"On that premise," he replied, grin faltering, "they could be anywhere at all, in any state, doing anything. I prefer my theory to yours." He thought of James, and didn't know why. He'd been avoiding her, trying to keep complications out of the bigger picture in his work, which only got more dangerous as time went on.
Rick didn't walk out of the apartment. He stood in the hall in the entrance to the kitchen and put his head to one side in a very slow, deliberate angling of his chin. "If the woman that lived here knew you had her purse, would she let you walk off with it?"