Her mind was on Briar as she replied. ‘We did have fun, although I’m worried about my friend.’
His message came back within seconds, before Riley moved on from her sheltered spot in the lee of the building. ‘Why are you worried? A problem shared is a problem halved. Jack.’
A ghost of a smile twisted her lips. He was so thoughtful, which was yet another admirable quality to add to his obvious courtesy and charm. Megan was wrong when she said he was some weirdo texting her from his basement. She tapped again at the keyboard. ‘I think I have it under control. Thanks for listening.’
She had arrived back at the brown brick company building, her mind now on the tasks she needed to complete before her two o’clock meeting with Angus and Paul when her phone pinged again with another sweet, thoughtful message. ‘Anytime. I’ve often been told that I’m a good listener. Remember I’m always here if you need me. Jack.’
Chapter Nineteen
Riley carried a paper gift bag decorated with gaily leaping unicorns and vibrant pink cupcakes up the short, narrow path to Morgan’s front door. Balloons covered in glittery stars hung from the door handle and triangular satin bunting with Happy Birthday Samantha printed upon it was looped across the inside of the window. The sound of girlish shrieks came from the back of the house and when her insistent knock went unanswered, Riley let herself in through the gate and walked into the backyard.
Morgan and Kevin’s generally staid yard was today a sight to behold. Streamers and a colorful donkey piñata hung from the branches of the mid-size oak tree like a crop of alien fruit. The rotary clothesline had been transformed with the help of several pegged together bed sheets into a pink marque that sheltered a trestle table groaning with party food, and a hired bouncy castle took up most of the rest of the limited space on the lawn. Kevin’s vegetable garden, his pride and joy, was safely fenced off with temporary scaffolding. Little girls were everywhere, wearing party dresses and wide smiles, and the shrieks and giggles were almost deafening.
Riley latched the gate and made her careful way from through the running, squealing girls to reach the pink marquee. Morgan was hiding inside, perched disconsolately on a chair with a red plastic cup in her hand and a glum expression on her face. She perked up immediately when she saw Riley. “You came! I thought I was going to have to do it alone.”
“Where are Mom and Kevin?” Riley sat her gift on the table, dropped her handbag down on the grass at her feet, and grimaced at the chaos of half-eaten food. Just looking at the garish array of sugary pink treats made her teeth hurt.
“Move that gift bag. You’ve put it down in a puddle of spilt soda,” Morgan said automatically. Without leaving her seat, she reached under her chair and produced an open bottle of wine. “Wine?”
“Uh... sure. Why not?” Riley searched for a clean plastic cup amongst the mess on the table and held it out for her sister to fill to the top. “Why aren’t Mom and Kevin helping you? Where are they?”
“Kevin is hiding inside in his study, wearing his noise-canceling headphones and pretending we don’t exist. Mom had a ‘pre-arranged meeting with Dot to plan her next vacation’.” Morgan juggled her cup as she made sarcastic air quotes. “Brush the crumbs off that chair and take a seat.”
“Aunty Riley!” Samantha, barely recognizable beneath a thick layer of face paint, propelled herself at speed through the opening of the makeshift marque and into Riley’s lap. “Did you bring me a present?”
“Ooof. Careful, darling. You nearly knocked me out of my chair.” Riley sat her cup on the table and picked up the gift bag. “Do I get a hug?”
Samantha gave her an exuberant hug, smearing greasy face paint across Riley’s cheek in the process, and snatched the bag from her hand. She bounded back out of the tent, screaming to her friends to come and look.
“Say thank you,” Morgan shouted pointlessly after the squealing child.
“Wow.” Riley rescued her plastic cup before the large, fat wasp hovering in the air above it landed on the rim. “You’ve certainly got your hands full.”
“Tell me about it,” Morgan said gloomily. “The parents won’t be back to collect their daughters for another hour and a half yet.”
Riley looked out at the yard, where a bevy of Samantha’s shrieking ladies in waiting had torn the gift bag apart to reveal the stuffed unicorn and frothy ballet tutu hidden inside. Puffs of discarded pink tissue paper blew away on the breeze and Jessica, wearing a too-long princess dress-up gown and a wonky bedazzled cardboard crown, gave chase. “Too much sugar?”
“No, they’re always like this whenever any more than three of them get together at once. You have all of this to look forward to once you have kids of your own.” Morgan topped up her own cup again and tossed the now empty bottle onto the grass. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” Riley took a tiny sip of the acrid wine. She hadn’t planned on drinking this afternoon. Somehow she had imagined a sedate afternoon tea and the cutting of the birthday cake with a couple of well-behaved little girls, maybe joining in to play a party game or two, and then leaving after an hour to do her weekly grocery shop. That plan would have to be postponed now, as she couldn’t in good conscience leave Morgan here on her own.
Morgan stared morosely down into her plastic cup. “How was your week?” She didn’t bother to wait for a reply. “Dad phoned this morning. He put a ridiculous amount of money into my bank account so I could buy something for Samantha as a birthday gift from him.”
Riley’s hand went to her pendant. “I suppose we should be grateful that he remembered.”
“He didn’t remember. I texted him on Thursday.”
“I spoke to him a few days ago. He was waxing lyrical about his latest underage girlfriend.”
Morgan gave her a keen look. “Underage?”
“Well, I don’t know if she’s underage or not but isn’t that his usual type?”
“Can’t you just let sleeping dogs lie?” Morgan said irritably. She bent down to pick up the empty wine bottle, holding it up to the light to assess the contents before relaxing her hand and letting it fall back down onto the grass.
“What? What did you say?” Riley leaned forward, all of her senses now on high alert.
“You always try to drag everything out, to wring the last drop out of a situation, and you always have done. It’s so darned bitchy. I can’t deal with it, especially not today.”
Riley skimmed over her sister’s hurtful and possibly distorted comments, putting them aside for another time and place. “No, not that. Why did you use that phrase? I’ve never heard you say it before.”
“Aunty Riiiiiiiley!” Princess Jessica bounced into the tent, replicating her sister’s earlier excitement, and landed on Riley’s lap. “Today is the best day ever.”
“It’s fun isn’t it?” Riley stared over her niece’s head at Morgan. “Did you phone me at work the other day and leave that message for me? Let sleeping dogs lie?”
“Why would I do that? God knows, I don’t have time during the day to phone you at work.” She frowned at Jessica. “Go outside and play, Jess. We’re having some adult time.”
Jessica clumsily clambered down from Riley’s knee, the little girl’s bare toes pinching her skin through the fabric of her jeans as she used Riley’s leg as a climbing wall. She stole a quick glance at her mother before snaking out a hand to grab a large frosted cupcake from the plate on the table.
“You don’t need any more sugar!” Morgan shook her head in exasperation but Jessica ignored her and gleefully skipped out of the tent with her prize. “Go ahead and do exactly what you want. Everyone else in this family does.”
Riley turned in her chair to watch as Jessica ran away to join the other girls. A tall girl in a lemon-colored dress was swiping erratically at the piñata with a long stick while another girl had climbed the oak tree and was crowing down at her friends from her leafy perch. Riley’s phone, switched to silent before she knocked on Morgan’s front door, vibrated against her foo
t from inside her bag. She smiled to herself. It was probably Jack. He had been sending her messages all morning, little comments and questions about his Japanese lessons that she was more than happy to answer.
“Why are you looking so happy with yourself?”
“No reason. Are you still following the Condo Creeper case? I heard something about it on the radio on the way over, but the news item came on halfway through and I missed most of it.”
“Apparently he’s becoming more brazen. A woman caught him with his face pressed up against her bathroom window last night. He ran away when she screamed. I swear I would have a heart attack on the spot if that ever happened to me.” Morgan shuddered.
“Did she see his face?”
“No, she said he was wearing one of those party masks.” She indicated a discarded purple facemask with a thin elastic band and slanted cutouts for the eyes that was lying amongst the spoilage on the table.
“Oh!” Riley whipped her cup away from another hovering wasp before it could alight. “We might have to do something about these wasps. You can’t send any of your little guests home with a wasp sting.”
Morgan heaved herself out of the chair. “I’m going to need of another bottle of wine anyway. I’ll get some bug spray while I’m inside.”
She left the marque and Riley stared thoughtfully after her before reaching for her phone to reply to Jack’s message.
Chapter Twenty
Riley cleared away the remains of her indulgent Sunday brunch, a hearty plate of bacon, eggs, and hash browns that would do nothing for her waistline but she’d enjoyed it immensely. Taking her half-finished cup of coffee with her, she went through to the living room. It was a grey, wet day, at complete odds to yesterday’s sunshine, and she expected Morgan was probably thanking her lucky stars that Samantha’s party had escaped the bad weather. Riley had ended up staying until the guests left, declining another drink as Morgan steadily finished the second bottle of wine and then assisting her to clear up all the mess of the party as evening began to fall. By that stage, both Samantha and Jessica were weepy and fractious and Kevin had emerged from his study, making hopeful noises about dinner while Morgan drunkenly snapped at him for being so selfish. Riley had made her guilty but grateful escape, eager to leave the family tensions behind her and return to the quiet of her apartment.
Replete from her meal, Riley was staring idly into the middle distance and thinking about not much at all when her phone rang from the sofa arm beside her. She stabbed a lazy finger at the Answer Call button and switched the phone to loudspeaker. “Hi Briar.”
Instead of a reply, a serious of violent coughs came through the speaker. Riley sat up straight. “Briar, are you ok?”
The coughing died away and Briar wheezed into the phone. “Sorry. Smoker’s cough.”
“You smoke? Why didn’t I know that?”
“I’d given it up but I’ve started again.” She coughed and hacked again before continuing. “Stress made me do it.”
Riley frowned down at the phone. “What kind of stress? Do you want to talk about it?”
“Just the usual – work, life – you know how it is.”
“Hmmm. Taking up smoking again is a big move though. I’m always here to listen if you need me.”
“I know that, and I appreciate your friendship.”
“What about the sleepwalking? Is that part of your stress?”
“Yeah, I must have gone for a wander around the apartment last night because I woke up on the sofa this morning. I guess I stumbled into the living room without waking up because I don’t remember a thing.”
“I worry about you.”
Briar laughed. “I’m a big girl now, Riley. I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time.”
“Do you see much of your family?”
There was a long pause before Briar answered. “Enough of them to remind me of why I don’t. What are your plans for the day?”
“I haven’t thought too much about it. Do you want to do something together? Maybe we could go to a movie or grab a coffee somewhere.” The idea was suddenly infinitely appealing.
“I’ve already made other arrangements,” Briar said quickly. “Raincheck?”
“Sure. Have a good day and mind that cough.”
Riley had just ended the call when a message from Jack flashed up. He had his own Caller ID now as she had added him to her list of contacts. Over the course of their conversations, he’d given her no hints about his appearance and in lieu of using a photo of Jack himself for his contact profile, Riley had used a publicity photo of Ryan James. It amused her to think that her wrong caller might have the movie star’s incomparable good looks.
‘Good morning, beautiful Riley.’
Riley grinned as she replied. ‘How do you know I’m beautiful? You’ve never seen me.’
‘I’m an astute and creative man. I can easily draw a picture of you in my mind. Roses are red, violets are blue, I have no doubt of the loveliness of you.’
Riley rolled her eyes. ‘An astute and creative man or a man too cheesy for his own good?’
‘Do you doubt me? I have never doubted you. You intrigue me.’
The phone vibrated again before she could type her reply. ‘Will you meet me for a coffee?’
Riley snatched her hand away from the keyboard. Yes, she should have expected this given the way their conversations had progressed into light flirting but was she ready to meet a stranger again after her frightening and ill-fated meeting with Steve? She hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Her phone beeped again and a rapid text conversation ensued.
‘Is that a yes or a no?’
‘Can I think about it?’
‘Of course. I would never try to rush you into something that you were unsure about.’
‘Thanks Jack.’
‘Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, beautiful Riley.’
Riley picked up the now silent phone, thoughtful once more. Briar’s admission that she’d taken up smoking again was a concern. Should she phone Briar’s brother to tell him she was worried? If Briar was stressed enough to turn to the false assurance of nicotine, surely it was time for her to intervene? She determinedly got up to go and look for the business card. She would face Briar’s wrath head on if it ever reached that point. A true friend should do everything in her power to ensure the mental health and safety of those whom she cared about.
Feeling irrationally nervous, she dialed the number on the card. The phone rang several times before a deep male voice answered. “Autos R Us. Matt Franklin speaking.”
She blinked. Was there something familiar about the voice or was she imagining it?
“Are you there?” Matt demanded. “Hello?”
“Hello...”
There was the muffled sound of coughing and then he was back on the line, his voice hoarse now. “Sorry about that. I’m trying to shake off a cold. What can I do for you? The yard will be open at midday and if I do say so myself, it’s a great day to have a browse around our fine selection of vehicles.” The salesman’s patter flowed easily and naturally, despite his gruff tone.
Riley glanced at the constant stream of rain running down the window. “I’m a friend of your sister Briar’s,” she said quickly. “Riley Preston. I’m worried about her.”
Matt cleared his throat loudly and Riley winced, holding the phone away from her ear. His voice was still hoarse and rough when he spoke again. “Pardon me. Briar? What’s she been up to now?”
“I stayed over at her apartment a few nights ago because she was feeling unsettled about that man who’s been sneaking around city apartment blocks. The Condo Creeper. She woke me up with her sleepwalking. Did you know that she still sleepwalks?”
Matt fell into another lengthy coughing fit and Riley waited patiently. He apologized again before replying. “She used to do it a lot when we were kids.”
“Do you know how it started? Was it anything to do with the death of her twin or was it something else?”
“What has she told you? What has she said about our family?” His voice was curt now, annoyed.
“Not much. She said her twin died in a car accident when they were two and that she suffered through a lot of childhood pranks that have had a bearing on who she is today.”
“She’s a liar,” he said abruptly. “She’s always been prone to telling lies. Take everything she says with a grain of salt.” He cleared his throat again, aiming the abrasive noise directly into the mouthpiece.
“What is she lying about? The pranks? Her twin? Why would she lie about something like that? I saw a picture of the two of them together and I don’t doubt that she was a twin. I think she’s still suffering from some kind of trauma because of what happened to her poor brother. Your brother.”
“Jesus. Look, I don’t have time for this.”
“Wait! Aren’t you worried about your sister?”
“Briar can take care of herself.” The call cut off, leaving Riley with nothing but the dial tone.
She angrily threw the phone down onto the sofa cushions, where it bounced once before lying still. She stalked over to the window and frowned out at the rain. From what she had learned from their short conversation, she had gained the distinct impression that Matt Franklin was an unlikeable piece of work. It was easy for her now to picture him as a sneering young boy, playing nasty pranks on his poor little bereaved sister. And what had he meant about Briar telling lies? Which part had he claimed to be untrue? The fact she was a twin, the fact the twin had died, or the pranks? Why should she believe him over Briar anyway? He was an unpleasant person and that had been made clear before the conversation had barely begun.
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