by Unger, Erin;
“OK. I’m locking the door behind me.”
Good idea.
“I’ll be back in an hour. Just rest. Please.”
She buried her head under a pillow to block out the light. It was only the second migraine she ever remembered having. Good thing, too, because it was excruciating.
24
A knock at the door pulled Maddie out of a light sleep and into flight mode. Her hand went to her temple. Where was she? She sat up on an elbow and remembered the migraine. And Joze.
Quiet reigned through the house. How long had she slept?
She slid over the side of the bed and padded to the door. “Joze?”
“It’s me.” With a shaky movement, Maddie opened the door. “Hey.”
“Feeling any better?”
She rested her head against the doorframe. No shooting pain accompanied her movements. Good. “Yes. Just a little foggy, that’s all.”
“Everyone’s gone.” He pushed the door open a bit more, and she followed him out. “And they left lots of food.”
What a relief. No cooking for a few days. Then she’d be back at college. All this would be behind her. She hoped.
She kept her eyes half-closed until she reached the kitchen where Mom and Jocelyn washed dishes.
Maddie ushered Joze to the hall. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in that.”
With her hand on the wall to steady her, Maddie shrugged. “Can I have some private time with my family?” She rushed on when she saw the hurt in his eyes. “I’ll call you later. I promise.”
Joze waved her off. “It’s fine. I do understand. But please call me.”
She stopped on the porch. “Did you find anything out earlier?”
He leaped down the steps, swinging his suit jacket over his shoulder. He looked so good at the moment. The perfect gentleman. She reined in her thoughts and tried to pay attention to his words.
“One woman ticked off seven different men who went to school with her and Lonna and whose first names start with a K. Said there were probably more but she’d have to consult her lists. And they all seemed to be on a roll about getting as many people to attend as possible. Seems they have everything else lined up and in order. Someone asked your mother about some charts or something and she said she’d have to find them. But it didn’t sound like a big deal. They all looked pretty genuine. Like good friends not hiding any big secrets.”
The reunion didn’t seem to be playing into the whole situation in any way. “Maybe we can scratch them off the list of suspects then.”
He didn’t turn. “Go back in the house and set the alarm.”
“Bossy.” She folded her arms across her stomach. “But OK.”
Maddie closed her door. The blissful darkness of the room engulfed her. As her head hit the pillow, something was off kilter. She jumped up. Had someone been in there?
The desk chair lay at a different angle than she remembered leaving it. She swung around. A shirt sleeve hung out of a dresser drawer. She never left them like that. She wanted to scream. Someone had been searching her room. But which one of the guests? Curses to the migraine that’d sidelined her so fast.
She scurried to the headboard of her bed. Her mattress didn’t quite lay even on the box spring. Fisting her hands around her hair, she pulled it. “No, no, no!”
The journal was gone.
Tears stung so hard she had to let them fall. Her sobs brought Aster and Jocelyn running to her room. It hurt even more that she couldn’t share the devastation with the closest people she loved. They tried to comfort her, and she didn’t stop them. Even Devin popped his head in the door and waited for a command from her. She’d pass it off as grief for her beloved aunt. That’s all they needed to know. And they needed to get back to their lives where they were safe again. She lifted her head. “When do you all leave?”
Aster laid her head on Maddie’s knee. “I have a night class tomorrow. I was going to skip this week, but I think I need to get back, you know?”
Jocelyn sat back on her haunches. “Me, too. The semester ends in a month. I really can’t miss.”
Turning, Maddie caught Devin’s eye. He looked away. “I have the week free.”
Think quick. “We should let this all sink in, get together in a few weeks.” Would it be enough time to lose the stalker? “I don’t want any of you to fret over the house. I’ll stay and do what absolutely has to be done for the rest of this week, but you need to get back to your lives.”
They all fell silent.
She stroked Aster’s hair. “OK?”
Everyone wiped their eyes and agreed. Relief rippled through her. The sooner they left, the safer they were.
Once everyone turned in for an early night, Maddie lay in her bed. What could she do? Joze needed a break. He had to be due back at work on Monday. She couldn’t wake him now. But she had to do something. All chances of finding the answers in the journal were gone. For good.
And that left RoRo. Joze wouldn’t even consider turning to the gangster. Which meant she was on her own.
25
Maddie had to leave…and now. She tapped her fingers and shifted from foot to foot. As much as she wanted to say good-byes to the cousins, this was taking forever. Aster gave her another hug, and Jocelyn joined in. “I love you two. I’m proud of you.”
Jocelyn let go. “You sound like Mom. Knock it off.”
“Really? I’ve always babied you two.”
Aster kissed her cheek. “True.”
Mom strode toward them in her usual frenzy of getting ready for work. “I’m going to miss you girls.”
They wrapped their arms around her as they had Maddie. “We’ll miss you too, Aunt Sassie.”
Aster waved her fingers at Mom. “See you at graduation. Don’t forget. And don’t double book your schedule so you can’t make it.”
“I promise.” Mom reached for one more squish from them.
Maddie pursed her lips. Why couldn’t she get the same love and concern from Mom? And Mom wondered why Aunt Lonna was the one Maddie always turned to. Here was the proof, plain and simple.
She pressed her hand to her mouth and blew them a kiss. “Be safe.”
Devin followed the others out the door. His quick wave and nod made Maddie smile. After all these years he skipped hugs still. Old habits were hard to break.
Mom closed the door behind them and ran back to her room. “Hey, I have this deal over in Darien and it’s not going well. I think I’m going to end up renegotiating the terms on the sale, so I’m staying there a few days to make things easier.”
Maddie pursued her. “OK.” She exhaled and wiped her brow. Now she didn’t have to worry about Mom being safe. “Well, I’ll be around if you need anything.”
Mom dropped her mascara on the granite counter in her bathroom and peered at Maddie through the mirror. “Aren’t you going back to college in a day or so?”
“By the end of the week. But I need to work on…a project. No disruptions.” How much should she say to Mom? Things were way beyond dangerous. And it was about to get worse once she talked to RoRo.
Her mother threw some items into her attaché case and then studied her. “Is this about the other night? I thought all that was dealt with.” She stopped her hyper movements and drew close to Maddie.
Oh, right. Mom didn’t know everything that had happened. It was the price of trying to keep secrets—being alone in them. “Well…” Maddie scratched her head and then waved her hand. “Everything’s under control. Don’t worry about it.”
“If you’re sure.” Mom took one more look at Maddie and then zipped the case.
With as much of a smile as she could muster, Maddie leaned against the bed. “Want help packing?”
“I already packed. But thanks for asking.” Mom wheeled out her designer suitcase from the closet and pulled a garment bag off the closet door. “I’ll be home Wednesday.”
“Bye.”
Mom blew her a
kiss and marched out the door.
Maddie’s hands shook. She got in her car. How irrational could she be to do this thing with RoRo? The stress and constant high-strung awareness was getting to her, and now she was being dangerous. Maddie set Joze’s number in her phone to call him with the push of a button if something went awry.
She stuffed the phone in her pocket and pulled out of the drive. Thick, rolling clouds hung low, sending a cold wave of temperature through Connecticut.
26
Joze’s phone sang at his side, only the menacing ringtone of Freddie Cougar he’d originally set to Maddie’s number made his heart flip with something akin to joy instead of the terror it was meant to bring. He set the sterilization wipes down on the stretcher he’d been cleaning and answered. “Hello?”
Muffled sounds filtered through as if material or something was rubbing against the cell. “Hello? Maddie?”
She was talking. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
He felt his skin crawl. “Maddie, Maddie. What are you doing?”
She seemed to be talking to herself and didn’t answer him. Had she butt-dialed him? “RoRo better be there.”
A butt-dial for sure.
He put his hand over his phone and yelled to Jim. “I have to go. Stretcher is clean.”
He didn’t give them a chance to respond as he bolted to his car and burned rubber out of the parking lot.
Why was she looking for RoRo? His blue tooth in the car brought the soft sound of her radio through the speakers. That meant she was going to the one place he’d told her never to go alone. His pulse beat at his temples and shot pounding blood through his ears. That woman.
His grip on the steering wheel was sure to leave permanent marks. He hung up and waited an interminable five seconds to call her back. When she picked up on the third ring, he didn’t wait for niceties. “Where are you?”
She sputtered but no words came out.
“You accidentally called me. I know where you’re headed, and you can’t do it.”
She groaned.
A light flicked red in front of him. He braked but not fast enough to stop from blowing through it. Good thing the coast was clear. “I know how desperate you must feel, but he’s only going to make things worse.” He softened his voice. “Can we meet at the diner? You know the one we ate at last time?”
It took her a second to answer. “OK.”
He covered his mouth with his hand. What should he say to her? If he yelled and ranted the way he wanted, she’d write him off for good. So what could he do?
Joze began praying and didn’t stop until he pulled into the restaurant parking lot.
He held the door open and ushered her in. Maddie glanced back at him several times, fear etched in every muscle move. “I’m sorry, Joze. I just want this to be over.”
They took the same seats in the back, and he drew in a few cleansing breaths. “I know you do but not like this.”
She played with her nails and bit her lip. “Someone stole the journal last night.”
His calm dissolved, but he fought to keep an even voice. “I had my eye on everyone. I never saw anyone go into your room.”
She picked at a hangnail, trying to peel it free. “Except when we were in the bathroom.”
Right. He closed his eyes. Those sweet moments where she’d let him hold her. Where he’d have given almost anything to have her with him forever. Why hadn’t he insisted on keeping the journal with him where it would’ve been safer? “How did that lead you back to RoRo?”
She licked her lips. “He told me last time if I did something for him, he’d give me what I wanted.” It didn’t surprise Joze that she refused to look at him. “I had no choice. Without the journal, there’s no way to figure out who’s after me. He was the only other lead.”
“I see.” He reached for her hand to still its constant movements. She clenched his hands, and he widened his eyes. He’d expected her to pull away and now her supple hands yielded in his. It made him want more. But what a time to be thinking of such things. “There has to be another way.” Oh, how he wanted to say so much more than that but the amount of control he’d garnered so far astounded him.
Maddie avoided his gaze.
God, I know You’re testing me here and I’m about to fail. Help. “You do understand that he won’t let you go once he gives you any info, right? That’s what I’m trying to get at. In his eyes, you’ll always owe him.”
Her body jittered as her knee bounced up and down. “There’s always a first time for everyone.”
He could pull up a story or two on the gangster that would curl her straight hair. “You need to stay away from him. I mean it. For your own good.”
The waitress sauntered over and took their order. Maddie looked like a death row inmate who got a stay of execution notice.
He swung his regard to the waitress and ordered his usual, all the time smelling the onions and peppers floating his way on a cloud of steam from a nearby serving tray and then waited for her to walk away.
Weariness poured off her. “But I’m no closer to figuring out what happened. I need a break in this thing. And I don’t know where else to turn.”
“How in the world did your aunt hook up with RoRo? He’s not from Anby or anything?” He ran an arm along the back of the booth and rested it along the top. And she didn’t seem like the drug type when he’d met her years ago.
She dropped her head onto her folded arms on the table. “I don’t know. And without the journal, I don’t think we’ll ever figure it out.”
We? Was he getting somewhere with her?
He worked to make a connection. “Could the illusive K. in the journal be a doctor at one of the offices? Do you think that’s why she had the address to the building we checked out? Someone that important could be very dangerous to cross.”
“Maybe?” Her voice crept up a little higher.
“K. was her boyfriend. It would be devastating to realize someone you loved is involved in crime. It would also explain why she seemed upset.”
Maddie played with her straw, swishing it around in her drink. “You think he discovered she was investigating him?”
“Has to be.” He shook his head. “But I don’t get why he’d go after you.”
She stopped stirring her straw. “She told me everything. Even things she wouldn’t share with Mom. But her life was boring. There wasn’t much to tell.” Maddie eyed him. “He must’ve known that somehow. But she kept all this to herself for once.”
“Yeah, the one time she should’ve told you—or someone.” Joze unfolded and refolded his napkin. “There could be evidence against him at your house.”
“I think it’s time to go back to Aunt Lonna’s office. There has to be something up there.” She dropped her chin. “Well, if the stalker didn’t find it when he was up there originally.”
Joze reached over and rubbed her arm, his calm returning bit by bit as if he’d put the pin back in a live grenade. “What about your family?”
She sighed. “They all left this morning. Mom even headed out on a business trip for a few days.”
Maddie had always put her family first, protecting them like a fierce mama bear. What would it be like to be in that inner circle of hers again? Did he want that?
He studied her. Before he could even think about whether or not to let her back in his world, he needed to catch the man who was out to get her. But it was getting harder and harder to keep his distance and his thoughts about her at bay. Even the touch of her hand sent his senses into overdrive. If only the dreaded day four years ago had never happened.
27
Maddie unlocked the back door and scurried into her kitchen, the cold fingers of the empty house reaching out and bringing her to full attention. Whatever happened to the warmth of spring days? She reset the alarm and then ushered Joze past her, where the bright sun dropped patches of a kaleidoscope pattern on the tiled floor and counters. For once, the headache from her fall had subsided o
n its own. She must be getting over it. Finally. Now, time to tear the house apart. The stalker needed to be behind bars, and they had to find something to put him there.
She put her keys in her pocket and dropped her purse beside the coffee machine. “Out to the office?”
Joze rested his hands in his pockets. “If you think it’s the best place to look. What about her room?”
“We’re going to search every inch of this house.” Maddie took the key to the office off the cat-shaped key holder and rearmed the alarm. Then they went out.
On the top step of the office, Maddie paused and took in the mess. How were they ever going to be able to decipher what had significance and what didn’t? She scratched her head and looked from one end of the large room to the other. “Should we work together, or each take a different end?”
Joze quirked his mouth. “We can get more done if we work separate but…”
She read into his uncertain stance. “I know. That’s what I’m thinking. Well, I’ll start at her desk. You can start over there.” She pointed to the large table in the far corner of the room. “Mind picking up those filing cabinets?”
Joze stalked over and lifted the first one to right it.
She moved to the desk and fought the urge to lovingly run her fingers along the edge of the desk that Aunt Lonna had restored years ago. Maddie climbed under the table and began piling papers on top of each other. When the floor was clear around the desk, she went from her knees to the desk chair, carrying the papers with her. With the stack on the table, she worked through them one by one. Most were invoice orders Aunt Lonna had printed from her online business. Soap supply orders and a few receipts for party supplies were mixed together. She separated them. Perhaps the reunion committee wanted everything pertaining to it. “Hey, set anything that looks like it has to do with the reunion to the side.”