Page 20 of Deadly Lies

Ah, shit. I was caught.

“I’ll give you two minutes to leave before I call the cops.”

“Ma’am, no. Please, I’m sorry. Actually, I’m NCIS.” I flashed her my ID. “Tania isn’t in any sort of trouble. I just need to talk to her.”

“Well, you’re out of luck. She moved last night.”

My heart began to beat rapidly. This couldn’t be happening to me. I had to have been right about her being Tiffany. Maybe she’d seen me.

“Please, ma’am, I beg of you. This is very important. You have to tell me where she went. Was this a planned moved? Do you have a forwarding address?”

She shook her head. “No. She said it was a family emergency. But she’ll be back soon.”

I cranked my head and stared at her. “Soon? Why do you think that? Why did she leave so suddenly?”

“Like I just told you, it was a family emergency.”

“Right, you told me that. Then why do you think she’ll be back soon.”

“Because I have something of hers. Something that she would come back for.”

The heat from the sun was making me dizzy and adding to my confusion. “I apologize, Gladys. Clearly, I’m confused. Completely confused. What did she leave with you? Money?”

Gladys shook her head. “No. It wasn’t that. But I’m not going to tell you. Now, you best be leaving. I have to cook dinner.”

And she turned and walked back into her apartment.

What the fuck had just happened?

Did this mean anything?

I should go. Find Mia. Call Agent Meeks. Call the cops and report that I think I saw Tiffany.

But everyone would just think I was crazy.

Maybe I was crazy.

I had a better idea. I would stake out this place. Stake out Gladys. Maybe talk to some other residents.

I walked across the street and ordered a coconut paleta from a street vendor. The rich, creamy texture coated my throat. This was the one bright point of the day so far.

“Señor, may I ask you a question.”

He nodded.

“Did you know Tania Jackson? She just moved out.” I made sure to pronounce it correctly.

“Sí. She’s a great woman.”

“Did you know why she moved?” I took another bite of my paleta. These were so good.

“No.”

I was getting nowhere fast.

“Got it. Was she acting strange for the past few days?”

He shook his head no.