Someone's Watching Read Online Free PDF

With its red leatherette booths, counter service, and covered platters of cakes and pies, it reminded Robbie of a diner not far from the building where Robbie and her mom had lived. Sometimes when her mom was too tired from the chemo treatments to cook, they’d go there for dinner. Her mom would order soup, but hardly touch it.
    “There’s a booth.” Lieber waved to a waitress and grabbed a couple of menus.
    The table was near a window. Outside, a homeless woman with a shopping cart was going through last night’s trash. Someone with long dark hair walked by. Robbie strained to see her.
    “Three egg whites scrambled with Swiss cheese,” Lieber said to the waitress. “Wheat toast and coffee. What are you having, Robbie?”
    The dark-haired person stopped to give the homeless woman something. Robbie could see her face—a grown woman. Not Kaitlin. Was Robbie going to imagine her sister everywhere?
    “Robbie?” Lieber said.
    “I’m sorry.” Robbie relaxed against the benchseat. “I’ll have coffee and a toasted multigrain bagel, please.”
    The waitress left with the menus.
    “So bartending for now,” Lieber said. “Quite a change from being a CPA.”
    “I don’t miss it.”
    “I had the impression you were very good at it.”
    “Oh, I liked the numbers and puzzles, but I’m glad to be away from the obsession with power and money.”
    The waitress put two mugs of coffee and a small pitcher of cream on the table.
    “Tell me about Jeremy,” Lieber said, bringing the mug to her lips and blowing on the black coffee. “What’s he up to?”
    “He’s doing fine. He has an apartment at the SOBE Grande.”
    “Nice place.”
    Robbie added cream and sugar to her coffee. “Well, his parents left him and his sister a little money.”
    “That’s right.”
    “Not that he’s goofing off or anything like that,” Robbie said, wondering why she felt the need to justify. “Jeremy works hard. He’s a personal trainer at a couple of gyms.”
    “No corporate world for him, either.”
    “Anything but. He’s enjoying South Beach.”
    “Well, that’s good. He had to grow up too quickly when his parents died. I’m glad he’s taking some time for himself.”
    The waitress put their orders down on paper placemats, covering the map of Florida and picture of an alligator.
    “Thanks so much.” Lieber tasted her eggs, then reached for the salt and pepper and sprinkled them freely.
    “May I ask you something on a professional level?” Robbie asked.
    Lieber looked up from her food.
    “Do you handle the missing person cases?”
    “Some of them.”
    “I wanted to ask you about one in particular.”
    Lieber’s brown eyes were alert.
    “My father came to see me yesterday.” Robbie glanced away from Lieber’s gaze. She didn’t like withholding things from the detective, but now wasn’t the time to get into the family history. “He told me my younger sister and her friend were in Miami Beach on spring break. They’re missing.”
    “I know,” Lieber said.
    “You know?”
    “I happened to be on duty yesterday morning and I spoke with your father. He told me about Kaitlin and her friend, Joanne. He also said he had an older daughter here in town who went by the name Robbie Ivy. I figured that’s why you came to see me.”
    Why had Lieber waited until now to mention this? “So you told him you knew me?”
    “I didn’t feel that would be appropriate, not knowing your relationship with him. I did ask if it was possible that Kaitlin was staying with you and he was very definite that she wasn’t. I thought his certainty a bit odd.”
    Robbie looked down at her untouched bagel. It was burned at the edge.
    “Had you seen your sister before she and her friend disappeared?” Lieber asked.
    “No. I had no idea she was in Miami.”
    “Did she call you?”
    “No.”
    Lieber opened her mouth as though she wanted to ask something else, but instead picked up her coffee and took a sip.
    How peculiar this must all