by Darby Kane
Or nothing. “You’re so single.”
“What?” He sounded offended by the comment.
“I love my husband, but when we go on vacation we get a room with two double beds.” She loved the man and had since she saw him walking across the quad at Howard University her freshman year, but he sprawled and snored, and she craved a night or two of quiet.
Pete laughed. “How sexy.”
“A good night’s sleep can be better than sex.”
“That’s the kind of comment that will keep me single.”
Ginny swallowed her smile. “Back to Lila.”
“The house? Not too messy. Not too picked up. The bedrooms looked lived-in but sterile.”
So, just right. Nothing to raise suspicion. “I guess bloodstains would have been too much to ask for.”
Pete stepped away from the car. “You think she did it?”
“We don’t even know what ‘it’ is yet. I basically stopped to do a wellness check on the way back from another incident and now we’re off and running. We need to give Aaron time to wise up and come home.” He hadn’t been missing even twenty-four hours yet, so Pete needed to slow down a bit. “People who cared about him called in—”
“But not his wife.”
“We only have her word he left this morning. If this doesn’t get resolved, we’ll have to verify that.” The open questions would let Ginny poke around, but right now she was waiting for a little time to pass.
Aaron could have a girlfriend on the side or be sick of his life, or it could be nothing. She half expected him to walk through the door while they were there. In most cases he would. Despite what televisions suggested, these issues rarely spun up and into actual cases.
The immediate concerned calls and all that talk about how Aaron would never and he was never even late had Ginny thinking something was wrong here. The picture everyone painted showed Aaron as a guy who wouldn’t just run, but then it was amazing how often what people thought was going on was very different from what actually was.
“We now know Aaron Payne’s got millions. So, just divorce and go live on a beach with some hot thing if he’s done with his marriage,” Pete said.
If only people who made bad decisions picked common sense instead. “He wouldn’t be the first guy to think divorce would kick his ass. He could have worried that his former lawyer wife would figure out a way to take part of his money or that a judge would stick him with a big alimony payment.”
Pete groaned.
“If this blows up, I’ll need to know everything. Money. History. Family. Why she really left her law practice. Who her friends are. What people in and around the school and this neighborhood think about this couple. Security camera footage. Phone records.”
“I want to take a peek at that trust fund.” Pete shook his head. “That was weird.”
Ginny guessed that was the point. “Notice how she switched the focus off her and onto her brother-in-law.”
“It was subtle.” Pete glanced at his watch. “By this time tomorrow, her husband’s face is going to hit the news. The press will descend on her front lawn. Every inch of her life, every movement, will be dissected.”
Exactly. “Then we’ll see how chilly she really is.”
Chapter Nine
Two Weeks Earlier
THE ALARM SCREAMED THROUGH THE QUIET HOUSE FOR THE second time that night. The first came around two. Now, barely an hour later, it wailed again.
Lila heard footsteps and swearing. Lights flicked on as the house scrambled to life.
She kept watch from the kitchen window. Wearing pajamas and slippers, she stood on tiptoes and leaned over the sink to peer into the backyard. Nothing moved out there.
“See anything?” Aaron stumbled out of the guest bedroom where he’d been banished to sleep ever since the fight over the videos and came bounding down the hall. He swore as he lost his balance, trying to pull on a pair of faded jeans and running sneakers, jumping on one leg before slamming into the side of the refrigerator. “I should have kept my clothes on after last time.”
She ignored the uncoordinated display. Her focus went right to the bat in his hand and stayed there. “What are you doing with that?”
“Turn off the alarm.”
He ignored her question. Not a surprise. He’d been hostile since she found out about the videos. Turned the whole thing around on her and acted like the tension between them was her fault because she didn’t believe the crap excuse he offered. “The intruder could have a gun.”
He zipped up his sweatshirt. “It’s probably nothing. Some stupid animal.”
She watched as he headed for the French doors to the patio. “You don’t know that. Someone could be out there.”
“I know you want to fight about everything right now, but please take a break and handle the alarm.” He swore under his breath as the phone rang. “I don’t want to get charged by the police for a false alarm, so get that call and give the code.”
“That’s your concern?” A fifty-dollar fee. Only Aaron would cast losing that amount of money as a bigger horror than getting shot in the head and bleeding out on the grass.
“Lila, get the phone.”
She picked up the receiver and said the safe word. Their alarm snapped off right after.
He opened the door and a second alarm screeched through the house. This one came from outside and had more than one neighbor’s house sputtering awake in the darkness.
The Filmores lived next door. Other people on the street whispered “pharmaceutical money” when they referred to Pat and Kitty. Theirs was the first house on the corner when someone turned onto the street. Set back in a tunnel of trees with only the third floor and the hint of a driveway peeking out from the branches.
With their kids in college, they no longer invested in private high school and swanky family vacations. Instead, they redesigned their backyard with a spa and gardens. They had an outdoor kitchen and family room, complete with a huge television where they watched movies in the summer while lounging in the pool.
The bottom floor was a playroom for grown-ups and kids. It housed old-school video games and a pool table. A media room with oversize couches. A lot of shiny, expensive things that required an intricate alarm system and video equipment to protect them.
When the Filmores’ alarm turned on, their outside lights also flipped on. The place lit up like a carnival. Any intruder should have been pinned in a spotlight and caught on video. Pat bragged about that enhancement. Now they would see if the system delivered.
When she heard familiar male voices around the corner of the house, she followed Aaron’s path outside. He stood on their side of the tall trees that marked the boundary between properties, bat in hand. Pat paced along the hedge shaking his head.
Just as she reached them, she saw Kitty running out a side door toward them. She’d wrapped an oversize robe around her and wore it with what looked like snow boots. Pat was a bit better, having slipped on sweats and a jacket that was inside out.
“Well?” Pat shouted to his wife over the din of the alarm.
That fast, the noise cut off. Silence descended, and the yard folded into darkness as the emergency lights clicked off.
“The police are coming to do a quick check, but I looked at the videos.” Kitty sounded out of breath. “There’s nothing.”
“You sure?” Aaron asked.
Kitty reached out for Pat to help her down the slight slope between the properties. The consoling gesture seemed to be automatic, as if he’d spent his life protecting her and didn’t plan to stop now.
That type of coddling didn’t really register with Lila. She’d never experienced it and didn’t go looking for it.
To outsiders, Pat and Kitty looked a bit mismatched. He possessed that spends-Fridays-on-a-golf-course look. Tan and lean. Pure businessman, ready to charm and make a buck. A little gruff when he thought people didn’t treat him as he deserved to be treated, but a good neighbor. Quiet and not one for nosi
ness.
Lila wasn’t all that familiar with what defined a motherly type. Probably a mom who went to kids’ practices and made sure the family had dinner together most nights. Kitty gave off that vibe. She was always cooking or redecorating the house. She was a good foot shorter than her husband, and the years and having children had rounded out her figure a bit.
Aaron joked about how Pat likely would come home from a business trip one day with the future, and much younger, second wife on his arm. That showed Aaron’s priorities, not Pat’s. Lila didn’t buy into the concept of happily ever after, but Pat and Kitty made her believe some people might.
Pat nodded as he pulled Kitty tight against his side. “I’ll do a more in-depth check, and we’ll look back on the video, just in case this is some sort of ongoing review of the alarms in the neighborhood.”
“Look back?” Lila asked.
“Five days. That’s how long before the video recycles.” Kitty glanced up at her husband. “At least only one sensor went off this time. The one by our nursery shed. In the video you can see things blowing around.”
Pat frowned. “It’s not the damn wind doing this. The system better not be that sensitive.”
“Not possible, really.” Aaron said as he tapped the tip of the bat against the ground. “The wind wouldn’t have set off our inside alarm at the same time as yours went off outside.”
Pat’s frown only deepened. “That sounds coordinated.”
Lila offered one possibility . . . the one she hoped they’d grab on to. “We used your alarm company. Could it be a bug in the system?”
“We pay too damn much to lose sleep over nothing.”
Kitty patted her husband’s arm in a way that suggested she’d calmed him down using the gesture before. “Pat, it’s okay.”
“It’s not.” But some of the anger left his voice.
Lila wasn’t ready to abandon her theory. “Does anyone else on the street use the same company?”
Aaron waved off some neighbors who were milling around out front before his gaze shot to Lila. “What?”
“Well, if it’s only alarms from one company I do think it’s a bug. Tomorrow we could see if anyone else’s system is going off or malfunctioning. If not—”
“The alarm company can come out here and rip this one out.” As soon as Pat’s voice rose, he brought it under control again. “Sorry. I just don’t get it. It worked fine for two years.”
“We’ll check the video tomorrow and see where we are.” Kitty shot Lila a warm smile. “Come over for coffee and we’ll review the alarm data together.”
“Perfect.” Because that’s exactly what Lila needed.
Chapter Ten
Present Day
GINNY SAT AT THE OVERSIZE DESK THAT TOOK UP HALF OF THE space in her home office. Really, their home office. She shared it with her husband, Roland. Ever since he’d been promoted to dean of admission at Ithaca College he spent more time in the office and less at the desk his father had made when Roland graduated from college.
The job required long hours and carried a lot of stress. Whining parents. Whining students. Grumpy professors.
They both suffered from career frustrations and rounds of thoughtless comments from coworkers, and they shared the burden in private. They’d been together through every loss and success since they’d met as undergrads at Howard University. The deaths of both sets of parents. A miscarriage. Her injury at work. His promotion. Her promotion. Four moves. Their beautiful son.
She’d told Roland about the new case of the missing teacher. As expected, he rolled his eyes and mumbled something about “pathetic men” not living up to their responsibilities. Roland stood firmly in the Aaron-Payne-went-for-a-joyride-and-is-afraid-to-come-home-now camp. She still wasn’t convinced.
Her fingers moved over the keys as she searched for more background on the Payne family. The clicking sound of typing filled the still room. She ignored the shiver spinning through her but tightened the thick robe around her to help fight off the chill.
The door creaked open, and Roland peeked in. He let out a dramatic exhale, as if she didn’t know his position on the concept of too much work and not enough sleep.
“You’ve been on the computer for two hours.” He crouched down next to her chair and balanced his cheek on her arm, right near her exposed wrist.
The rough edge of his scruff against her bare skin had her smiling. “Maybe I was in the mood for porn.”
“If so, you should share.” He straightened up until he was on his knees, half leaning into her side and the chair as he stared at her computer screen. “But what’s really going . . . ah, okay. I see you decided not to let this case go tonight.”
Her fingers dropped from the keyboard and she turned to him. “This guy’s mom died in an accident. Then his dad died. Now he’s gone missing.”
Roland frowned as he pushed her reading glasses up for her. “You think it’s all linked?”
“No.”
He kissed the sleeve of her robe. “Then I don’t understand why I’m sleeping alone.”
“Can one person be that unlucky?”
“I thought you said he could be out with a girlfriend or driving to Vegas or doing something fun.”
Without thinking, her fingers went to his hair. Heat thrummed off him, wrapping around her. “It feels like the wrong answer.”
“Boring high school teacher gone wild doesn’t work for you?” He lifted his head and watched her. The amusement in his voice faded by the end of the question, as if he started to doubt his original assessment of Aaron. “I mean, it’s not as if your gut is ever wrong.”
“He’s a millionaire, or so his wife says. He’s had the chance to take the money and live it up and hasn’t.”
From the first call that came in, people spoke of Aaron’s disappearance with a sense of urgency. No one thought he’d slept in or driven away without warning. All three people who called insisted he would be at school unless he couldn’t be. That’s who he was. A grown man who showed up. Add in the money and resources he had and how long he’d had them without acting out, and she doubted he was a man overstaying his lounging time.
Roland hummed as he nodded. “Midlife crisis?”
“He’s not even forty.”
His fingers slipped through hers, and she squeezed his hand. “Is that the age for it?”
“If so, you missed it.” Thank God. “The idea of having a useless husband sounds like a nightmare.”
She had friends who put up with that nonsense. Not her. She wanted a partner, not another child in a grown-up body.
He’d always been steady. Present. Supportive. Driven. A little too set in his ways, but a loving dad and husband. As a child of divorce, he fought hard for their marriage. They’d hit rough patches and lived through a painful year filled with yelling and disappointment when they both hated their jobs and their expenses didn’t allow for a change.
“I don’t need anything but what I’ve got right here.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers.
“Sweet-talker.” She loved them now. How they fit together. They’d settled into this spot where they connected and listened to each other. Probably had something to do with Kingston turning sixteen and already shifting out of the horrors of being fifteen and thinking he knew everything. She did not enjoy that stage and was happy to see it go.
Roland stood up, never letting go of her hand. “Any chance I can sweet-talk you into coming to bed?”
“I want to be ready when I speak with Lila again tomorrow.”
“You sound like you’re sparring with this woman.”
The visual imagine struck her as right. “I have a feeling every conversation with Lila Ridgefield will demand I be at the top of my game.”
He kissed her forehead. “You always are.”
No, she’d made mistakes. Not listened to her gut. Let protocol and red tape stop her. Gotten into battles with her boss and lost her way.
Not this time.
LILA CRAVED SLEEP, but her body fought it even harder than usual.
The day’s chaos gave way to an eerily quiet night. After all the calls and running around, the hours lapsed into a foreboding silence as if she were on the edge of something so menacing, so unexpected, that she could not afford the vulnerability of sleep.
Brent and Jared had brought dinner. They hovered for hours. Talked about kicking Aaron’s ass when he showed up from a few days away fishing. Cassie came over with pound cake but only lasted a half hour when no one picked up any of the inane conversation starters she kept dropping.
Lots of mindless chatter but no answers. No movement.
Now, with everyone gone, her mind filled with what-ifs and a list of should-have-done tactics. Thinking about all of that time and work being wasted, about him walking the streets, ratcheted up the pounding inside her. Panic hummed in her ears. Tension swept over her and through the house. The walls practically thumped with it.
She focused all of her control on keeping her body moving, on ready. Aaron could creep back. Walk in. Break a window. Go to the police. The endless possibilities swirled in her brain, making the breath hiccup in her chest.
They’d disconnected the house alarm a few weeks ago. Now she needed it.
Standing in front of the living room’s oversize windows made her a target. The position also let her keep watch. The houses around her were mostly protected by tall hedges with blind spots perfect to hide a stalker. She could see a light on here and there. The house directly across from her stood in shadowed darkness, a vague outline of a two-story colonial with only the soft yellow porch light to suggest someone lived there.
The Johnsons. Daniel commuted from Ithaca to Albany every Monday and came home late Thursday. Sherri, likely exhausted from bundling up and dragging three kids under five everywhere on her own, turned off the lights and shut out the world by nine. Now, well after eleven, she’d been out for hours.
Lila envied her. Both of them, really. Her for being too tired to move and him for being anywhere but here.