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When the police finally left, Chrissy sagged against the breakfast bar. She was entirely drained of energy and somehow riled up for action all at the same time. All the while they’d been there, the inspector had lobbed uncomfortable question after question at her as if she’d had something to do with it all. Saks had stood passively against the wall outside the apartment with his arms crossed, even after the police inspector questioned him as if he were a suspect, too. Chrissy supposed the Hades Spawn jacket he wore didn’t help. But a quick check of the airports records confirmed that they were nowhere near the apartment when whatever happened did.
The entire thing was a damn mystery.
The apartment had been ransacked as if someone was looking for something, but Chrissy couldn’t answer the officer’s question as to what that could be. Pearson rarely kept items of value, aside from his personal jewelry in the apartment.
They’d found Jessica’s bags, still packed, and the tux Pearson had worn the night before she’d left hanging in the closet. It hadn’t moved an inch from where she’d left it.
“And that’s significant how?” the police officer asked.
“The dry cleaners would have picked up his dry cleaning yesterday.”
“He gets his formal wear cleaned after one use?”
“All his clothes, Officer, yes. He’s very fastidious.”
Chrissy confirmed that nothing was missing. In fact, she found the iPad on Jessica's bed; more than anything, that one item left her stomach churning with worry.
The officer wrote up a statement, and Chrissy signed it. But it was apparent that this burglary, as the office called it, didn’t spark the same concern in the police as it did in Chrissy.
“Okay, Miss. We’ll canvass the building and check the cameras. This will get turned over to an inspector for further investigation. Here’s my contact information. How can we contact you?”
Chrissy gave the officer the contact number of the New York Office. “They’ll call me right away and relay any messages.”
“Then we’ll be going now. If you realize anything is missing, or you hear from Mr. Pearson or Miss Saunders, please call us.”
“You got everything you need?”
“Yes, Miss, we’ve taken your prints and dusted throughout. But you’re right. Aside from the toss, everything here is very clean. We found no prints.”
Chrissy thanked them, and motioned Saks further into the apartment. With her arms perched across her chest she let out a hefty sigh and stared. Seat cushions had been tossed to the floors, drawers were pulled open and dumped out, tables had been upended, and every last bit of mail had been sliced open.
Whatever had happened was violent, yet the police seemed to be treating it like it was nothing.
“So, what now?” she asked aloud, without expecting an actual answer.
“I need to make a call home and I don’t have international coverage on my phone.”
Chrissy handed him her phone. “If you did I’d think you had some Ukraine sweetie who you had phone sex with at night.”
“No. I prefer saucy Italian girls.”
“For phone sex?”
“No. The real thing,” he murmured as he hurried on making his call. “Yeah, Louis, this is Saks. I’ll put you on speaker. You know Chrissy, right?”
“Yes. She was at the apartment when—”
“You got it right. Say hi to Chrissy.”
“Hi, Chrissy,” Louis sing-songed over the speakerphone.
“Hi, Detective Anglotti,” Chrissy called back.
“He’s family, babe. Don’t ‘Detective’ him.”
Chrissy snorted.
“So, Chrissy and I are in London, and we found her boss’ apartment broken in to. He’s gone. Chrissy’s assistant, who was here helping, is missing, too. The place has been torn apart, but it doesn’t seem like anything is missing, and the police don’t seem to care much.”
“There isn’t much they can do except file the paperwork.”
“But I have on good authority that Chrissy’s boss is into high-level criminal activity. Now Pearson and Jessica, Chrissy’s assistant, is missing.”
“Who gave you the information on this Pearson guy?”
“An unimpeachable source. This is why I came to London with Chrissy.”
“Then maybe you should call your unimpeachable source.”
“I will. But what sort of things should we look for?”
“People, when they aren’t in trouble, usually have their cell phones.”
“We didn’t find them here,” Chrissy said. The knots in her stomach twisted tighter. Something bad happened in this apartment.
“Look in unusual places, or if you can get a hold of the cell phone company records, that can help. You might find phone numbers that are out of place, or many of the same number at a specific time. That can be helpful. And...” Louis let out a breathy sigh, “make sure you’re careful. If someone went through a lot of trouble to cover their tracks, then they’re going to be watching their backs, too.”
“Of course,” Chrissy said. “And I'll try that for Mr. Pearson’s phone. Thanks.”
“No problem, but now I have to go fight Westfield’s crime.”
“Then say hello to the family for me,” Saks told him.
“I’ll be sure to send your regards to Uncle Vits.”
“Don’t eat too many hot wings.”
“’Bye, Anthony.”
Chrissy snickered as Saks hung up the phone.
“What?”
“Anthony,” she muttered, her tongue stuck partially out.
“It’s my name. You going to harass me for what my parents did to me, or are you going to make some phone calls?”
“Weren't you going to call the unimpeachable source?”
“I will, after you see if we can get some more information. But Rob is more the ace up our sleeve.”
“He is?”
“I hope so. He has connections I never will.”
“You hope.”
“Exactly.”
Chrissy hurriedly set to logging into the cell phone account to hunt for the bills. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite what she needed. “This isn’t going to help. What I need isn’t on the billing.”
“Call the company,” Saks said over his shoulder as he scoured the apartment again, looking for anything helpful.
Why didn’t she think of that? Her jumbled nerves seemed to be interfering with the thinking part of her brain. She was glad Saks was here to help, but was also frustrated at herself for not keeping it together.
One quick call to the phone company later, and Chrissy had a document detailing Pearson’s calls. Nothing really jumped out at her.
“Hey, babe,” Saks interrupted. “Why I didn’t think of this before? Call Jessica’s number.”
“All right,” Chrissy murmured as she pulled up Jessica’s number and hit send. It went to voicemail and she was about to give up when Saks shouted out at her.
“Again! Keep calling it!”
Over and over Chrissy called Jessica’s phone, hopeful that one time she’d suddenly pick up, when Saks’ voice jolted her back to reality.
“Found it!” He ran triumphantly from Jessica’s bedroom with the phone in question. “It was on the charger, but stuck between the mattress and the wall.”
“Wow,” Chrissy breathed, entirely deflated. “That means she left here without it, and she wouldn’t do that. That means she’s in trouble. And I can’t access her phone.”
“What’s her number? I’m calling my unimpeachable source.”
Within a half hour they had a list of Jessica’s calls since she’d arrived in London.
“Wait.” Chrissy’s finger tapped on the screen. “Here’s one that’s on both Pearson’s and Jessica’s list.”
“Call it.”
“Are you sure?” The mystery of who would pick up left her stomach entirely uneasy.
“Yes. If the police call them, and this unknown person has information, it will scare them off. But if you call them, and talk in that sweet voice of yours, then you might find something out.”
Nervously, Chrissy put the phone on speaker, dialed the number, and sucked in a breath while she waited for an answer.
“Kovel,” said a gruff voice, sending ripples of surprise down her skin.
“Hi, Alexi!” she said brightly as she forced herself to keep it together. “It’s Chrissy from the Embassy Ball, remember me?”
“Chrissy?” He took a moment to clear his throat. “Yes, Ms. Serafini, what can I do for you?”
“Well,” she said coquettishly, “it seems I don’t have any plans tonight. I was wondering if we could get a drink?”
“A drink?”
“Yes. I just got back from the States, and it seems I have some time on my hands. And I remembered this very handsome man I met a few nights ago.”
“I don’t...” Voices in the background came across the line until something muffled them. “Well, yes, Ms. Serafini. That would be lovely. Where would you like to meet?”
They agreed to a place and time. Chrissy clicked off the call, to find Saks glaring at her.
“What was that?” Saks demanded. He frowned and looked uncomfortable at the same time. He crossed his arms as he tightened his jaw.
She had to suppress a smile, because Saks acting jealous was just too adorable for words. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
“Yes, I am. I’m not used to my fiancée flirting with other men.”
“I mean nothing by it. It’s all in the line of duty.”
“I don’t have to like it. But what gives you the clue this guy knows something?”
“We don’t say guy in England. Instead we say bloke.”
“You keep teasing me and I might resort to something drastic.”
“Like what?”
“Grabbing you and kissing you up one side and down another.”
“Ooh. That would be cruel and unusual torture.”
Saks stepped forward and swept her up in his arms. “Where’s the rack in this place? I’ll start on that right away.”
“I’ll have you know my boss is a progressive man. There isn’t a single rack in the place.”
“Shame. I’d love to see you with your arms and legs stretched open and tied down.”
“Saks! I didn’t know you were so kinky,” she teased behind a bright smirk.
“I’m a man of many talents. But, mostly, I’d love to tie you down to make sure you don’t walk into danger. What makes you think this Kovel bloke has anything to do with Jessica’s disappearance?”
Within the grip of Saks’ arms, Chrissy’s eyes narrowed in thought. There wasn’t anything concrete for her to go on, not really. It was more of a gut feeling, and the fact that they had no other leads to speak of. “When I met the guy, I knew something was off about him. He was all about getting Jessica’s number, and zeroed in on her like he was some shark. I can’t really tell you it’s anything more than that, just a gut feeling.”
“Well, I like to think your instincts and feelings are quite good. In fact, I like how you feel when I hold you against me,” Saks murmured with just the touch of amusement she needed.
Biting down a quiet bit of laughter, she leaned into his chest and held him tight. “I like it, too. But we have someplace to go and I need to get my party face on.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, “and I have a phone call to make.”
