No Fault of Mine

Chapter Twenty-Five

I couldn't believe it. I looked through the remaining three drawers, but they only confirmed what I'd feared: the black box was missing. After the cold spike of fear subsided in my gut, my first thought was, who could've taken it and why?

I left Martin's office door open as I crossed the room and approached SueAnn. She looked up from her computer and pushed the keyboard toward the monitor.

"Do you think we could have an in-service for Thad? There's a world of difference between the information he gives me versus Martin's neatly typed work." She pointed to a couple of sheets of legal-sized tablet paper, sadly abused, with handwritten figures and oblique instructions.

"It looks like his office," I said with a straight face.

"Does he have an office? The one over there doesn't even have furniture," she pointed to the empty office opposite Martin's.

"I think he prefers his truck," I said.

"The man needs a computer. He could at least bring me legible notes, not something scribbled while negotiating on the phone."

I chuckle. She was spot on, but I doubted an in-service would produce anything different.

SueAnn sighed and said, "It really miss Martin."

"I do, too," I said quietly. Refocusing, I added, "Has anyone come into the office since I left to take the statements to Betty?"

"No," she said, retrieving the keyboard. "But Ann and I took a half-hour lunch."

"Did you lock the office?" I knew it was protocol, but I had to ask.

"Yes, and we put up the 'We'll be Back at 1:00' sign."

" After I came back and went into my office, did anyone drop in?"

"No. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Something's missing from Martin's office, something I'd seen there this morning." I watched SueAnn for any sign of deception. She'd worked for us since we opened the office, and I had no reason to distrust her. But still, something is gone, and someone did it.

"Perhaps it's misplaced," she suggested.

"Perhaps," I said and shrugged.

I spent the next half-hour working, responding to phone messages. Before leaving for the home, I took three contract files from Martin's office and placed them on my desk. They'd be my first task when I arrived at the office in the morning.

On my way to pick up Brant, I called Ann and asked her the same question I'd asked SueAnn.

"Yes, we locked the door when we left for lunch. Did someone break in again?" I could hear the tension build in her voice.

"I don't think so," I said, hoping to reassure her. "Were you the one who locked the door?"

"SueAnn locked it, and I unlocked it when we got back."

"Did anyone come into the office after I left for Betty's?"

"No! What's going on, Mia? Tell me," she said, her voice rising.