Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(63)

AJ shrugged. “I told them I’d do it. My mom wasn’t in a place to do anything when I left.”

“Your dad?”

“I never could read the man. Hopefully you’ll have better luck.” They’d picked up a dozen empty boxes that were in the trunk of the car. While they looked for any possible clue that Amelia may have left behind, they’d disguise their effort by packing some of her belongings.

He turned into a shared driveway and pulled into a parking space beside a compact car.

“Hers?” Sasha asked.

AJ nodded.

She placed her hand over his and squeezed.

He grasped ahold and held on.

“Ready?”

“Fall apart later, right?”

She could practically taste his pain. “That’s right.”

He faked a smile and pushed out of the car.

The second they were out, Sasha placed her hand in his and held on like a good girlfriend who was being supportive to her guy would.

They walked into the building and took the elevator up to Amelia’s condo on the third floor.

Bits of the police tape hung from the entry. Evidence that the condo had been through a police investigation started at the door. Black powder used for dusting for prints peppered the frame.

AJ hesitated, then pushed past the door, and walked inside.

Once they were secure, she let loose his hand and dropped the smile.

The condo looked like it had been overturned and then someone attempted to put it back together. Mail overflowed the box sitting by the mail slot.

Sasha started doing her thing. “How long did she live here?”

“Since she took the position at the UN. Five years. She wanted a place she could lock up and leave when she was traveling.” AJ picked up the mail that had fallen onto the floor and took it to the countertop separating the kitchen from the living room.

Clean lines, nothing fussy about the furniture. The monochromatic beige and shades of white reminded Sasha of the dorms at Richter. The only pops of color were two bright green pillows on the sofa and a framed picture hanging on the opposite wall. Sasha peered closer, recognized Amelia. “Do you know who is in this picture with your sister?”

AJ looked up from the mail. “No idea.”

The phone rang, piercing the silence in the room.

AJ and Sasha both stared at it. When he moved to answer, she held up a hand, stopping him. The answering machine picked up in three rings, a woman’s voice Sasha assumed was Amelia’s greeted the caller. “You’ve reached me, you know what to do.” A computer generated voice told Sasha that a solicitor, and not a person, was on the line. “This is the League of Disabled Veterans, we have you on file as a concerned patriot who has donated to our organization in the past. With the holidays fast approaching, we would like to reach out and—”

AJ moved to pick up the line. “Damn money sucking—”

Sasha stopped him before he could say more. “It’s okay, honey. They don’t know.” She adopted her Jennifer voice and placed a finger over her lips to shush AJ before he asked any questions.

The answering machine finished the recording, and Sasha pressed the playback button. “You have two unheard messages.” They listened to the first message, which was a series of tones, as if a fax machine had called in, and then the veterans call they’d just heard.

“What?” AJ asked.

Sasha picked up the phone, listened for the dial tone. Nothing.

“Does your sister have a radio? I think music will help us get through this, don’t you?”

AJ moved through the room, ducked into the hall, and returned with a portable speaker and proceeded to connect his cell phone to the Bluetooth. Within two minutes music drowned out the silence.

She moved closer to AJ, lifted her lips to his ears. “Someone has been checking and erasing Amelia’s messages remotely. We need to check for surveillance.”

He nodded. “I’ll go get the boxes.”

The moment AJ left, Sasha turned her attention to the space. Where would she place cameras, bugs . . .

The minimalist furnishings didn’t give her many options.

She removed her cell phone from her back pocket and moved through her built-in security and found the application she needed. Without being obvious, she turned on the scanner and walked around the room, pointing her camera at the walls, vents, and electronics. Sure enough . . . in the air return vent on the ceiling, a tiny red dot suggested a camera was watching. The question was who was on the other end, and if they were still watching. Turning her phone on mute, she started walking around as she pretended to be texting someone.

AJ walked back in, boxes overflowing his arms.

“We forgot tape,” AJ said as he dumped the boxes in the center of the room.

“Maybe Amelia had some.” Sasha knelt behind the counter and followed the glowing red lines on her phone, telling her there was some type of audio device close by.

“I don’t think she was planning on moving.”

“That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have duct tape or some kind of thing like that. If not, we can just fold the boxes and tape them later.” She opened and closed the cabinet under the sink and kept moving. The red lights pegged out a small basket filled with pens and highlighters.

“The dust in here is starting to affect my allergies.” Sasha turned on the faucet and filled the kitchen sink.