Angel Sleuth by Lesley A. Diehl Page B

enough money to score a hit on some drugs, took the computer, and skedaddled. The computer’s probably on its way downstate right now, and the thief or thieves are getting high in the woods someplace.”
    He heisted up his pants which slid back down to settle under his belly and dropped his toothpick into the garbage can. He sauntered out the door, exuding self-congratulatory confidence as if he had just solved an important crime.
    “Let us know if anything else turns up missing,” he said. His tone said he couldn’t have been less interested if they did find other items gone.
    Kaitlin plopped herself in Brittany’s chair and held her head.
    “I was thinking today after we left here,” said Brittany. “You don’t think Will hid the other will or that he…that he had anything to do with her accident?”
    “I don’t know, but this theft can’t be coincidental with our finding those internet sites today. And I think someone sneaked in here and overheard us while we were working. Remember the door slamming shut?”
    Kaitlin wasn’t ready to share her suspicion about the identity of who spied on them until she had a come-to-meeting talk with Mary Jane. She glanced at her watch. Nearly ten. Her confrontation with Mary Jane would have to wait. She was late for her meeting at ARC.
    * * *
    Rather than drive, she walked up the hill to ARC, not wanting her car’s headlights to give away her presence there. At this hour most residents were in bed; the windows were dark or lit only by the flickering light of the television. The parking area in back of the building had two outdoor lights and one of the bulbs was out. The area farthest away from the building was in total darkness, illuminated only when the moon broke through the heavy cloud cover.
    Kaitlin didn’t want to be seen by anyone except for her pen pal, but the blackness of the night gave her little sense of comfort. She chose, instead, to hide herself under the shadowing arms of a large maple near the driveway. She leaned against the trunk, hoping whoever wanted to meet her had waited.
    She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but the wind began to pick up, rustling the leaves overhead and drowning out other night sounds. She questioned her choice of hiding place. She’d never hear anyone approach, nor see them unless they came from the direction of the building.
    She stuck her hand out of the tree’s shadow into the dim moonlight to take a quick look at her watch and thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Too late she caught sight of the arm that delivered the blow to her temple.
    She fell to her knees, but didn’t lose consciousness.
    “Quit snooping around,” said a voice from behind her.
    * * *
    “Kaitlin, wake up,” said Mary Jane.
    “Wha?”
    “You’ve got a nasty knot on your head. Who hit you?”
    Kaitlin looked around and found herself propped against the maple’s trunk.
    “What’re you doing here?” Kaitlin asked.
    “Looking for you. I was worried.”
    “And you thought this was the place to look for me?”
    “I went to the newspaper office. Brittany said you had some kind of meeting here, and you were late.”
    “Did you see anyone?”
    Mary Jane shook her head no.
    “We should call the police.”
    “No way. I saw enough of Officer Hendricks tonight. And what’re the police going to do anyway?”
    “Who were you meeting?”
    “I don’t know. Someone left a note in my car saying they knew something about what was going on here and to meet them tonight.”
    “We should at least get you medical treatment,” said Mary Jane.
    “And say what to the doctor? That I was hanging around the parking lot of ARC and fell into the maple tree? I don’t think so. I’m fine. My head just hurts a little, that’s all.”
    “Let’s get you up and home. Then I can see better how bad that bump is.”
    “Not bad,” said Kaitlin. She leaned heavily on Mary Jane as they headed down the hill.
    * * *
    “Not too bad.”