The spot was empty. Of course. She told herself she was just spooking herself for nothing, but she was even more aware that she was alone in this apartment. And there was no longer a beefy cop to stand between her and danger.
Not up here in her apartment, at least. And the cop currently down there had the light on in the cab of his vehicle, was bobbing away to music no one else could hear, and seemed to be eating some Chinese takeout at the same time. So much for discretion. She could probably cartwheel past the cruiser and the cop wouldn’t notice.
Liv watched him for another moment, then turned from the window. She should probably contact a lawyer, but right now, she didn’t have any ready money.
She’d expected more from Jack Talbott. He’d suspected her all along—they all had. And she’d been blithely going along with anything Jack suggested, thinking that she was being smart—cooperating with the police who were trying to protect her.
But the cops weren’t on her side. Sure, they wanted to keep her in one piece, but they also wanted to prove her guilty of some sordid connection with Evan! And she had no idea what Evan had even done besides that nebulous description of “property fraud!”
She picked up her cell phone and looked at it for a moment. Dare she call him? She could sit tight, be good and hope that the police would recognize her innocence, but she was already a suspect.
Liv dialed her ex-husband’s cell phone number and let it ring. On the third ring, Serena picked up.
“Hello?” She sounded groggy.
“Hi, could I talk to Evan, please?”
“May I ask... Wait, Liv?”
“That’s right. I need to talk to my ex-husband. Is he there?”
“No, he’s busy.” Serena suddenly sounded very much awake, and her voice was tight.
There was a murmur in the background, a muffled back-and-forth between Serena and Evan, and then Evan came on the line. “Liv, what’s going on?”
Liv’s mouth went dry. If he was up to something, he wouldn’t tell her. And she didn’t want to reveal too much information, either. What was she even thinking?
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said. “I’m just wondering about my property here in Eagle’s Rest. It seems that someone is really angry that I’ve moved back.”
“Really?” Evan’s voice softened. “Why? You’re home, aren’t you?”
“I’ve gotten some threatening letters.”
“I mean, how threatening?” Evan asked with a short laugh.
“Very.”
“Okay...well... Are you asking me as a police officer, or are you asking me as a friend?”
“You aren’t my friend, Evan,” she snapped. “I’m asking you as my ex-husband. Was there was some sort of complication in the purchase of my building?”
“None. I don’t know what to say. You were there for all of that, Liv!”
He sounded so relaxed that it would feel natural enough to go along with what he was saying. The words You’re right. Sorry to bother you were on her tongue, but she bit them back. He wasn’t right—he was just smooth.
“I was there for part of it,” Liv replied. “You did the initial haggling while I was away at my brother’s wedding in England. And we got it for a steal.”
“That’s an ugly word, Liv.” He sounded reproachful.
She smiled bitterly to herself. “Sorry. We got an amazingly low price.”
“I highly doubt anybody is upset that you got a good deal five years ago,” Evan said with a sigh. “Now, it’s late, Liv.”
“It wasn’t my deal, Evan,” she said curtly.
“You signed off on it,” he snapped back. “Now, Serena has been infinitely patient here—”
“Apparently not as patient as I was,” she retorted.
“Good night, Liv.” And he hung up. She stared at her phone, her teeth gritted.
“Idiot!” she muttered under her breath. So very noble of him to protect his wife’s interests against her!
Liv resented the fact that she’d even given him a retort. It made her seem petty and jealous when she was anything but. Betrayed? Absolutely! But not jealous. Not anymore, at least. Even if Evan came begging on hands and knees, she wouldn’t take him back. Serena could have him, if she could manage to hold him. He was greasier than even the new Mrs. Kornekewsky imagined. Hot Pants could perch over his cell phone every waking hour, and if Evan wanted to cheat on her, he’d do just that.
Liv went back to the window and looked down into the street. The cruiser was gone, and there wasn’t another car in its place. The wind picked up again and drove a sheet of drizzle into the window. She shivered, then looked over her shoulder at her living room once more.
The low light, once so warm and inviting, seemed eerie. And the couch where Jack had been sleeping these last few nights seemed so clean and sparse. Tears rose in her eyes, and she attempted to blink them back. She’d gotten used to Jack being around...even started to count on him. She didn’t want him back, either, but she did miss what she thought she’d had with him—an actual friendship.
“I’m the idiot,” she whispered to herself.
She crossed the room briskly and flicked on the overhead light. Then she went to the side tables and flicked on those lamps, then into the kitchen and turned on the fluorescent light with its annoying hum. She flipped on every light switch in the apartment. Lamps glowed on tables, fixtures blazed overhead. It would cost a fortune in electricity, but Liv didn’t care. She wasn’t leaving one dusky corner tonight.
It would be strange to sleep in the brightness, but if she turned the lights off, she wouldn’t sleep at all.
* * *
THE NEXT DAY, Liv opened the store as usual. It was a busy morning, and she made several large sales. A local church put in a bulk order for their ladies’ book club, and two older women came in with lists of books for their grandchildren to start their Christmas shopping. Hylton Books seemed to be just what Eagle’s Rest had been waiting for—most of the town, at least. There was still the question of who wanted her out of business so badly.
The rain from the night before continued. It drummed the sidewalk, puddles filling and wind gusting the steady downpour into the faces of passersby. They ducked behind umbrellas and dashed from vehicles into stores. Outside the display window, Liv could see a cruiser on the street once more. Inside was the female cop again, and when she spotted Liv looking, she nodded in acknowledgment.
Liv stepped away from the window. She had no idea whom to trust anymore. The police were suspicious of her. Her ex-husband was “handling” her like he always had. And the one man she thought she could trust had been lying to her from the get-go. She’d come home because she wanted to belong somewhere. That’s what home was all about—having people you could trust to both criticize you to your face and have your back when you were vulnerable. Yet she felt more out of place, more unwelcome here, than she’d imagined possible.
The store’s front door opened, and the bell dingled cheerfully. Tanya pushed inside, her head ducked down. She shook out her umbrella before looking up, and Liv felt a flood of relief to see her cousin’s friendly face. Tanya shuddered dramatically. She wore a pair of tartan-patterned rubber boots and a tan-colored trench coat that was drenched, despite the umbrella.
“What weather!” Tanya laughed, unbuttoning her coat. “How are you doing?”
“I’m great.” A socially acceptable lie. She wasn’t in the mood to tell anyone about Jack just yet. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it all—or more the point, she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about him.
“Yeah?” Tanya came farther into the store and glanced around. It was empty for the moment, but the morning’s sales had Liv optimistic, at least. “Where’s your bodyguard?”
Liv’s smile slipped. “Um. Gone. There’s a cop out front, though.”
“Gone?” Tanya’
s eyebrows lifted. “What happened to him?”
“We had a falling-out.” Liv sighed. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“What happened?” Tanya pressed. “He seemed...so nice.”
“He had a job,” Liv said. “We went over this. Not a real boyfriend. This isn’t a breakup.”
“No?” Her cousin didn’t look convinced. “Then I take it he isn’t coming to Rick and Amy’s wedding.”
The wedding! Liv shut her eyes and grimaced. She’d forgotten about it with all the drama lately. Was there any way to get out of attending?
“You forgot,” Tanya said.
“I did.” Liv sighed. “And I was looking forward to having a fake boyfriend to trot out with me. I guess I’ll have to do the single life sooner or later. I might as well start now, right?”
“I really thought I saw a spark between the two of you,” Tanya said. “Like a genuine spark. You looked... I don’t know. Happy. In control.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Liv didn’t want to listen to this. She hadn’t been in control at all—it had all been a farce at her expense. “It’s over. No more playacting.”
“But the way he looked at you.” Tanya blew out a breath. “He didn’t look at any other woman like that! And right about now, I’d give my eyeteeth to have my boyfriend look at me that way.”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend!” Liv said, but then reconsidered her cousin’s words. “Wait...do you have someone, Tanya?”
“Me?” Tanya’s face colored. “We’re talking about you!”
“Not anymore!” This was more comfortable ground, and Liv felt the smile return to her face. “Who is he? Do I know him?”
“You—” Tanya pressed her lips together. “You definitely wouldn’t approve.”
“Since when?” Liv pressed. “I’m more open-minded than you think. Look at me—I’m a single woman again. Who is he?”
“I’m not saying,” Tanya replied, and from the look in her eye, Liv knew she wouldn’t get much further on that track.
“Then what’s he like?” Liv asked. “You can tell me that, can’t you?”
“He’s sweet.” Tanya shrugged weakly. “But not just sweet, you know? Like he’s all man, and he makes me feel like I’m all woman. But he understands me like no one else has. I can’t see him too often, but in between visits, he talks to me every day. I wake up to a good-morning text, and before I go to sleep, he tells me that he’s thinking of me...”
“So it’s long-distance?” Liv asked.
“Stop it!” Tanya retorted. “Quit being such a detective.”
“Well, either it’s long-distance or he’s married!” Liv laughed. “So which one is it?”
Tanya’s face flushed, and she looked away.
“He’s married?” Liv felt all the amusement drain out of her. She’d been on the receiving end of that kind of behavior, and her cousin was right that she wouldn’t approve.
“It’s long-distance,” Tanya retorted. “He lives in Denver, okay? So I don’t see him too often. But that’s not the point, is it? The point is that he makes me feel beautiful.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling...” Liv sighed. Jack had made her feel beautiful, too, for all that it mattered. “Is this the real thing? I mean, is it love?”
Tanya nodded. “Yeah, it’s love.”
“Oh, Tanya...” Liv smiled wistfully. “I’m happy for you! You deserve a good guy. And one of these days, you’ll have to introduce us to him.”
“Yeah...” Tanya didn’t look entirely convinced about that, but from where Liv was standing, she couldn’t hold off forever. What was she going to do, disappear into Denver and never see her family again? But if Tanya wanted some privacy with her newfound love, who was Liv to quibble?
“So what happened with you and Jack?” Tanya asked. “Tit for tat, Liv.”
“Fine,” Liv conceded. “He turned out to be just as career-focused as my idiot ex-husband. It wasn’t about me, it was about the job. And it turns out that he’s a really, really good actor.”
“You’re saying all that was fake?” Tanya shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“It was. He actually suspects me in some criminal investigation!”
“You!” Tanya’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible!”
That’s what Liv had thought, too, until very recently.
“Not entirely. There was some sort of complaint in the sale of this place. It’s connected to fraud somehow.”
“What?” Tanya shook her head. “No, that can’t be right. Besides, she didn’t sell it to Evan. She sold it to both of you.”
Evan’s argument coming out of Tanya’s mouth. Liv’s breath caught in her throat, and it was like the store slowed to a crawl around her.
“Tanya...”
“I’m just saying,” Tanya said with a shake of her head. “You and Evan can back each other up. You were involved in that sale. From the start.”
“Not from the start,” Liv countered. “I was at my brother’s wedding in England when Evan found the place and made the first offer. I came back in time to sign papers—that’s it!”
Tanya shrugged. “On paper, your name is there. Your signature. I know you don’t like Evan, but he needs your help. You need to back him up in this. If you support him, this goes away. It’s easy.”
“It goes away...” What was happening here?
“It’s something to think about, Liv.” Tanya met her gaze.
“When did you last talk to my ex-husband?” Liv asked.
Tanya rolled her eyes. “Who cares?”
“I do. Was it last night? When he was telling you that he was thinking of you before you went to sleep?”
Tanya stilled, and for a moment, all was silence between them. Had Liv gone too far? She’d just accused her cousin of getting involved with her married ex! This was the cousin who had been by her side through her tumultuous divorce, giving her moral support and being the voice of reason in the midst of all that chaos. What was she even doing? Was she so turned around in her own personal life that she’d hack apart the relationships that mattered most to her? Remorse rose up inside her. She was suspecting everyone of everything now, and she had gone too far.
“Tanya—” Liv took a step toward her cousin.
“He loves me!” Tanya interrupted. “I know you find that hard to believe, but he loves me!”
Liv stopped, her cousin’s words swimming through her head but not quite landing.
“I know it didn’t work between the two of you, and I’m not excusing what he did!” Tanya went on. “But Serena doesn’t understand him. He’s got a soft heart, and Serena just keeps hurting him again and again, and he wants out! He’s going to divorce her!”
“So you’re... Wait.” Liv swallowed hard. “Tanya, you’re sleeping with Evan?”
“It isn’t as sordid as you make it sound,” Tanya retorted tightly. “I’m in love with him, and he’s in love with me. The situation is just a little complicated. You can’t exactly respect that sham of a marriage!”
“No, I don’t,” Liv breathed. “But once upon a time, I was the one who supposedly didn’t understand him... And one day, that’ll be you, too.”
Her cousin had been sleeping with Evan. It was all too much. Tanya wasn’t supposed to be that stupid! She knew what Evan was like from everything Liv had told her. Why would she do this—to Liv or to herself?
“I’ll look after my own interests,” Tanya said, then she licked her lips. “I need to go.”
Liv had nothing to say. Tanya turned and walked briskly toward the door. Liv stood there in the center of her store, her heart sinking within her.
Tanya...her cousin, her first friend. Now this was betrayal, and she felt so tired and worn that she could sit down on the floor and cry. But she wouldn’t.
Tanya loo
ked back at Liv once more, and her expression was conflicted. Her cousin was guilty—that much was clear. And she was scared, too.
“Liv, back him up!” Tanya repeated. “You can both get out of this unscathed! Just back him up, and it goes away!”
Then she pushed out into the rain, and the door swung shut. Liv let out a slow breath. And now there was one more person who had betrayed her...one more person she couldn’t trust.
And as stupid as it was, the only thing Liv could think right now was that she wished she could talk to Jack...because the Jack she’d known would understand all this. He’d give some perspective. His quiet strength would be so very comforting...
But that wasn’t the real Jack, and she couldn’t forget it. The real Jack thought she was tied up in Evan’s ugliness. And the real Tanya was in bed with Evan...
How deep did this go?
* * *
JACK WAS GRATEFUL the chief had let him stay on the case, though he regretted having to steer clear of Liv. They needed boots on the street to suss out more evidence, though, and Jack was willing. He had a theory, but before he told anyone about it, he needed some evidence of his own. So he spent the day poring over local news stories on microfiche in the library. They hadn’t digitized them yet—a job for an intern, probably. The librarian had never been asked for so much information at once, and she was having the time of her life pulling out box after box of microfiche.
Jack found what he was looking for—not evidence, exactly, but it certainly fed into his current theory.
The next morning dawned cloudy and windy, but at least the rain had stopped. Jack knocked on the door of a little house at the end of a raggedy-looking street. A dog barked inside in response to his knock, but there wasn’t any other movement. He sighed. This was the last known address for Brent Villeneuve, a disgraced local reporter who had been fired two years ago when he was accused of some sexual impropriety with the mayor’s daughter.
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