Nothing changed in the Washington office in the month Corbin was gone, though it felt different to him. Buildings often feel differently when you haven’t been in them for a while. The smells change, old sights seem new, and everything seems slightly out of place. In this case, the walls seemed more dingy and the threadbare carpet seemed a little more worn, the stale smell of old coffee seemed a little more sour, and the people seemed a little more depressed and gray.
The only reason Corbin was here now was that Kak left him an angry message demanding that Corbin start personally handing in leave slips every two weeks rather than mailing them in. No reason was given for imposing this inconvenience, which was typical for Kak. Naturally, Kak was nowhere to be found when Corbin showed up to hand him the leave slip, so Corbin dumped it on Kak’s desk and told Kak’s secretary where Kak could find it.
Corbin headed for the elevator. As he approached the elevator, he heard the familiar squeak of Stuart’s mail cart. Corbin pushed the elevator button and stepped close to the door. The squeaking came closer. He pushed the button two more times and took another step closer to the door.
“Alex Corbin,” drawled Stuart, as he rounded the corner.
“Oh, hey Stuart. How are things?” Corbin asked as he pressed the elevator button twice more.
Stuart pushed his cart right up to Corbin. “It’s been boring around here without you. Everybody’s gone. Evan left. You’re not here. Nobody wants to talk these days. I think it’s the winter. People get upset in winter.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Corbin jabbed the button again, this time holding it with his finger.
“Even Molly’s gonna be leaving. She’s got that interview in Philadelphia.”
The elevator door opened, but Corbin didn’t move toward it. He turned to face Stuart. His eyes narrowed. “What interview?!”
“It’s top secret, I’m not supposed to tell anybody.”
“‘Anybody’ doesn’t include me, Stuart. Molly and I are friends. You and I are friends. We don’t keep secrets.”
Stuart smiled and nodded his head. The fluorescent lights reflected off his balding head and glasses. “You’re right. Friends don’t keep secrets.”
“What interview, Stuart?” Corbin let go of the elevator button.
“I don’t know. I just heard her on the phone when I was dropping off her mail the other day.”
“What did you hear?” Corbin pressed him.
“You promise you won’t tell.”
“Yes, I promise. What did you hear?”
“She’s got an interview with some lawyers in Philadelphia. I think it’s for a job.”
Corbin furrowed his brow. “Why do you think that?”
“Because she was supposed to bring something with her, and they were talking about wearing a suit. That sounded like an interview to me.”
Corbin bit his tongue.
“You’re not going to tell, right?” Stuart asked.
“No, Stuart, of course not.” Corbin looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. “Hey, between you and me, have you heard of anyone else going to Philly for an interview or anything?”
Stuart cocked his head to one side and scratched his forehead. “Nobody’s said anything?”
“No big mystery vacations or anything?”
“Why?”
“Just curious. I thought maybe some other people might be competing for the same job.”
“I haven’t heard anything.”
“Ok, thanks Stuart.” Corbin looked around again to make sure they were still alone. “No other interesting news, huh? No new hires, nobody left, no crimes or anything?”
Stuart half-laughed and then hiccupped. “Crimes, ha! No. What kind of crimes?”
“Anything? Anything interesting?”
Stuart scratched his forehead again. “Nothin’ I can think of.”
“Oh well. That’s life around here, isn’t it? Always dull.” Corbin patted Stuart on the shoulder. “Listen, I’ve got to go, but it’s been good seeing you again.” Corbin walked past Stuart toward Molly’s office.
Molly sat at her desk reading the paper when Corbin appeared at her door. She wore a gray wool suit with its jacket closed high up her neck. No trace of Shoe Guy’s necklace was visible, if it was there at all. She looked tired. Her eyes were bloodshot, dull, glazed and puffy.
“Hey there neighbor,” Corbin said, trying his best to sound cheerful.
“Hey,” Molly responded. She set the newspaper on the desk next to the plastic coffee cup bearing her lipstick prints. Then she leaned on the chair’s armrest so she could face Corbin without turning her chair. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah, I’m back to drop off my leave slip. Kak wants me to drop them off in person now.”
“What a jerk,” Molly said. “I don’t think he can make you do that?”
Corbin shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind, I’m back and forth a lot.”
“Yet, this is the first time you deigned to drop by the office in a month?”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. There’s no one to talk to here. Your roomie’s gotten more boring, if that’s even possible.”
“I take it Karen’s not back from maternity leave yet?” Karen was Molly’s officemate.
Molly smirked. “It’s only been a month and a half. How long does it take to make babies where you come from?”
“Point taken. So how are you doing?”
This was an odd question for Corbin to ask, so Molly paused as she tried to spot any potentially insulting angle in the question before responding. She found none. “Fine. Life’s just peachy.”
“Wish I could say the same.”
This piqued Molly’s curiosity. “What’s up?”
“It’s my aunt. She’s really sick. That’s where I’ve been. She lives in Philadelphia.” Corbin paused to give Molly an opening, but she didn’t take it. “I’m spending most of my time up there taking care of her.”
“I’m sure she appreciates it.”
Molly didn’t take the bait, so Corbin tried another angle. From the prior summer, when Corbin drove Molly and Beckett to a training program in Richmond, he knew she had no car. She lived in the District and people who live in the District don’t need cars when their homes and offices are near Metro stations, as hers are. Perhaps, he reasoned, an offer of a ride to Philadelphia would loosen her lips. But the offer needed to be made subtly: “I’ll tell you though, the drive is killing me. I must have driven back and forth between here and Philly a dozen times in the past few weeks.”
Molly perked up slightly. “When are you going to Philly next?”
“Today, but like I said, I’m back and forth all the time. I should run some sort of taxi service.” Corbin saw Molly’s eyebrow rise ever so slightly. He was close. “Of course, it could be worse. Beckett used to take the train, and all he did was complain about it. . said it was cramped, it smelled, uncomfortable, dirty, expensive.”
“Yeah, the train stinks,” Molly said, tapping her thumb against her thigh.
Corbin waited. He didn’t want to oversell his point.
“Hey, let me ask you something,” she finally said.
“Sure, what?”
“I need to go to Philly in a couple weeks and I was going to take the train, but I’ve got some things I need to take with me. .” She paused, and Corbin saw her bite her lip.
“. . and you want a ride?” he said, finishing her sentence. “Sure. No problem.” Corbin shrugged his shoulders to indicate this wasn’t a big deal to him.
Molly smiled. “Thanks.”
“What’s going on in Philly?”
“It’s hush hush. I can’t talk about it.”
Corbin winced, but quickly regained his composure. “No problem.” Corbin grabbed a pen and a yellow sticky pad from Molly’s desk. “Here’s my cell phone number. Call me as soon as you know what day you need the ride. That way I can plan my schedule.”
Molly took the yellow sticky note and tossed it into her purse. “This isn’t going to put you out, is it?”
“No, not at all. I’ll be happy for the company.” Corbin decided to add an incentive to be sure: “You can tell me all about your latest dating adventures. I might even tell you what Beckett and I were up to.”
Molly smiled. “I knew it! Give me a hint!”
Corbin shook his head and laughed. “Nope, you have to wait.”
Molly exhaled melodramatically and rolled her eyes.
“Hey, how are things between you and Shoe Guy?” Corbin asked. He wanted to change the topic before something happened to talk Molly out of accepting a ride from him.
Molly shrugged her shoulders and frowned. She leaned back away from Corbin. “I don’t know, I guess they’re ok. It wouldn’t surprise me if things ended pretty soon.” She rubbed her neck through her jacket as she spoke. She didn’t mention he had already dumped her.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Anyone else lined up?”
Molly sneered at Corbin. “What am I? A bus stop?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“Now you need to wait for the ride to hear more.” She picked up her newspaper again. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Corbin phoned Alvarez after he left Molly’s office. Alvarez was not happy to hear the news Corbin gave him.
“Shit! What are you going to do?”
“I’ve already done it. I got her to ask me for a ride to Philly.”
“How does that help? That sounds like you’re delivering the noose to the hangman.”
“Think about it. When she gives me the date she needs to be in Philly, then we’ll have a better idea if she’s coming up as a witness or if this is something innocent. If it’s innocent, then I just have to put up with her in the car for two hours. No big deal.”
“What if it isn’t?” His voice was jittery.
Corbin paused. “Then I have a two-hour drive to find out what she’s up to.”
“What if she’s coming to testify?”
“Then I have two hours to talk her out of going.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“What if you can’t?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. No matter what, we need to know if the prosecution is doing something with her. We can’t have her come waltzing into the courtroom unexpectedly.”
“Are you going to tell Beckett?”
“No way. Telling him would only complicate this.”
Alvarez took a deep breath. “I hope you know what you’re doing. I have the feeling this is spinning out of control.”
“It only looks that way. Have faith.”
Corbin met Penny for lunch. He felt sick the moment he saw her. She sat by herself with her legs tightly crossed beneath her and her arms tightly folded. She hadn’t removed her heavy winter coat. She even had the coat’s collar up around her neck, buttoned to the top. An untouched cup of coffee sat before her, but no food. She scowled.
“Hello,” Corbin said, as he slid into the chair opposite her. “Before you say anything, let me say that I am truly sorry.”
Penny’s jaw dropped. “What happened to you?! You look horrible?” Her entire expression instantly changed. The angry scowl and the squinting eyes vanished. In their place was deep concern, soft eyes and almost-quivering lips. This was unexpected.
“What do you mean?” Corbin asked.
“I mean, look at you! You’re all pale, like you’re sick. You look five years older and worn out.” She reached over and touched his forehead. “You’ve even got some gray hairs.” She brushed the back of her fingers against his cheeks. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No, no trouble.”
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sick?”
“No. Just tired.”
“You look more than tired. Have you seen a doctor?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just been stressful.”
“What’s happening, Alex? You really don’t look good.”
Corbin took a deep breath. “It’s just the people I’m dealing with, and my aunt’s getting sicker.” His mouth went dry. “I don’t think she’s going to make it.”
“Oh no!”
Corbin looked at Penny. Oddly, the more sympathetic she became, the more uncomfortable he became. His eyes shifted around. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he said, trying to defuse her sympathy.
“Of course it is!” she protested. Penny moved her chair next to his and threw her arms around him. Corbin hugged her back, though he felt strangely detached. Indeed, his thoughts were elsewhere. He wondered what he might have to do about Molly.