Nowhere to Turn (14 page)

“Oh, no!” I cried. Connor's eyes widened again at the sound of my voice. “Don't worry. I'll get him,” I said. I darted into the den after Orion.

Orion had finished one of the three biscuits I had tossed into the room and was sniffing around for another one. I left him to it and crossed to the desk. Elliot was running his business from here, he'd told me. Just like the last time I'd been in Mr. Schuster's den, the desk was piled with file folders and business papers. I was distracted for a few moments by a copy of the police report on Nick's arrest that was lying on top of the pile. I scanned it quickly, absorbing a few details that were new to me. It didn't sound good. Nick would need a very good lawyer if these charges went to court. I set the report aside and shuffled through the rest of the papers as quickly as I could, not at all sure what I was looking for—not until I found it.

It was a file folder with several letters inside. Elliot owed the bank a lot of money. And he'd been turned down for a loan by a number of other banks. His business was in trouble. That would certainly give him a motive for cashing in on his father's coin collection.

“No, I don't think we need to call animal control,” I heard Morgan say loudly. “I'm sure Robyn has everything under control.
Don't you, Robyn?
”

Orion was happily crunching on the last of the biscuits I had tossed into the den. I hastily put the file folder back where I had found it, grabbed the end of Orion's leash, and wrapped it around my wrist.

“Time for a walk,” I said, my voice as loud as Morgan's had been. I led him out of the den.

Connor was still safely behind the French doors with Morgan when Orion and I stepped out into the front hall.

“See?” Morgan said, standing up. She smiled sweetly. Connor looked as if he were going to melt. He opened his mouth to say something but clamped it shut again when Morgan opened the French doors to let herself out. Connor watched longingly as she pulled on her coat and boots. But his fear of dogs must have got the better of him, because he stayed put and waved reluctantly as we headed for the door and let ourselves out.

“So?” Morgan said eagerly as soon as we were out on the porch. “Did you find anything that might help Nick? Were you—”

The words died in her throat as the front door swung open. Connor was standing there with a love-struck look on his face that vanished as he absorbed what he had just heard. Or, I hoped, maybe he hadn't heard anything at all.

“Come on, Morgan,” I said quickly. “Let's go.” I turned to leave—and found myself face-to-face with the man who had come looking for Mrs. Schuster a few days back. He gave me an odd look, as if he thought he knew me but couldn't place me.

“Is Claudia Schuster here?” he said. As soon as he spoke, Orion started to bark. The man stepped back. His expression cleared. “You're the brave young lady who walks the dog,” he said, smiling at me.

“Mrs. Schuster isn't home,” I said. “But this is her son. He can probably let you know when she's going to be back.”

I tugged on Orion's leash, and we marched down the front walk without once looking back.

“Slow down,” Morgan said when we finally reached the street.

I shook my head. “I hope Connor didn't hear what you said, Morgan. If Elliot finds out I know Nick, he won't let me in the house again. And I'm already worried about what they're going to do to Orion, especially if they put Mr. Schuster in a nursing home.”

“I'm sure he didn't hear anything,” Morgan said. “If he had, he would have said something.”

“Maybe,” I said. But maybe not.

“You weren't kidding about him. What a wuss. I think he'd even be afraid of Missy.” Missy was Morgan's black Lab, the sweetest dog on the planet.

“To be fair, he was mauled by a Rottweiler,” I said. “But between him and his mother . . .”

My phone rang. It was my dad. “How soon can you get to the mall?” he said.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

“I

s he taking you shopping?” Morgan said when I told her I had to meet my father.

I filled her in. She looked dubiously at Orion.

“What about him?” she said.

“I don't suppose you could walk him and then take him home?”

She looked at the big dog and shook her head. “You know I'd do anything for you, Robyn, but—”

I didn't blame her. “It's okay. I'll take him with me for now.”

My dad was waiting at the bottom of the escalator where Mr. Schuster had fallen. He looked from Orion to me.

“Will he behave?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. At least, I hoped so.

“Okay, follow me.” He led the way across the main floor and down a narrow corridor to a door marked: Security. Authorized Personnel Only. He rapped on the door. A uniformed guard opened it.

My father introduced himself. “Mr. Logan is expecting me,” he said.

The security guard showed us into a room filled with wall-mounted TV monitors. A middle-aged man who had been watching the monitors stood up to greet us.

“Mac,” he said, pumping my father's hand. “Long time no see.”

“How's the private sector treating you, Walt?” my father said.

“Can't complain. I hear you're doing well.”

“Guess I can't complain, either.” My father grinned and introduced me. Then he said, “About that footage I asked you about . . .”

“I'm surprised no one else has asked me about it yet,” Walt said.

“The injuries weren't life-threatening,” my father said. “I'm sure they'll get around to it.”

Walt took a DVD from his desk and popped it into a player on the other side of the room. We gathered around a TV next to it. I told Orion to sit. He obeyed immediately. I could have kissed him. Then I held my breath as Walt pressed Play.

“Okay,” Walt said. “This is your guy, right?” He pointed to Nick standing at the top of the escalator.

“That's him,” my father said.

When I had witnessed what had happened, I'd been at the bottom of the escalator, looking up from one side. The camera angle was completely different. It caught the action head on, and this time I saw things that I hadn't seen the first time. Mr. Schuster shuffled into the frame, leaning heavily on his walker. Isobel was holding his arm. She was frowning. People were coming at them from all directions, heading for the escalator. She and Mr. Schuster got separated, and Schuster seemed to be having trouble navigating his way through all the people. He got dangerously close to the top of the escalator. Then Nick came up behind Mr. Schuster and Isobel. Isobel turned, still frowning, and said something to him. She pointed to her left and started to help Mr. Schuster away from the top of the escalator. It looked like Nick was trying to give her a hand.

“He's being awfully helpful to someone he intends to push, isn't he?” Walt said.

My father didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the screen. So were mine.

Suddenly the expression on Nick's face changed. He cocked his head and frowned, as if he had heard something. Then it happened. Nick thrust out his hands. They rammed into Mr. Schuster's back. Mr. Schuster lurched forward and toppled down the escalator.

“Let me see that again,” my dad said.

Walt stopped and rewound. This time he slowed the footage down. We all leaned forward to get a better look. We must have watched it half a dozen times, Walt playing the scene frame by frame when my father asked him to, before I was sure about what I was seeing. Yes, Nick had pushed Mr. Schuster. But I could see why. A man in a wide-brimmed hat darted in front of someone else to get directly behind Nick. Nick turned his head toward the man. Then, for no reason that I could see, the man rammed Nick with one shoulder, throwing him off balance and propelling him violently forward. Both of Nick's hands flew out in front of him—and sent Mr. Schuster reeling.

Then Mr. Schuster fell into a man who moved aside, realized what was happening, and tried too late to help. The other people on the escalator turned and watched, too surprised to do anything. Once Schuster reached the bottom of the escalator, a man hit the emergency Stop button. Isobel scrambled to the bottom to see if Schuster was all right. Nick stood where he was, seemingly stunned. When he started down the escalator, a man grabbed him and held him. The rest of the people walked to the bottom of the escalator and stood around, some of them looking at Mr. Schuster, a few of them pointing at Nick.

“Nick didn't push Mr. Schuster,” I said. “Someone pushed Nick. It almost looked like he did it on purpose.”

I glanced at my father. He was staring intently at the TV screen.

“Stop,” he said. “Rewind a little and play it again.”

Walt did as he was asked.

“Pause it,” my father said. “There. Look at that.”

We all peered at the screen. Walt nodded.

“What exactly are we looking at?” I said.

My father pointed to the man in the wide-brimmed hat. His head was bowed, making it impossible to see his face underneath his overcoat.

“That's the man who bumped into Nick,” I said.

“See what he's doing?” my father said.

I looked at the screen again

“He isn't doing anything,” I said. “He's just walking away.”

“Exactly,” my father said. “Everyone on the escalator stopped to see how Mr. Schuster was. That man just kept going. He didn't even look at Schuster. If he'd tripped or fell against Nick, if the whole thing was an accident, you'd expect him to stop. You'd at least expect him to look at what he'd done, even if he didn't want to take responsibility.”

“Or if someone else was being blamed,” Walt said grimly.

“So you don't think it was an accident,” I said. “You think that man pushed Nick on purpose.”

My dad nodded.

“But why?” I said. “I don't get it.”

“Neither do I,” my father said. “But it's obvious from this tape that Nick fell against Schuster. He didn't push him. That part was an accident. The man who pushed Nick, though—that's another story.” He looked at Walt. “Will you call the police?” he said. “Tell them about the footage. Make sure they get a copy.”

“Sure thing,” Walt said.

“And if it's not too much trouble, could you make a copy for me?”

Walt smiled and hit the Eject button. When the DVD popped out, he dropped it into a plastic case and handed it to my dad.

“Did that right after I called you,” he said.

“What are you going to do now?” I asked my dad after we left the security office.

“I'm going to take this to Nick's lawyer. It will definitely help him.”

“You think the police will drop the charge against him?”

“I would think you can count on it.”

“Will they release him?”

My dad was less certain about that. “Maybe he didn't push Mr. Schuster on purpose,” he said. “But he did break the terms of his bail.” He sighed. “I have to get going, Robbie. I'll see you later, okay?”

“I'm going out with Ben tonight.”

“In that case, I'll see you when you get home.”

After my father left, I took Orion for a long walk. After that, there was no avoiding it. He had to go back to Mr. Schuster's.