Page 9 of Out of the Shadows (Angelhart Investigations)

While driving to Charlie’s condo, Margo called Jack.

“Charlie left work early on Friday and didn’t show up at all on Saturday,” Margo said. She told him what she’d learned from

Frank and Julio. “Can you ask Laura if Charlie has a second job? Maybe a temp job, or working for a friend.”

“She’s on the phone with her clinic,” he said. “I’ll text you. Did you follow up on Brittney’s alibi?”

“Her date at Mastro’s? They don’t open until four.”

“Mom knows the owner,” Jack said.

“Really?”

“Yep. His son’s a veteran and had some legal issues—I don’t know the details—when he left service. Mom helped. She and Dad

had their anniversary dinner there the year before— Well, I’ll ask Mom to find out.”

Before , Margo thought. Their dad had been in prison for the last three years after pleading guilty to killing his colleague at the

VA. Margo didn’t believe it. Out of everyone in her family, her dad was the least likely to kill anyone. But he refused to

talk about it, and when Margo visited him, she didn’t bring it up anymore.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t have her own private investigation into Dr. Klein’s death. The problem? She was at a standstill

with no leads to follow.

“Brittney’s up to something,” Margo said. “I don’t think she knew anything about the hit-and-run or break-in, but she was

nervous when I showed up. She became more irritable, but less nervous, during my questioning. She thought I was there for

something else.”

“Up to what?”

“I don’t know if she’s just squeamish because she doesn’t want Logan to know she’s dating or if she has some game going on.

I think game because she still denies she did anything wrong.

“It’s none of our business. I don’t care what happens to her or any other guy who gets stuck in her web.”

Jack was right. Maybe it was just that Margo didn’t like the woman. Brittney had hired her under false pretenses, lied to

her, cheated on her husband, lied about it, was party to embezzlement, and she was getting away with it—with a two-million-dollar

house and three million in cash for her efforts. It didn’t sit right with Margo, but she needed to let it go.

“Margo,” Jack said when she didn’t immediately say anything.

“Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, I’m heading to Charlie’s condo. Maybe he’s sleeping. Call or text if you learn anything from

Laura about a second job. I also need to know about his friends. If Laura is on good terms with his family—parents, siblings—she

should call them. Maybe he has a legitimate reason for being out of reach. If I don’t find him in twenty-four hours, Laura

needs to think about filing a missing persons report.”

“Agreed,” Jack said. “I’ll ask Laura if she can access his phone records.”

“Do you really think her ex-husband has something to do with the hit-and-run?”

“Logan and Laura don’t think so. But they may not be objective.”

“I’ll call when I learn more,” Margo said and ended the call.

Logan’s Scottsdale condo was in a prime location walking distance to dozens of restaurants and shops. He’d bought it more

than ten years ago when he first moved to Arizona and, like Logan himself, the condo wasn’t flashy. A discreet two-story structure

with eight units and a classy, understated exterior.

Margo parked on the street and fed the meter. She had permission from the owner—Logan—to use the codes Veronica gave her to

get into the building and apartment, but it was still a gray area.

However, considering his ex-wife and kids hadn’t spoken to him in a few days, a welfare check might be in order.

First, she checked the garage. It was under the building, accessible via a gate if you had a key card or code. She had the

code, but didn’t need it because she could see that Charlie Barrett’s green Ford Ranger wasn’t there.

She walked to the entrance and let herself into the building. Three units on the ground floor along with a community room,

a gym and an indoor-outdoor lounge. An elevator went to the roof... which had a pool, hot tub and another indoor-outdoor

room. A separate elevator went to the second floor, but she opted for the stairs.

There was no on-site staff or maintenance, but the space was well-maintained and the HOAs had to be through the roof.

Charlie’s condo was on the second floor, a sixteen-hundred-square-foot space that, from the old real estate photos Margo had

glanced at, had an open layout and modern kitchen. A balcony on the backside boasted a view of the Camelback Mountains.

Yep, definitely a nice bachelor pad, Margo thought. Well out of her price range, but she wasn’t a condo person. She needed

her own space, and while her little house was old and she’d done much of the remodeling herself—with a lot of help from Jack—she

would take her house over this condo any day.

Though she wouldn’t mind being walking distance from all the great restaurants in Old Town.

Margo knocked on Charlie’s door. No answer. No sound of anyone moving inside.

She knocked on the door of the closest neighbor. Since it was Monday morning, she didn’t expect an answer; there wasn’t one.

Margo texted Jack: No answer. I’m letting myself in.

Margo used Logan’s code to unlock Charlie’s door, then opened it just a couple inches. “Charlie? I’m Margo Angelhart. Logan

asked me to do a welfare check. Hello? Anyone here?”

She heard nothing, so she entered.

The place had been tossed: uneven couch cushions; entertainment center disorganized, as if someone had rifled through all

the DVDs; papers scattered in the office; and nearly every book was askew in the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Though there

were cords for a computer, it was missing.

In the walk-in closet in the main bedroom, all the clothes had been pushed to one side, revealing a safe—which had been drilled

through. Whatever was inside was gone.

But no Charlie, and no sign that he had been injured.

Also no sign that he’d gone on a trip. Two suitcases and an overnight bag were on the top shelf of the closet, and toiletries

were spread across the bathroom counter, including a razor resting in a charger.

She called Jack and told him what she’d found.

“I’ll have Logan call the police,” Jack said. “No sign of Charlie?”

“Nope,” Margo said. She’d already put on gloves before she touched anything and now opened the cabinet under the sink. No

garbage. She searched and found there was a dedicated slide-out drawer with two garbage cans, each lined with bags. One was

empty, one had some empty containers. She carefully moved the containers aside, found a receipt for takeout from a nearby

restaurant, dated Thursday at 6:15 p.m. She told Jack. “Doesn’t mean anything, but he hasn’t used the trash since Thursday

night or maybe Friday morning. I don’t think he returned home after he left work on Friday. I’m going to check a few things

then call you back.”