Page 32 of Maliea's Hero
As soon as he said the words, he wished he could take them back. He’d never told anyone as much as he’d just told Maliea. Maybe it was because, for the first time, he’d admitted it to himself. Or perhaps it was because misery loved company.
No, it was more than that. This woman loved her child and would do anything to protect her. She’d also loved her father dearly. He suspected her relationship with her husband had not been the best, but he’d also bet that she would have stuck with the man if only to provide a stable family life for her daughter.
As Reid came around the vehicle, Maliea was already out of her seat, had the back door open and Nani’s harness unbuckled. She lifted the sleeping child into her arms. “Could you carry that box up to my father’s apartment? I’ll leave it with his other things until I know more about what I want to do for a place to live and what I want to do with his belongings.”
“Can do.” Reid opened the rear hatch of the SUV, gathered the box in his arms and closed the hatch. He followed Maliea inside the building and down the hallway, where she stopped in front of a doorway halfway along the corridor.
Maliea fumbled in her pocket for her keys, balancing Nani on one arm.
The door just past her father’s opened, and an older woman poked her head out. “Oh, Maliea, have you come to get the rest of your father’s things?” The woman emerged into the hallway, wearing sleek white trousers, a navy-blue top, gold bangle bracelets and fuzzy slippers. Her short gray hair was neatly slicked back from her forehead, and she wore bright red lipstick.
Maliea turned to the older woman, her key in her hand. “Not today, Ms. Jennings. I just came to get an idea of what I need to do.”
The woman’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, I thought you might be coming for the remainder of the items that you didn’t have moved yesterday.”
Maliea’s body stiffened. “What do you mean? I didn’t have anything moved yesterday.”
Ms. Jennings’ brow wrinkled. “The people from the moving company took several boxes of your father’s things and packed them into a small moving van. When I asked them what they were doing, they showed me an invoice indicating they would move his things that day. Didn’t you send them?”
Maliea shook her head. “I didn’t order any boxes to be moved. Did they say what company they were with?”
Ms. Jennings frowned. “I can’t recall. They showed me the invoice briefly. I didn’t make note of the actual company.”
“Were they wearing uniforms?” Reid asked.
Ms. Jennings nodded, her brow still wrinkled. “The men were wearing white coveralls and baseball caps. I don’t recall seeing any company logo on the coveralls. They carried empty boxes in and left a short time later carrying what appeared to be full boxes. I wasn’t around for the better part of the afternoon because I had an appointment with my hairdresser. I assumed they got everything moved until you showed up.”
Maliea pushed the key into the lock, twisted and shoved the door open. She drew in a sharp breath. Her gaze shot to Nani’s face. The three-year-old was sound asleep, her head on Maliea’s shoulder.
Reid set the box of Maliea’s father’s things against the wall in the hallway and stepped past Maliea into the apartment. The place was a shambles. The living room sofa lay on its back, the cushions flung aside with massive rips down the middle and an empty bookshelf sprawled across the entryway. Reid went quickly through the apartment and returned to where Maliea stood in the hallway. He shook his head. “Not good.”
Maliea swore under her breath.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Ms. Jennings said behind Maliea as she peered over the younger woman’s head into the apartment.
“Ms. Jennings, could you describe, in more detail, the men who came to the apartment?” Reid asked.
The woman shook her head. “They both wore baseball caps and white coveralls. One guy was tall, almost as tall as you.” She tipped her head toward Reid. “The other guy was much smaller. What I could see of his facial features were kind of young or feminine. But I didn’t get a real good look at his face.”
Reid glanced down at Maliea. “Does this apartment complex have a video monitoring system?”
Maliea shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t,” Ms. Jennings said, her lips pressing into a thin line. “I’ve been after facilities management for months about installing a video monitoring system for this place. They still haven’t. Perhaps this will convince them.”
Reid backed into the hallway. “We need to report this to the police.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and entered 911.
The dispatcher answered within seconds.
Reid gave him the address and stated his emergency. The dispatcher assured him that a unit was on its way and would be there in approximately five minutes. He ended the call and waited with Maliea in the hallway.
Ms. Jennings, with her nice outfit and fuzzy slippers, stood with them wringing her hands. “I wish I had known they weren’t a moving company. I would’ve paid more attention. It just made sense for a moving company to come in and pack his things. Isn’t it bad enough that he’s dead? Why did they have to come and steal his things?” She hugged her arms around her body. “Is there any place safe from bad people?”
“Not everyone’s bad,” Maliea said softly. Her hand moved up and down on Nani’s back.
Thankfully, the three-year-old remained asleep.
A pair of police officers entered the building and joined them at Maliea’s father’s apartment.