After Midnight by Kathy Clark Page B

He hadn’t had a clue what was going on. Apparently, neither had she.
    When he showed up at the play, she had been shocked. That he had not shown up tonight had been disappointing. Again, apparently, she didn’t have a clue.
    Kate parked behind the bookstore, locked her car, and went inside the building. Even though it was officially a hotel, the Newcastle was mostly for longer-term rentals. She hadn’t picked it for its decor. It was centrally located downtown, just across the street from the back of the Colorado State Capitol. The staff was minimal but friendly and someone manned the lobby all night, so she felt a certain degree of safety. But most of all, it was cheap.
    Her apartment was on the second floor in the front corner of the building over the bookstore. She was one of the lucky ones with two large windows, one facing Colfax and the other looking out on Grant Street, and a small window in her bathroom. Some of the other rooms were over a bar, which had to be noisy for anyone directly above. Beneath the far end of the building was a now-vacant space that had once been a record store. Upstairs, the hallways were dark and narrow, and just a little bit creepy, so she never dawdled between the elevator and her front door. As soon as she was in her apartment, she wasted no time locking the door. Maybe it was a false sense of security, but once inside, she relaxed.
    A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a Diet Coke while watching
The Tonight Show
was her late-night meal of choice. She had just finished cleaning up the crumbs when her cell phone rang. The phone number came up as “Blocked,” so she hesitated to answer it. But so few people had her number that she picked up the phone.
    “Hello.” Her voice was tentative.
    “Hi, it’s Sam. Were you asleep?”
    A wave of relief washed over her, both because it wasn’t a stranger and because it was Sam. “No, I just finished dinner and was heading for the shower.”
    “I won’t keep you. I just wanted to tell you that I have an appointment with the detective investigating the case on Monday morning. After I talk to him, I’ll let you know when you can come in and give your statement.”
    “Oh. Okay.” All the excitement at his call was replaced by disappointment.
    There was a moment of silence before Sam continued. “I was thinking about dropping by Heritage Square tomorrow night. If you don’t have other plans, we could grab something to eat.”
    Kate’s expression brightened, then fell. “We have two shows tomorrow, a matinee and a late show.”
    “Then maybe you can take a break between them. I’m sure they let you out long enough to eat.”
    “We have a couple of hours between shows. I haven’t had a chance to wander around the amusement park yet.”
    “I haven’t been there in years. It’ll be fun.”
    She smiled and leaned back against the wall. “I should be through around four thirty with the matinee.”
    “I’ll meet you out front.” There was another slight pause, then he added softly, “Good night, Kate.”
    “See you tomorrow.” She ended the call and flipped off the light in her front room before heading for the shower. Already she was agonizing over what to wear, and she couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off her face.
    —
    Sunday started, like most June days in Denver, sunny and warm. Sam leaned against the wrought iron balcony rail of his small terrace and looked out over the city while he enjoyed a second cup of coffee. He wasn’t used to so much time off. He had already had breakfast, read the entire Sunday edition of the
Denver Post,
washed a load of clothes, and unloaded the dishwasher, and it was only nine a.m. He probably should drag his ass to church, he thought. His mother would be the first person to tell him he should be on his knees thanking God for protecting him. But Sam had already had that conversation with God and was at peace with that.
    Instead he spent the rest of the morning on the Internet doing a little