But instead she chose to go shopping. The weather at her sister’s cottage on Lake Michigan at this time of year could be bitter and she’d need an appropriate wardrobe. She arrived back at her apartment just north of Dupont Circle at four in the afternoon, laden with parcels from Bloomies and Saks. Eighteen-month-old Jack lay gurgling on the carpet. Clare picked up the sweet-smelling bundle and was rewarded with a sloppy kiss. She paid the babysitter and explained she was going away on an unplanned trip and might not be back for several weeks. Then she sat at the computer and went online to book space on the early evening flight to Detroit and on to Traverse City. When the doorbell rang she thought it was the babysitter returning to pick up something she’d forgotten. It happened all the time. The girl had a mind like a sieve. So Clare pressed the buzzer on the entry phone without thinking, left the apartment door ajar and returned to the computer with her back to the room. When she heard the door close she said,“Whatcha forget this time, hun?”She turned to see two strangers in grey suits standing in the hallway.
