by Brenda Novak
Who would’ve guessed Johnny still had enough brain cells to recognize him?
Damn. Caleb should have told her who he really was on the way home. But he’d mistakenly thought he’d have all night—and he’d let his libido get in the way. Now he wasn’t sure she’d ever give him a chance to explain. He wasn’t even sure explaining would do any good. He’d done exactly what she’d accused him of doing.
Only he’d come to care about her in the process. Didn’t that count for something?
Turning to the television, which was on very low so he could hear anything that might happen outside, he stretched his neck. The stark expression in Madison’s eyes when she’d heard his pseudonym and understood the truth still haunted him. He wanted to talk to her, didn’t feel he could go to bed until he did. But he knew she was much less likely to listen to him while Johnny was there.
LONG AFTER JOHNNY went to sleep in Brianna’s room, Madison sat in front of the television. But it wasn’t on. Nothing was on except a lamp by the window. She knew she should’ve sent Johnny on his way. On one level, she was as frightened of him now as she’d been when she was just a kid and he and Tye were smoking pot out behind the garage and coaxing her to join them.
But how could she send her own brother away when he was broke and needed a place to spend the night? Besides, if she made Johnny leave or took him somewhere else, she’d be alone. And she didn’t want to be alone right now. Her frustration and discomfort with Johnny seemed pretty minor in light of what she’d just learned about Caleb.
Drawing her knees up to her chest, she shivered against the cold. A ship’s horn sounded outside, far off in the distance, and the dampness from the fog drifting in off the bay seemed to filter through the plastic covering the broken window and through every crevice in the house. But she didn’t have the energy to get up and turn on the heat or even fetch herself a blanket. She was too busy replaying bits and pieces of conversation in her head, and remembering other things that should’ve given her some indication that Caleb wasn’t what he’d said he was. His probing questions. His unusual work hours. The time he’d kissed her and said, “I never dreamed you, of all people, could do this to me.”
Of all people… Damn him! He’d known who she was and what he wanted from her. And if he could get a little sex on the side, that made the joke even better, right?
She stiffened, feeling a renewed sense of betrayal when she thought of him borrowing her father’s truck. He no doubt had ulterior motives for that, too. He’d probably gone through it with tweezers and a magnifying glass, looking for evidence. Exactly what her father had once feared might happen…
How could he?
Picking up the phone, she dialed his number.
He answered on the second ring.
“Caleb?”
“Madison! God, I’m glad it’s you. Listen, I’m coming over there—”
“Just tell me something,” she interrupted, keeping her voice as cold as her fingers and toes.
He hesitated, obviously leery. “What?”
“Did you really help a friend move when you borrowed my father’s truck? Or did you make me walk into that garage—” her voice wobbled, so she paused until she could control it again “—and get that truck so you could search it?”
He didn’t answer, but that was answer enough. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her forehead. “That’s what I thought,” she said and hung up.
The phone rang, but she just stared at it dully, as though the sound came from far away. She’d braved the place where her father had shot himself. She’d risked her mother’s fragile peace of mind. All because she’d stupidly believed that Caleb was her friend. No, more than her friend…
The phone kept ringing. Madison refused to pick it up. She thought maybe the noise would wake Johnny, but she shouldn’t have worried. As far as she could tell, he didn’t stir.
Finally, silence fell. She thought Caleb had given up, but the quiet didn’t last long. A few minutes later, he knocked at the door.
“Madison, come on. I want to talk to you.”
Madison felt wounded, exposed. She’d trusted Caleb. Yet their relationship had meant nothing to him. He’d merely been using her.
Bang, bang, bang. “I’m not going away, Madison. You might as well answer.”
“Leave me alone,” she called.
“Open up.”
“Hey, I’m trying to sleep here,” Johnny cried. “Who’s making so much damn noise?”
“No one you need to worry about,” Madison told him. Then, because she was tired of always being polite, she added, “So just stay out of it!”
To her surprise, he didn’t respond.
“Madison?” Caleb hollered.
“Go away!”
“Not until you talk to me.”
She could hear the determination in his voice, so she marched down the hall and threw open the door. “What do you want from me?”
He shoved a hand through his hair, which was sticking up as though he’d ruffled it a few times already. “I want you to calm down for a minute so we can work this out.”
“There’s nothing to work out, Caleb. I told you in the beginning that I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I don’t know how I let you change my mind. I guess it was too easy to have someone here who seemed to offer me some support. And then we were going out and dancing and…and I was meeting your mother…and—” closing her eyes, she shook her head “—I liked her. I liked your whole family.”
“What went on between us wasn’t something either one of us decided to make happen, Madison.” He tried to take her chin so she’d have to look at him, but as much as she craved physical contact, she jerked away.
“If you’ll just think for a minute, you’ll know what I’m saying is true,” he said. “I didn’t set out to seduce you.”
“But you were certainly willing to take advantage of the unexpected windfall!”
His eyebrows drew together. “Last night was…it just got away from me.”
“And tonight?”
“I would’ve made love to you tonight, too. I won’t deny that. But I was planning on telling you the truth—soon. I tried to tell you in the car, remember? Only the minute I mentioned my pseudonym you reacted so negatively….” He sighed and dropped his hands. “It was stupid of me. I see that now. But I decided to wait for a better time.”
“A better time would’ve been the day we met,” she said.
“And you would have turned me away in a heartbeat.”
“Exactly! I should have had that chance!”
He shifted on the balls of his feet, as though he was too edgy to stand still. “Madison, I know how you must feel, but the woman who went missing, the one who was just found dead, used to be my sister-in-law.”
His what? Before Madison could respond, a car pulled into the drive. Caleb fell silent as he turned toward it, and Madison blinked against the sudden glare of headlights. When the engine died and the lights snapped off, she could make out a late-model Honda. The same tall blond woman who’d visited Caleb before was getting out of it.
“Shit,” Caleb muttered.
The sick feeling in Madison’s stomach intensified. “Don’t tell me—it’s your wife or girlfriend.”
He gave her a look that said he wasn’t that low. “I haven’t been cheating on anyone. It’s Holly, my ex-wife. Her sister’s the woman who was just murdered.”
That Caleb had personally known one of the victims somehow changed things, but Madison was still too upset to sort out why.
“Caleb, where have you been?” his ex-wife demanded, striding confidently up the drive in a black leather jacket and jeans. “I’ve been calling and calling you.”
Caleb glanced at Madison, obviously eager to finish their conversation. But Holly demanded his attention. “Caleb?”
His eyebrows lowered into a dark line as she drew closer, but he turned to Madison. “Let me take care of whatever she wants, then I’ll come over later and we’ll talk some mo
re, okay?”
Madison held up her hand, palm out. Some of her anger had dissipated. But something else was quickly replacing it—a sort of dull acceptance, a sense of inevitability. Had she really thought she’d found her prince at last? That she’d do any better the second time around? “Caleb, maybe—in your mind—you had good reason for using me,” she said. “I think I can even understand it. But I just want to be left alone, okay?”
“Madison—”
“Good night,” she said softly, and closed the door. Then she sagged against the wall and slid all the way to the floor. She had to take a hard line with Caleb. Softening would only get her hurt—again.
“WHAT WERE YOU DOING talking to Purcell’s daughter this time of night?” Holly asked, scowling at Madison’s closed door.
Caleb zipped up his windbreaker, wondering whether to knock again or give Madison time to cool off.
“Caleb?”
His muscles felt so taut he could barely move. “We had some business to take care of,” he said.
“What kind of business? What was that about you using her?”
He didn’t answer. Because of Holly’s presence, he decided to give Madison the night to herself, and stepped off the porch. Maybe after she’d had a chance to rest and—
“It’s nearly eleven.” Holly’s voice broke into his thoughts again. “What were you doing at her house at this time of night? Don’t tell me you needed her to come over and fix a leaky faucet.”
The bigger question, to Caleb, was what Holly thought she was doing appearing at his house so late. “I can handle my own leaky faucets,” he grumbled. But he wasn’t sure he could handle Madison cutting him out of her life.
He cast Holly a quick glance. “What do you want?”
She stiffened, obviously offended by his curt tone. “Is that any way to greet me?”
Caleb felt his jaw tighten and reminded himself that Holly’s sister had just been murdered. He wanted to be sensitive to her loss. But she was using the investigation to call him day and night, usually for no good reason. What are you doing? Where are you going? Can you stop by? Surely there had to be someone else she could lean on. He was her ex-husband, for crying out loud. What about her parents? Her friends?
“It’s the middle of the night, Holly,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you.” And you interrupted at a really bad time.
“But I’ve been trying and trying to reach you.”
He’d turned off his cell phone because he hadn’t wanted to hear from her.
She had to hurry to keep up with him as he trudged over to the cottage. “Are you going to tell me what you need?” he asked, and he’d insist on a good answer this time. He’d had it with, “I couldn’t sleep,” and “I miss you.” He’d made it perfectly clear that their relationship was over.
She didn’t answer right away, so he arched a brow to let her know he was waiting. “You’re acting like you don’t want me here,” she said, pouting.
Her tone was accusatory enough to make him believe she was about to start an argument, and Caleb felt his control slipping. “Holly, I’m not capable of walking on eggshells tonight. If you have something to say, say it. But it had better be good. I’m not in the mood to—” he was about to say, “put up with you,” but in deference to what had happened to Susan, he caught himself “—pry it out of you.”
“What’s bothering you?” She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop only a few steps from his front door.
He couldn’t help looking back at Madison’s house, to see that the shutters were tightly closed. Holly wanted to know what was bothering him? Losing Madison bothered him, even more than he’d thought it would.
Holly followed his gaze. “Wait a minute. Don’t tell me there’s something going on between you and…and Purcell’s daughter. Are you sleeping with her?”
Caleb tensed at Holly’s proprietary tone. “You act as though you have a right to ask me that, Hol.”
“I do! You came here to help me. You’re supposed to be searching for Susan’s killer, not…not climbing into bed with Ellis Purcell’s daughter!”
A muscle began to tick in Caleb’s cheek. “Holly, don’t push me, okay?” He jerked out of her grasp. “Now, I’m really tired. If you don’t mind, I’m going inside to get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He started to move beyond her, but she reached for his jacket. “Wait…Caleb, don’t be angry. I only came here tonight because Detective Gibbons called my place, looking for you.”
He’d opened his door, but this succeeded in gaining his attention. “Why?” he asked, rounding on her.
“They’ve found Susan’s car.”
Caleb’s jaw dropped. “Where?”
“Parked only a few blocks from Lance’s place. Can you believe it? I think Lance has been lying the whole time. I think he killed Susan because she found out about his fiancée and threatened to tell her about their affair.”
“Holly, Lance isn’t even a plausible suspect. Our killer knows too much, which means he has to be someone closer to the case. Remember the Ford truck outside the pizzeria?”
“That could’ve been a coincidence.”
“The way Susan’s body was positioned was no coincidence. And if Lance did kill her, he’d have to be an idiot to park Susan’s car so close to his house. But come in,” he said, holding the door. “I’ll give Gibbons a call. I want to see that car.”
She didn’t move right away. “You’ve changed, you know that?”
“Are you coming in?” he asked, refusing to spar with her.
Grudgingly, she stepped past him. “I think I was wrong about you. I don’t think you’re going to find this killer. He’s much too smart.”
MADISON COULDN’T SLEEP. She stared at the ceiling, tossed and turned, took a hot bath and went back to bed. But Caleb’s face still lingered in her mind, and her heart threatened to break. They hadn’t known each other long, but when they’d made love she’d felt like she was part of him. And tonight, when she’d met his family, it had seemed as though she belonged….
How could she have been so wrong?
Eventually, she gave up trying to drift off on her own and took two sleeping pills. She didn’t have Brianna to worry about tonight. And, judging by the snoring in the next room, Johnny was so deeply asleep she doubted he’d wake before noon.
The medication was just starting to take effect when the doorbell rang. She heard it as a faint echo in the distance and eyed the digital clock near her bed. Two o’clock.
Caleb again, no doubt. With Johnny already here, it was too late to be anyone else. Except maybe Tye…
Madison wanted whoever it was to go away so she could sink into the oblivion that finally hovered so close. She needed to sleep, forget and wake with renewed perspective and resolve. But the bell rang again, accompanied by a loud knock, and she began to wonder if, by some chance, Danny had decided to bring Brianna home early.
“Johnny? Can you answer the door?” she called.
No reply. Just more snoring.
“Johnny?” Madison feared she was slurring her words. It required real effort to lift her eyelids, but picturing Brianna out in the cold got her up and moving.
She managed to find her robe. She had trouble shoving her arms into the sleeves and couldn’t tie the belt, but she didn’t care.
Another knock. Only now did Madison realize that whoever stood at her door was actually giving it more of a light rap than a pounding. If not for being a mother, she probably wouldn’t have heard it at all.
“Just a minute!” she called, and stumbled down the hall.
“Madison? It’s me.” It was a female voice, a voice Madison recognized.
Sharon? Quickly unfastening the latch, Madison opened the door and drew her sister-in-law inside. Then she poked her head out to see if Tye’s wife was alone or if she’d brought the kids.
Madison couldn’t see so much as a car in the drive—and she was fairly certain the sleeping pills had nothing to do wi
th that.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Sharon replied, but it was misty and cold, and she wasn’t wearing a coat. She hugged herself, rubbing her arms, as she trailed Madison into the kitchen.
Madison gave her a curious glance. “How did you get here?”
“I drove. My car’s parked around the corner.”
“Why’d you park it there?”
Sharon didn’t answer, but the adrenaline boost of finding Tye’s wife at the door helped counteract the sleeping pills. Madison smoothed down her hair, righted her robe and offered to make some tea.
Sharon accepted with a nod, and Madison put on the water.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here,” she said when Madison didn’t speak right away.
“I’m guessing you want to talk about Tye, but let’s get you warm before we do that—or anything else.” She went to the living room to retrieve the lap blanket, which she brought to the kitchen and draped over Sharon’s shoulders. “Can I make you something to eat?”
Sharon gazed longingly at the refrigerator. “No, I’m not staying more than—”
“It’ll only take a second.”
“Okay,” she said, and pulled the blanket more tightly around her. “I’d like that.”
Madison collected the mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato, sliced meat and Swiss cheese from the refrigerator and set about making a sandwich. “What happened?” Sharon asked, eyeing the black plastic covering the window.
Madison followed her gaze. “Oh, that. We…had a little accident earlier.” She turned her attention back to what she was doing. “Where are the kids?”
“They’re—” Sharon dug at her cuticles, her expression furtive “—somewhere safe.”
“Safe?” Madison glanced over her shoulder. “Why wouldn’t they be safe here?”
Sharon’s eyes met hers, but they looked haunted, worried. “I…I overheard something, Madison. Something that has me really scared.”