A face with large black glasses and ruffled black hair appeared in the doorway of the adjacent apartment to Sally’s.
“Hello. Can I help you?” He stepped into the passageway. “Are you after Sally? She’s at work.”
Jack revealed his badge. “Yep. I work with Sally. Heard she came home sick. Just checking up on her, but she’s not answering the door.”
Meow.
“That’s her cat. Not like her to meow like that. I feed the cat for Sally when she works late shifts.”
Jack’s heart gave a flutter. “Do you have a key to her apartment?”
“I do.”
Meow.
The neighbour looked at Sally’s door. The shadow of the cat moved across the bottom of the door. “Something is out of whack. I’m sure we’d be able to justify our actions to Sally.”
“I agree.”
The neighbour stepped inside his apartment. The jingle of keys echoed through the passageway. The neighbour walked out dangling the keys and opened the door.
Sally lay still on the kitchen floor. The blue floral dress he’d seen her in earlier had been replaced by comfy lightweight track pants and a matching top. Jack kneeled beside her. Her chest was rising and falling, but ever so slightly. He leant toward her face and listened for her breathing. He gently rolled her arm over and checked her pulse—weak, but still there. “Sally.” He gave her a gentle nudge. “Sally, can you hear me?” No response. He moved her on to her side, onto the recovery position and reached for his phone.
“I’m calling an ambulance,” Jack said.
The neighbour stood watching, the cat marching backward and forward between his legs, meows replaced with purrs.
“Can you grab a blanket? We should try and keep her warm.” Jack motioned towards the couch. The neighbour placed the blanket over Sally’s still body.
Jack stood up. “An ambulance is on its way.” He looked at the neighbour and put out his hand. “Sorry, we didn’t get a chance to greet each other. I’m Jack.”
“Mark.”
They shook hands.
Mark knelt beside Sally and gently massaged her forehead. “Help will be here soon, Sally.”
Jack looked around the tidy apartment. Two wine glasses on the sink. She’d had a visitor recently. Why not as her personality would attract many.
“Best not to touch anything. We’ll have to secure the area in case things need be checked out.”
Mark nodded.
* * *
“What were you doing there, Jack?”
Jack sat in the superintendent’s office. They’d known each other a long time, and the super had watched Jack’s family grow. Jack wanted to be home, to escape, but the prognosis on Sally-Anne Richmond wasn’t good. She was currently on life support, and the doctors didn’t hold much hope.
“Are things not getting better with Erica?”
“Still the same. No, that’s not true. A little better.”
“Were you in a relationship with Sally?”
“No … of course not. I mean she’s a lovely girl.” How do you refer to someone on life support? She was? She is?
The superintendent looked at his watch. “Okay, Jack. I’ve got an appointment to get to. Sally’s situation is being investigated and her apartment is presently a crime scene, so it’s best for you to have some time off. You need to go home. Stay there until I contact you and let you know what’s going on.”
Jack had left the office and sat in his car, his thoughts jumbled and with concern for Sally. The car park was grey and dark. It was mid-afternoon but felt like midnight. Surely, they weren’t considering he had something to do with Sally’s situation. Sally’s neighbour could clear his involvement. Well, yes and no. Jack knew criminals could create false impressions. He could’ve already been in the apartment. But CCTV coverage would confirm his arrival time—if the CCTV cameras were working. Based on the state of the security access door, he didn’t hold much hope for that. But he was confident it would be cleared up soon. There must be more than one CCTV camera covering the area in question to confirm his comings and goings.
He started the car and looked down at the centre console. Something was different. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t determine what his detective mind was telling him, so he shrugged it off. The trip home was a non-event performed in auto-pilot mode. He had no memory of it, as his mind was elsewhere.
The couch provided comfort as he looked at the picture of Erica and Johnny on his phone. He had considered changing the phone wallpaper a number of times to get rid of the constant reminder, but it remained.
He called his wife. A sweet hello came from the phone.
“Hello, Erica. You good?” Things tightened up. Tight muscles. Stress.
“Yes, Jack, and you?”
“Be lying if I said good. Had a busy twenty-four hours.” He rubbed his head.
“I thought you’d be involved with the incident in the city. You okay?”
And not only the incident in the city. “Coping. Any chance of dropping in to see you both?”
“That’s good. Come over for dinner tonight.”
