Abandoned in Death (In Death, #54)(26)

Shaking her head, she scrubbed at her hair again. “But if I think about it, she doesn’t seem like the type to take off.”

“What type does she seem like?”

“I don’t know. Regular.” Her pretty, sharply angled face with its vacation tan slowly registered concern. “Jeez, you don’t think something really happened to her?”

“She was last seen leaving her place of employment at approximately one A.M. on the morning of June first. She hasn’t been seen since, hasn’t returned to her apartment, and her ’link has been disabled. Yes, we’re investigating the possibility something really happened to her.”

“Okay, listen, sorry.” Now Rameriz rubbed at the back of her neck. “Long, weird day back at work, and I’m still on vacation time, so I’m a little slow here. I don’t know the last time I saw her, and—oh yeah, yeah, I do.”

She shot up a finger. “There’s an abso craphole of a laundry station in the basement. We were both down there a couple days before I left. I mean we passed each other—she was coming in as I was leaving—commented on the craphole. I said how I was going to Costa Rica, and she said like wow, and have fun. Just like that.”

“Did she ever, in passing, mention any problems, someone who bothered her?”

“No, not to me. I mean we didn’t cross paths all that much, and she mostly worked nights.”

“You left on the first, how about the night before? What were you doing around one A.M.?”

“Usually, I’d’ve been conked, but with the trip, I was still packing, mostly. And getting myself worked up because I was excited, and I get nervous when I fly, and I was sure I was going to forget something I’d absolutely had to have. So I…”

She blew out a breath. “Okay, we’re not supposed to smoke in the building—as if the Zoner freak super would notice. But I was worked up, so I lit up an herbal because they smooth me out. I cracked the window. It was raining, but it was kind of nice. A little cool, the rain, so I, like, sat on the windowsill awhile and smoothed out.”

“So you were sitting in the open window. Did you notice anything, anyone?”

“No. I mean, what’s to notice? I noticed it was rainy—not like pouring or anything, but raining, so I thought how it would be all sunny and hot the next day, and I’d be looking out at the water instead of the street. And cute monkeys and parrots instead of some guy standing in the rain like a dumbass.”

“What guy?” Eve interrupted.

“I don’t know. Some guy.”

“Show me the window.”

Rameriz stepped back. “You want to see my bedroom window. Everything’s really a mess because—”

“It takes me days to unpack and get everything straightened up when I take a trip.” Peabody aimed a sympathetic smile. “The more fun I had, the longer it takes.”

“Right?” Rameriz let out a laugh. “So don’t judge.” She led the way down the short hall that led to the bathroom, and the bedroom to the left of it. With a window facing the street on the far side of the building.





6





Eve ignored the big open suitcase on the floor and the clothes spilling out of it and went straight to the window.

The way the window angled offered a reasonably decent view.

“Tell me about the guy.”

“Just a guy. I only noticed because I was kind of looking down that way and saw him when he got out of the car.”

“What kind of car?”

“I don’t know. Honestly. Maybe it was a van, or an all-terrain. It was dark, and it was raining, and I think I just noticed because he got out and walked over to stand on the sidewalk.”

“Did you see his face?”

“No. Maybe he had a hoodie on. Or a hat. Or a hat and a hoodie. I wasn’t paying attention, just thinking, Look at that idiot standing in the rain, then— Yeah, yeah, Darlie tagged me up because she was packing and all worked up, too, so we talked awhile, calmed each other down while we finished packing. Then I went to bed.”

“Did you leave the window open?”

“No—man you don’t want to do that. I closed and locked it before I went to bed.”

“Where was the guy when you closed it?”

“Gone. Yeah! Yeah, he was gone. Pretty sure. I guess the car or van or whatever was, too. I didn’t notice.”

“What time did your friend tag you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was smoking an herbal and, okay, drinking a brew. Just to smooth myself out because—”

“Can we check your ’link?”

“Well, ah, sure. I guess.” Dubious, Rameriz took her ’link out of her back pocket. “I’ll just, you know, go back to that night, okay?”

She swiped back, shifting her weight, frowning as she swiped. “Yeah, here we go. Darlie tagged me at twelve-fifty-three. After midnight, so on the day we were leaving. She knew I’d be up because—”

“How long did you talk?”

“Oh … Wow, twenty-six and a half minutes. It didn’t seem that long.”

“Did you sit in the window while you talked?”

“No. I’d about finished the herbal, so I put it out, and we set our ’links down so we could talk while we both finished packing. Then it was like, ‘See you in a few hours, yay!’ and I went to bed.”