Promise Not To Tell(29)

“What old days?” Betty snorted. “You’re too young to be able to talk about the old days.”

“Cabot and I were acquaintances for a time when we were kids,” Virginia said. “We lost track of each other until recently.”

“Ah, childhood friends,” Betty said. She brightened. “And now you’re reunited. Are you married, Cabot?”

“No, ma’am,” Cabot said.

Betty was practically sparkling now. “Excellent.”

“If you’ll excuse us, Cabot and I have had a long day,” Virginia said. “We’re going to go out, have a drink and get something to eat.”

“Lovely,” Betty said. She winked. “Don’t let me interfere with your date.” She made to close her door and stopped. “By the way, next time you schedule a repairman, feel free to leave the key with me. I’ll be happy to supervise. A woman who lives alone ought to be careful about letting strangers into her place when she’s not home. You just never know these days.”

Virginia went very still. “What are you talking about? I didn’t schedule any repairs while I was gone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Well, then, it must have been someone the manager sent up. He looked like a plumber. He let himself in and your alarm didn’t go off, so obviously he had a key and the code.”

Virginia stared at her. “Yesterday was Saturday.”

“Yes, so I assumed it was an emergency of some sort. Can’t even imagine what plumbers charge for weekend jobs these days.” Betty paused. “Something wrong, dear?”

“No,” Virginia said, her voice strained. “You’re right, the manager must have sent someone up to check out an emergency.”

“What did the plumber look like?” Cabot asked.

Betty made a dismissive motion with her hand. “Like a plumber. He was wearing a uniform. Had a toolbox.”

“What color was his hair?” Cabot asked.

“What?” Betty frowned. “I’m not sure. Dark, I think, but I can’t say for certain. He was wearing a cap so I didn’t get a good look at him. He was on the tall side.”

“Any idea of his age?” Cabot pressed. “Young? Old?”

“Well, he moved like a young man but I can’t be sure of his age. Say, do you think there was something off about him?”

Virginia pulled herself together with a visible effort. “Probably not. I’ll check to make sure nothing is missing and then I’ll call the manager’s office tomorrow and find out what’s going on.”

“Yes, you do that,” Betty said. “See you tomorrow, dear. Maybe both of you.”

She winked at Cabot and closed her door.

Virginia got her door open. Cabot saw lights blink on the control panel of an alarm system. Virginia quickly punched in some numbers.

“Ever given out your code?” he asked neutrally.

“No. Well, my grandmother has it, but she’s the only other person who does.”

“Except for the security firm that installed your system.”

He followed her into the small foyer, set the bag aside and closed the door.

Virginia turned on the lights. “Let me take a wild guess. You think this plumber development is not a good thing.”

“What I’m thinking is that you had better have a look around your condo. But I’ll go first.”

He did a quick sweep of the small two-bedroom, two-bath space, checked the tiny balcony and then nodded at Virginia. Without a word she walked through the condo, going room by room. Along the way she opened closets and drawers.

A short time later she came to a halt in the living room and looked at him.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything missing,” she said. “If he did go through my stuff, he was very neat about it. But the thought of a stranger in here, touching my things… It makes me feel a little ill.”

“After a burglary or a break-in people often say they feel violated,” Cabot said. “It’s a natural reaction.”

Virginia glanced back toward the foyer. “My alarm system…”

“Is just an off-the-shelf piece of junk. Wouldn’t take a genius to put it out of commission for a while.”

She winced. “I was told it was top-of-the-line.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right, let’s go with the worst-case scenario. Say someone dressed as a plumber did break in while I was out of town. What on earth could he have been looking for?”

“The break-in can’t be a coincidence. Whoever he is, he must be linked to Brewster’s death. We’d better assume he came here looking for something and that he has some reason to think you might have it.”

Virginia put up both hands, palms out. “Wait, hold on, you’re going way too fast here. I think it’s called leaping to conclusions.”

“We conspiracy theorists tend to do that.”

“Okay, you’ve made your point,” Virginia said. “What’s our next step? No point calling the police. Nothing is missing.”

“We need to take a look around your gallery.”

“At this hour? Why?”

“If I was looking for something and didn’t find it here, my next stop would be your place of business,” he said patiently.