Sadie found it strangely empowering to strike fear into the heart of somebody after spending so much time lately scared herself.
Instead of leaving the mall, she spotted a mega sportswear store and decided it was her new destination. Even though her muscles were already starting to ache from her morning jog, it was a good kind of soreness. Maybe some new running clothes would bolster her enthusiasm.
She walked inside the store, where rock ’n’ roll played loudly over the speakers and neon signs blinked sales slogans. She casually looked through the racks in the running section.
“Can I help you?” a pimply young man asked from behind her.
“Just looking for something to wear for jogging,” Sadie remarked. She pulled a long-sleeved emerald green tee from the rack.
“Oh, you don’t want that,” he said, taking the item from her and hanging it back up. “Let me show you our new and exciting running wear.”
Sadie was pretty sure that the new and exciting clothes would have a huge price tag, but she was curious, so she followed him just the same.
“Run-Tec has just come out with this new line specifically for joggers. It’s made of textured microfiber. That means the fabric is breathable, and it actually lifts moisture away from your body.”
“Yeah, but is it bulletproof?” Sadie asked sarcastically.
The clerk laughed politely and reached for a shirt on the shelf in front of them.
Sadie took the dark red shirt he held out and searched for the tag. “Fifty dollars for a shirt?” She handed it back to him. “I don’t think so.”
“There’s a twenty-dollar rebate if you join Run-Tec’s mailing list on their online store.”
She looked skeptical. “Twenty dollars just for signing up online? How would that work? I sign up and then I’m spammed to death?”
He shook his head. “No, you just need to sign up for their newsletter that comes once a month.”
“I’m not interested.”
“It’s really informative. It gives tips for working out, but it also offers coupons and rebates. So if you buy this shirt and enter the code you get on your receipt, they’ll mail you your twenty-dollar rebate, plus you’ll be able to download coupons from the site immediately. As a matter of fact, if you buy this shirt you’ll get a coupon to buy the matching running shorts for half price. It’s a steal. Everyone’s snapping them up.”
“And the coupon is good for all stores?” she asked.
“Sure, any sports store that carries the Run-Tec line. But,” he quickly added, “we carry the largest selection of running wear in the city, so of course we should be your first choice.”
Sadie eyed the rack.
“I kind of like the yellow one. Do you have it in a medium?”
He checked, but extra-small and extra-large seemed to be the only options for the bright yellow shirt for ladies, although if she wanted the basic men’s design, he had her size in that color.
Sadie declined the yellow and tried on the red. It fit like a glove and she had to admit that spending fifty bucks on a running shirt would be strong motivation to get jogging on a more regular basis.
She left the mall feeling somewhat sated by both her run-in with Christian Lasko and her new sportswear purchase. However, when she got home and took that fifty-dollar shirt out of the bag, it didn’t look nearly as impressive.
Pam was equally disappointed.
“It feels like it’s made out of some new age plastic,” she said, feeling it between her thumb and forefinger. “If you got near an open flame it would probably shrink-wrap you.”
“It’s microfiber blended with spandex,” Sadie informed her. “And it’s breathable. All the cool joggers are wearing them.”
“Hmmm. Well, download the coupons. If you can balance cool with frugal it may be worth it.”
“Good idea.”
Sadie powered up the computer in her office, waited a couple of minutes for all the icons to pop up, and soon was inputting the Web site address shown on her receipt. With a click of her mouse and a few strokes of the keyboard, she was signed in to the online community and was printing off a colorful array of coupons and a lengthy newsletter, no doubt going through a few dollars’ worth of ink from her color printer in the process.
As the newsletter chugged out of the printer, Pam began reading the pages and appeared deep in thought.
“Wow, selling sportswear is a huge moneymaking racket. I wonder what will happen to Grant Toth’s store now that he’s dead,” Pam murmured.
Sadie blinked at her friend in surprise. “You know, I totally forgot that he was in that business.” She snatched up the coupon from her desk. “Maybe I’ll go down and see if they carry the Run-Tec line. I can make use of my coupon and check out Grant’s store at the same time.”
She looked up the store’s address in the phone book. It was at the other end of Seattle, but because it gave her something to do, she didn’t hesitate to drive there. The small sportswear store was in a strip mall, squeezed between a Subway sandwich shop and a Kinko’s. Inside she found the place clean but without the bright lights and rock ’n’ roll of the mall megastore.
“If I can be of any help, just holler,” a young woman called from behind the counter.
“As a matter of fact,” Sadie began, walking up to the desk, “I’ve got this coupon for the Run-Tec line and was hoping to see your selection of shorts.”
Sadie held out the paper, and the young woman flinched as if repulsed by it.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t carry that line. Never have and never will.”
She reached behind the counter and handed Sadie a buff-colored sheet with bold lettering proclaiming, “Saving the World One Child at a Time.”
“This is a list of clothing lines that are known for using child labor. You’ll notice that Run-Tec is at the top of that list. As an ethically run business, we’ve chosen to educate our clients and not carry Run-Tec products.”
“Oh!” Sadie felt immediately guilty. “I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t, which is why when the owner started this store he made sure that all his employees were informed about ethical business practices so they could spread the word to the clientele.”
“You’re talking about Grant Toth?”
“Yes. He’s the owner. Do you, I mean, did you know him?”
“I’ve done work for his mother,” Sadie said truthfully. “What’s going to happen to the stores now that he’s gone?”
“We don’t know,” she admitted sadly. “Grant’s lawyer called the store manager and told him that Grant’s mother would inherit the business. We hope she’ll consider keeping the stores open.”
Sadie couldn’t imagine Sylvia Toth running a sportswear store.
“I’ll show you our alternative to Run-Tec,” the clerk offered. “You’ll find our line less expensive and with all of the same great features, just not made by some child in a Bangladesh sweatshop.”
She showed Sadie some very attractive running outfits, but most of them were in bland blacks, whites, and beiges.
“I really like the bright colors that the Run-Tec line has,” Sadie admitted, then quickly held up her hand. “Not that I’m going to put someone into slavery just so I can have a bright yellow shirt.”
“Well, we don’t carry any shirts in yellow, but I can show you this same style in a bright blue or red.”
Sadie walked out of the store having spent a small fortune in guilt money, but at least she was now fully equipped from the top of her head to new running shoes for her feet. She’d have to make another trip to the mall to return her Run-Tec shirt, but that could wait for another day.
When she got home, she returned to her den and noticed the computer was still open to Run-Tec’s home page. Splashed across the screen were photos of the shirt she’d bought at the mall. The largest one showed the same shirt in yellow. She had a sudden tickle of remembrance that led to an epiphany.
Before she could stop herself, she dialed Detective Petrovich. She wasn’t able to reach him and instead got his voice mail.
“This is Sadie Novak. I’ve got an important question about the Toth case. Please call me as soon as you get this message.”
She nervously tried to keep herself busy. She even cleaned behind the TV, admonishing Hairy for the few little raisin-type poops he’d accidentally left there instead of in his litter box. Next she fed the rabbit and played a half hour of solitaire before Petrovich called back.
“You said that the bloody clothing found in the Toth hamper was running clothes, right?” Sadie asked.
“Yes,” he said impatiently. “Look, I don’t know why you’re so hung up on this, but my job didn’t end at the Toth house or even at your house. I’m working another case right now.”
“Did you or did you not say that the shirt was one of those fancy running shirts in bright yellow?”
“I did.” He sighed. “Why?”
“Well, I’ve got news for you. Grant didn’t own a yellow running shirt and he would never have owned a yellow running shirt,” she announced triumphantly.
“So the guy hated yellow. Big deal.”
“It’s not the color. If you’ll check you’ll find that the bloody shirt was made by a company called Run-Tec.”
“So what?”
“Grant was ethically opposed to Run-Tec.”
She could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
“For God’s sake…”
“Listen to me!” she shouted. “He wouldn’t wear something made by Run-Tec because he believed them to be an unethical manufacturer. Even though it’s the largest-selling sports brand in the country, Grant refused to have that line in his stores because they supported child labor. His employees are trained to give out handouts opposing that company!”
There was a pause.
“So what? It doesn’t mean a damn thing. Hell, maybe he wore it to make a point. Getting the yellow shirt soaked in his wife’s blood could’ve been a way for him to make a global statement about how he felt about that Run-Tec company.”
Sadie said quietly, “But you’ve said all along you never believed this was a premeditated act. A crime of passion, you called it, right? What you’re saying now is that he dressed in clothes he found reprehensible to make an ethical statement. If that was true, he never would’ve stuffed those clothes into a hamper instead of being caught wearing them, right?”
Petrovich was quiet for a moment.
“Plus, when I had dinner with Kent he admitted to going into a sports megastore and spending a fortune on running clothes.”
“Fine. It’s a stretch, but I’ll get the clothes from evidence and see what I can find out. I’m not promising anything, okay?”
“That’s all I ask,” Sadie said and thanked him.
She felt like she was onto something, and she couldn’t stand just sitting around the house. She decided to go back to the mall and return the red shirt.
By the time she got to the mall, she’d decided not to return the shirt after all but instead to exchange it.
“Let me get this straight,” the same pimply man who’d waited on her earlier said. “You want to exchange this shirt for the men’s style in yellow.”
“Yes.”
He went and got her the other shirt.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Sadie took the shirt to the counter.
“Don’t you want to try it on?” he called after her. “The men’s style is a looser fit.”
“That’s okay.”
Instead of heading home, she drove to the hospital to visit Sylvia Toth. There was a chance that being shot at had convinced Mrs. Toth to be open to Sadie’s ideas. Then again, it could’ve just convinced the woman to get a restraining order. Sadie might soon find herself being hauled down to the police station. Again.