Nowhere to Hide by Terry Odell Page B

porch where she leaned against one of the brick pillars, then slid down the pillar until she was sitting on the tiles next to the shopping bags she’d left there. “You know any burglars who come in and make beds and wash dishes after they search the place?”
    “ What?”
    “ When I left this morning, the bed was unmade and my toothpaste was next to the sink. An unscrubbed sink. So were a couple of hair clips and my brush. I don’t know why it didn’t register sooner. In the kitchen—I’d rinsed my dishes, but they were still in the sink when I left. But now they’re washed and in the rack. Someone was in there. In my home. They rearranged stuff in the living room. After they poked around in my kitchen, they washed my dishes. Probably went through my closet and then cleaned my bathroom and made my bed. You’re the cop. You know any crooks who fit this MO?”
    “ The landlady have a key?”
    Colleen tilted her head. “Damn, I should have figured. I suppose she does. Although maid service definitely isn’t part of the rental agreement.”
    “ We’ll ask her.” He crouched next to her. “Meanwhile, we’ll get the lab crew out here in case it was someone else. You have somewhere to stay while they’re working? Maybe with Tracy for a while?”
    “ Probably. My car’s at her place. I’ll ask. You’ll let me know as soon as they’re done, right? Nobody kicks me out of my home.”
    “ I’ll make sure you get a call before the lab guys are done. You can meet them before they leave here. I know they’ll want your prints for elimination.”
    “ Thanks for coming so quickly. Sorry about the little freak-out.” Peeling off her gloves, she stood and tossed them to Graham. She picked up her packages and trudged up the drive and back to Tracy’s Lexus parked on the street before he had a chance to help her.
    Graham saw the ambulance as he caught up with Colleen. “I’m going to need to finish up here, but I want to talk to you later.”
    “ As a deputy or one of your Celt to Celt bits?”
    “ Both.” He touched her shoulder and she turned to face him. “Mostly the latter.” He scribbled his number on a page from his notebook, ripped it out, and held it toward her. “My personal cell. Use it anytime.” When she raised her eyebrows and indicated her armload of packages, he smiled. “I’m going to stick this in your shirt pocket. No kicking, okay?”
    She shifted the packages enough to give him access to her pocket, and he was careful to slide it in without making contact with anything other than fabric. Tracy had already popped the trunk of the Lexus, and he explained the situation while Colleen loaded the bags.
    Tracy wrote her phone number on a scrap of paper. “We’ll hang at my place until we get the all-clear.”
    The trunk slammed shut, and Colleen got in the car. Graham watched them drive away before jogging to the house.
    Inside, Schaeffer and the paramedics loaded Doris onto a gurney. Graham heard vague mumblings about not wanting to go to a home.
    “ Pulse is thready,” said one of the medics, a burly mahogany-skinned man with cornrow braids. “We’re going to transport. Did you find any other meds besides the Valium?”
    “ A beta blocker,” replied his partner, a woman half his size. “I’ve got it, but the prescription was filled a few days ago and it’s almost full. Her BP is good. I don’t think it’s anything but the Valium.” She adjusted the IV in the back of Doris’ hand. “Let’s go.”
    “ Come on, beautiful,” said the man. “Time to go for a ride.”
    “ Not to the home, not the home,” Doris begged, her words barely audible. “I didn’t mean to. I forgot. Please, don’t take me away.”
    “ Hey, beautiful. We’re taking you to Turkey Lake Emergency. They’ll get you checked out and you’ll be home before you know it.”
    “ Home? Not the home!”
    “ No. I mean back here.” The medics started wheeling the gurney out the door and Graham went over to