Witness Pursuit by Hope White

right at nine this morning.”
    â€œMy assistant and I had a few stops to make.”
    A small blue sedan pulled into the lot. Mr. Anderson’s assistant, Carol Trotter, got out of the car. “What’s going on?” she asked, rushing up to them.
    â€œSomeone broke into the office,” Mr. Anderson said.
    The sixtysomething woman glanced at the building with rounded eyes.
    â€œIt’s okay, he’s gone,” Nate said to ease her fear.
    â€œBut why?” she said. “We don’t keep cash or anything valuable in there.”
    â€œDo you think this is related to the dead woman at the Whispering Pines cabin?” Mr. Anderson said.
    â€œWe’re not sure,” Nate said. “I’d like you to go through the office and see if anything’s missing. That might help us determine motivation for the break-in.”
    â€œI can help,” Cassie offered.
    â€œOkay, but let’s all wear gloves so as not to interfere with forensics.”
    Nate retrieved four pair of gloves from the patrol car. When they went into the office, he noticed Cassie’s rattled expression. Then she lifted her chin as if to say, this isn’t going to bother me .
    That’s what he admired about her: her ability to act strong when she was feeling anything but powerful.
    Cassie bent to pick up papers scattered on the floor. “Where would you like me to put these?”
    â€œStack them on the table,” Mr. Anderson said. “We’ll go through them.”
    â€œHow about your files, Mr. Anderson?” Nate asked. “Does anything look off?”
    â€œCarol is my file pro.”
    Carol analyzed the files strewn haphazardly on the floor. “It doesn’t look like anything’s missing.”
    They continued to go through the mess for a few minutes.
    â€œThis isn’t good,” Cassie said.
    â€œWhat?” Nate questioned.
    She held up an empty file folder, then another. “My personnel file is empty. So is Becca’s.”
    â€œIt probably just fell out somewhere.” Carol got down on the floor and sifted through paperwork.
    â€œWhat did you keep in those files?” Nate asked Mr. Anderson.
    â€œJob applications, work reviews, property assignments.”
    â€œOur addresses and Social Security numbers were on those applications.” Cassie glanced at Nate.
    â€œWhich address was on your application?” he asked.
    â€œThe farmhouse.”
    â€œThat could be a good thing.” Nate turned to Mr. Anderson. “Didn’t you keep that type of sensitive information secured?”
    â€œI lock it every night,” Carol answered for her boss. “They must have picked the lock. What on earth would they want with personnel information?”
    â€œI’ve got to warn Becca,” Cassie said and raced out of the office.
    * * *
    Cassie paced outside, pressing her cell phone to her ear. “Come on, come on,” she said under her breath. Why wasn’t Becca answering? Was she in trouble?
    Her voice mail picked up. “Hi, this is Becca. I can’t take your call right now, so please leave a message.”
    â€œBecca, it’s Cassie. Be careful. Someone stole our personnel files from the office so they know where you live, and we need to talk because I don’t know what’s going on and we could be in danger, or at least we were in danger until they arrested that guy last night, but still we don’t know if he has a partner—”
    A solid hand rested on her shoulder. She glanced into Nate’s green eyes. “Take a breath,” he offered. “Tell her to meet us at the police station.”
    Cassie nodded. “Becca, come to the police station. Chief Walsh and I will explain everything.” She ended the call and nibbled at her lower lip.
    â€œCome back inside.” With a hand cupping her elbow, Nate led her into the office. “Was Becca working for you this morning?” Nate asked