“I’m so sorry,” Grace said for the hundredth time, sounding on the verge of tears, when she called at lunchtime. Sarah still hadn’t responded to any of Grace’s texts or picked up her phone. “I don’t know why she’s not answering, and I just…”
“It’s okay,” Yasmine said soothingly, although inside her stomach was buzzing with panicked bees. She’d said she would go over, and she would, but man, she hoped Sarah wasn’t upset to have Yasmine pop up at her door. “Text me the address, and I’ll head over.”
It would give Grace peace of mind. It would give Yasmine peace of mind, too, because she was worried about Sarah as well. She was a really nice lady, and it would suck if something bad had happened to her.
“Where are you going?” Veronica, Yasmine’s office administrator, asked. Since Yasmine had the door to her office open, Veronica had been able to hear everything. The pretty blonde frowned at Yasmine. She was much more than a receptionist, though she handled those duties as well and sat at the front desk to do most of her work.
Yasmine gave her a quick rundown of the situation. “It’s only twenty minutes away from here, so I’ll just swing over real quick and knock on her door. Best case scenario, her phone has been on Do Not Disturb or something, and I can reassure Grace that she’s okay.”
“Uh huh.” Veronica didn’t look convinced. “Are we sure this is safe? What if she was murdered or something? And the murderer is sitting there waiting for someone to come check on her?”
“You’ve been listening to too much true crime,” Yasmine accused. Though she supposed there could be an axe murderer waiting for her in Sarah’s home. Seriously, though, how likely was that, actually? Nerves ticked in her stomach, but she pushed them away. “Besides, a smart murderer wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for someone to come check on her.”
“Probably not,” Veronica said. She made a face. “But send me the address, and text me when you get there and when you’re leaving. And if you see flies around the house, don’t go inside.”
“What?”
“No one’s heard from her since Monday, right? Which is when she had to put her dog down.” Veronica gave Yasmine a rueful look. “If you see a lot of flies buzzing around, don’t go inside. Trust me. I used to be an EMT. If you see flies, call 9-1-1.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Yasmine’s stomach did another flip, though she didn’t show it on the outside. She really, really hoped there were no flies. God, she did not want to have to make that call to Grace.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it.” Veronica still looked nervous, though. “Just keep your phone at the ready so you can call 911 if there’s a murderer there or something. I know I wouldn’t want to go alone.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll text you as soon as I get there and after I leave.” Which was probably the safer thing to do.
Squaring her shoulders, Yasmine left the office. Unfortunately, Amara, the other financial advisor who worked with her, wasn’t around. She would have insisted on going with Yasmine, and it might have been nice to have some company now that Veronica had her all rattled. Veronica couldn’t leave with her since that meant there would be no one in the office.
Sighing, Yasmine got into her car and texted Grace that she was headed over now, and Grace immediately sent back a slew of thank-you texts. It really was only a twenty-minute drive. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel at every red light, trying to shake off some of the nerves that kept bubbling up. She had to pass by Cupcakes & Crumbs on the way, which also meant passing by the building Mason’s security firm worked out of.
Maybe she’d stop on the way back for a cupcake. Yes, technically, the owner of the bakery, Audrey, had ‘stolen’ Yasmine’s man, but really, Yasmine had gifted him to her. Because it had been the right thing to do. And she genuinely liked Audrey. Plus, now Audrey felt so guilty that she gave Yasmine a free cupcake whenever she went in there.
Today felt like a good day for a cupcake.
Leaving the downtown area meant there were more trees as Yasmine drove through the residential neighborhoods, vaguely remembering passing through this way before. Sarah’s house looked just as she remembered. The driveway was empty, so she pulled in and texted Veronica that she was there before sitting and studying the outside of the house for a long moment.
The garage door was closed. There was a small path to the left of where she’d parked that led up to the stoop and the front door. Two large windows were on the front of the house, though there were big bushes in front of them. Yasmine wasn’t sure she’d be quite tall enough to really peek into them even if there weren’t, but it meant she couldn’t even really try.
She didn’t see any flies around the windows, so that was a good sign, right?
Letting out a deep breath, she texted Grace to let her know she’d arrived. Grace texted back a thumbs-up.
Yasmine got out of her car, walked up to the house, and rang the doorbell. She tried to lean out on the steps to peek into either of the windows, but it didn’t look like any lights were on, and one of them had sheer curtains, so she couldn’t see into that one at all. No flies. Probably a good sign. Hopefully.
No one answered the door, so she rang again after a minute.
Then she knocked.
Nothing.
Okay.
Stepping back, Yasmine tried to peer into the window that didn’t have the sheers again. She could make out what looked like a lamp, maybe.
Crap.
Pressing her lips together, she went back to the garage and tried to peek into those windows. That was easier to see, and she could make out the shape of a car inside.
Double crap.