by Blake Pierce
“I’d love to. Thanks.”
Judy fairly sank into one of the deep white chairs. Amanda sat on a nearby sofa.
“How are you feeling?” Judy asked. “Your wrist, I mean? Oh, I know this is just supposed to be a social visit, but …”
“My wrist is better, thanks,” Amanda said.
She started doing that little exercise with her palms and fingers—the “spider doing pushups on a mirror.”
“The exercises you taught me work wonders,” Amanda said.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Judy said.
The two women sat in silence while Amanda kept doing that exercise, pushing her fingers together, then apart, then together.
She doesn’t know what to say, Amanda thought. I don’t either. We don’t have anything to talk about after all.
Finally Amanda offered, “Would you like something to drink? I’ve got coffee ready. Or we could have a little brandy, if you don’t think it’s too early in the day.”
An odd look crossed Judy’s face.
“A glass of water would be nice,” Judy said.
Amanda managed not to frown. She didn’t like that answer. And she didn’t like the way Judy said it. She wasn’t sure why. But it was the first thing Judy had said that seemed somehow calculated and deliberate.
Amanda walked into the kitchen and filled a glass of water from the faucet.
Then she stood alone in the kitchen for a moment.
She was really starting to feel uncomfortable now. She told herself that it didn’t make sense, that she had no reason to feel uneasy around Judy.
But Judy had been so chatty when they were in the rehab center. So friendly. Why was she behaving oddly today?
It’s people, Amanda told herself. Why can’t I ever just trust people?
She knew the answer, of course. There were too many people in her life—so many that she had to come here to get away from them. And she couldn’t trust any of them. She’d learned that from long, hard experience.
She knew that people often thought she was neurotic and even paranoid, even if they seldom said so.
But she knew better. It wasn’t really her problem.
It was like she’d told Judy back at the rehab center:
Users. Takers.
Everybody wanted a piece of her. Why should she expect Judy to be any different? But she reminded herself not to rush to judgment. Maybe Judy would be different. That would be wonderful.
She walked back into the living room and handed the water to Judy.
“Thanks,” Judy said.
Another awkward silence fell.
“You haven’t told me very much about yourself,” Judy said.
Amanda shrugged.
“Oh, there’s so little to tell. Everything about me is so boring.”
Judy tilted her head in a curious way.
“I’ve got a feeling that’s not true,” she said. “For example, how did you come to live in a place like this?”
Amanda’s unease was growing.
What did she mean by “a place like this”?
Probably a place so big and expensive.
She wants to know how rich I am, Amanda thought.
“I like living on the water, that’s all,” she said, trying not to sound defensive.
It was a lame thing to say, and she knew it.
Judy just kept looking at her with an inquisitive expression.
“You’re an odd duck, aren’t you?” Judy said.
Amanda didn’t reply. Judy’s smile was starting to look rather chilly to her.
Then Judy asked, “May I use your bathroom?”
“Of course,” Amanda said, pointing. “It’s right over there.”
Judy set the glass of water on the end table and headed toward the bathroom.
Amanda couldn’t control her sense of suspicion anymore. As soon as Judy shut the door behind her, Amanda crept over to the door and put her ear against it.
Sure enough, she heard the medicine cabinet door open.
Of course it was full of all kinds of prescription medicines—fluoxetine and bupropion and sertraline for depression, trazodone and hydroxyzine and alprazolam for sleep and anxiety, and several others to manage chronic pain in her wrist and back and elsewhere.
Obviously, Judy was in there taking a quick tour of Amanda’s medical history. She probably could have read that history at the rehab center, so why was she so interested in checking up on it now?
Amanda wasn’t shocked. Other people had done this in her home. But her disappointment was crushing.
She hurried back to the sofa and sat down again. When Judy came out of the bathroom, Amanda didn’t look like she’d moved from her spot.
Judy sat down and took a sip of water.
What do I do now? Amanda wondered.
Confronting Judy about what she had just done would be both messy and futile. She’d probably deny it altogether. Still, it was time for at least a little honesty.
“Judy,” she said, leaning toward her, “I’m afraid this has been a mistake.”
“What’s been a mistake?”
“Your coming over.”
Judy looked startled but not really shocked.
Amanda said, “It was my mistake, I invited you, but … well, you don’t know me very well, but I’m a solitary person, and I really do like to keep to myself. This must seem very peculiar. I hope you understand.”
Judy’s kindly smile startled Amanda a little.
“Of course I understand,” she said. “You have every right to your privacy. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“Not at all,” Amanda said. “Like I said, I did invite you.”
Judy glanced around a bit, as if getting ready to leave.
“There’s no need to hurry off,” Amanda said.
“Oh, I appreciate that,” Judy said. “In fact, I was just thinking … I believe I told you that I have a special tea recipe that I carry around with me everywhere. Everybody says that it’s absolutely delicious. For some reason, we never had a chance back at the center to try it.”
Amanda smiled. This wasn’t going to be nearly as awkward as she’d feared. Judy wasn’t really a bad sort. She was just too nosy. And Amanda had zero tolerance for nosiness. But there was no need to end things abruptly or rudely.
“I’d love a cup,” she said.
Amanda just sat and relaxed while Judy rustled around in her kitchen, making tea. When Judy served her, Amanda took a long sip.
She thought it tasted a little bitter, but she didn’t want to hurt Judy’s feelings, so she kept sipping away at it until the cup was empty.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Riley was at her hotel window looking out over Seattle by night when her phone rang. Her heart sank when she saw that the call was from home. She thought that it was likely to be some kind of problem.
When she’d left, Jilly had been pretty shaky in her transition to being part of the family. Riley had been braced for the possibility of bad news ever since she’d been in Seattle. It bothered her that she felt that way. She wondered if the day would come again when she could look forward to calls from home.
And sure enough, as soon as Riley answered, Jilly’s voice said, “You’ve got to get me out of that school.”
Riley almost groaned aloud, but she didn’t say anything for a moment. On the phone, there was only the sound of a TV in the background.
Finally Riley said, “I can’t get you out of that school.”
“Why not?”
Riley stopped herself from trying to explain all the reasons why not. If she started yielding to Jilly’s every demand to explain things, she’d be on her way down a slippery slope with her. Besides, Jilly was going to have start dealing with the realities of her new life.
“What’s wrong with the school?” Riley asked.
“I can’t catch up with the classes. Kids ignore me. I can’t make new friends. Nobody’s going to like me. I want to go to school with April.”
“Jilly, we talked about this. You’re in middle school, April’s in high school. Going to the same school with her is just not possible. I know it’s hard to fit in at a new school. But this is only your second day. Give yourself some time.”
She heard Jilly pop her gum. It was a very unsettling sound.
“What if I went and got myself a job?” Jilly said.
Riley shivered a little. The last time Jilly had decided to get a job, she’d tried to become a prostitute.
“You’re only thirteen,” Riley said. “You can’t work yet.”
“When are you coming home?”
Riley couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. Here it was again—the impossibility of balancing her job with raising kids.
Why did I ever try to take this on? she wondered.
Riley said, “I’ll come right home when this is over. Jilly, you know what my job is like. I’m not the kind of mom who can be there all the time.”
Jilly was sounding more and more upset. Riley was afraid she was going to cry.
“I just feel so out of place. I’ve always felt this way. But I thought I’d feel different here.”
Riley didn’t know what to say.
Then Jilly said, “Ryan wants to talk to you.”
Riley was both relieved and surprised. She hadn’t expected her ex-husband to be there.
Ryan said, “Hi, Riley. How are things going for you?”
“We’re finding a lot of dead ends,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” Ryan replied. “I’m going to move out onto the back deck where I can hear you better.”
Riley realized that Ryan wanted to talk more confidentially. She said, “I’ll wait.”
She heard a door opening and closing, and then Ryan’s voice came back on the line.
“I just heard what Jilly was saying,” he said. “Not that I was eavesdropping. We all just finished dinner and are sitting in the living room watching TV. I figured maybe you and I should talk.”
“How has she been with you?” Riley asked.
“She’s been pretty low. She’s got a lot of self-image problems. No self-confidence. She expects everything to turn out bad. I guess that’s not surprising, considering the life she’s had.”
Riley felt deeply grateful to Ryan for being there. It was a strange feeling, after years of having to distrust him.
“What am I going to do with her, Ryan?” she asked.
“Well, you’re not alone in this. I stayed over last night, and I’ll stay tonight too. I’ll make sure she’s OK. And April and Gabriela are spending a lot of time with her. April’s helping her with her schoolwork. She says that Jilly is smarter than she thinks she is. She’ll get caught up.”
Riley was starting to relax a little. It was comforting to know that her family was pitching in to help.
“What class is she having the most trouble with?” Riley asked.
“Social studies.”
“Maybe you could help her with that. She’d probably like the attention.”
There was a pause.
“I guess I could,” Ryan said. “I never spent time doing homework with April. Guess I can make up for some of that now.”
There was gentleness in Ryan’s voice that Riley had seldom heard over the years.
“Ryan, I’m so glad you’re there. This whole thing would fall apart without you.”
“It feels good to help. Sorry it’s taken me so long to … well, you know.”
Riley smiled.
“I know. Thanks. Get back inside. I’m sure it’s cold out there.”
They both said goodbye and hung up.
Riley stood looking out the window again. The mist was clearing up, and she could see the lights of the Space Needle with its flying-saucer-shaped restaurant hovering 500 feet about the city. Off to one side, she caught a glimpse of Seattle’s enormous Ferris wheel on the nearby waterfront. Seattle was a beautiful city, even in the fog.
Of course, she wasn’t here to enjoy the scenery. Still, she was just getting ready to meet Bill for dinner in the hotel bar. Maybe that wouldn’t be all business.
*
A little while later, she was sitting with Bill in a cozy booth as they waited for their hamburgers. The hotel bar and cafe was dimly lit and comfortable. Riley’s bourbon on the rocks was helping her relax. But she reminded herself to take it easy. Drinking too much had gotten her into trouble in the past, especially with Bill.
She remembered with a shudder a drunken late-night phone call to Bill when she had told him that she thought they should have an affair. That had been six months ago, when his own marriage hadn’t broken up yet, and Riley’s divorce from Ryan hadn’t been final. That had been a low point for her. And it had nearly destroyed both her friendship and her working relationship with Bill. She wasn’t going to let anything like that happen again.
She and Bill were filling each other in on their activities that day. Riley had told him about her visits to Solange Landis and Maxine Crowe.
Bill had just finished telling her about interviewing Keith Gannon with Havens and Wingert at the convenience store.
“I really blew it,” Bill said. “This case is getting to me more than I realized.”
“I know exactly how that goes,” Riley said. You’ve seen me do that more than once.” Then she asked. “Do you still think Gannon is a suspect?”
“No, I actually think that I completely misread that one,” Bill said. “Havens and Wingert have still got their suspicions. That’s OK, it should keep them occupied while you and I solve the case. But Solange Landis sounds like a strange customer.”
Riley took a sip of her drink.
“Strange is right. I just went to her for information, and had no idea I’d wind up thinking she might be a suspect. I called Roff, told him to try to find out if she had any connections with the victims. So far he hasn’t turned up anything. Still, I’d like to get a look at that house of hers. I’m definitely going to set that up as soon as I can.”
“I guess we’ve done all we can do for today,” Bill said.
“I guess so,” Riley said.
It didn’t feel like a very satisfactory day’s work, though. It had left them with more questions than answers.
The waiter brought their hamburgers, which looked delicious. Riley was just starting to take a big bite of hers when her phone buzzed. She saw that it was a text message from Blaine.
The message read …
Hope all is going well. When do you think you’ll be getting back? I’ll make dinner.
Riley was a little surprised. She’d barely thought about Blaine since she’d come to Seattle. She wasn’t especially pleased. She was still feeling disappointed and even angry that he’d moved away.
Now he’s acting like nothing has changed, she thought.
And he wanted to know when she’d be getting back.
Riley didn’t feel like giving him an answer. She put the phone back in her bag.
“Who was it?” Bill asked.
“Nobody,” Riley said.
Bill just stared at her with slight smile on his face. He’d obviously detected that the text had made her uneasy.
“I said it was nobody,” Riley said.
Bill just kept looking at her.
“It’s my ex-neighbor, OK?” Riley said.
“Blaine?”
“Yeah.”
She’d already told Bill about Blaine, including the fact that Blaine had moved.
“Aren’t you going to answer him?” Bill asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Riley leaned toward Bill.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Why are you asking me all these questions?”
Bill shrugged.
“I’ve been worried about you,” he said. “You’re dealing with a whole lot of stuff, especially with a new teenager in the house. I can tell it’s got you stressed.”
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Riley said. “I’ve got plenty of help at h
ome. April’s there, and Gabriela. Ryan’s pitching in too.”
“Ryan?” Bill asked with a note of surprise.
Riley sighed. She wished she hadn’t said Ryan’s name.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about getting back together with that jerk,” Bill said.
“What if I am?”
Bill’s eyes widened. He looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Look, we’ve been working together since practically forever,” he said. “We’ve gotten each other through worlds of crap. Do I need to remind you of everything that guy did to hurt you? Because I can remember every detail.”
“Things are different now. He’s different.”
Bill shook his head with a growl of disapproval.
“It’s your choice,” he said. “But from what you’ve told me, Blaine’s a good guy, someone you can count on.”
“That turned out not to be true,” Riley said.
“Why, because he moved across town? That’s nothing, Riley. And here you are, not even answering his messages.”
Riley glowered at Bill.
“Leave it alone, OK?” she said.
“OK.”
They said little else as they finished eating their hamburgers.
*
Riley was walking through a wet, dense fog.
She was holding two girls by the hand.
One was April, the other was Jilly.
But they weren’t teenagers. They were both little girls.
They asked Riley in unison …
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe,” Riley said.
But it wasn’t true.
The truth was, Riley had no idea where they were, or where they were going. She couldn’t see anything around her. There were shadowy figures moving through the fog everywhere—predatory shadows, all of them dangerous and deadly.
How could Riley find safety for April and Jilly in this impenetrable mist?
One of the figures walked toward them. Riley couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.
“Who are you?” Riley asked.
A laugh rumbled through the fog.
“Who do you think?”
The voice sounded barely human.
Riley knew right away—it was the poisoner, the killer she’d been hunting for.