by Mary Frame
Jared notices my hesitation. “I’ll walk you up.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It would make me feel better with everything that’s been going on lately.”
He leaves the engine idling and his headlights on as we walk to the front door.
He takes the lead up the sidewalk and I’m not going to complain because he looks very good from the back.
But because he’s in front of me, and because I’m too busy ogling his butt, he sees it first.
He stops walking, forcing me to a halt behind him.
“What is it?”
“Did you . . .” He gestures to the door.
It’s standing wide open.
“No.” I shake my head.
“Is Paige home?”
“No. She stayed the night at Naomi’s.”
He nods and walks back to the car.
I maintain my position on the sidewalk, my gaze fixed on the open doorway. I can’t see anything inside, it’s too dark.
Is someone in there?
In the background, Jared is on his phone, giving someone Ruby’s address, then turning off his car. Then he gets his gun. He doesn’t hold it up or cock it like they do in the movies; instead he just holds it pointed at the ground.
Then he heads for the open blackness of the front door. “Stay here.”
“I’m not staying out here in the dark by myself.” I follow him up the porch steps.
“I promise you won’t get eaten by any wild animals.”
I almost smile at the reminder of our night in the woods. “You’re still not leaving me out here alone. What if it’s a serial killer and he’s just waiting for you to go inside so he can sneak out and murder me?”
“I don’t think it’s a serial killer. There have been other incidents like this and no one was hurt.”
“So then I’m safe to go in with you.”
He sighs. “Fine. Just stay behind me.”
We enter the shop slowly and quietly, Jared leading the way.
“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally leave the door open when you left?”
“No way, I’m entirely too paranoid and—”
There’s a howling shriek as Gravy bolts out the front door, making me yelp and latch onto Jared’s arm.
“You okay?”
How can he be so calm? “I’m fine.” But I don’t release his arm.
Jared flicks on the lights.
The shop is still and empty.
“Everything look normal?” he asks.
There’s no sign of damage, and nothing appears to be missing. The register is closed and locked. The ledger that I left out on the front desk is unmoved. “It looks the same as when I left.”
“That’s been the MO.”
We move further into the house, with Jared turning on lights as we go.
Nothing in the hallway. No sounds other than our soft footsteps, our light breathing and the click of the light switch.
But then we get to the kitchen.
Jared turns on the overhead lighting and I freeze.
Lying on the counter is a single red rose.
CHAPTER FIVE
Fifteen minutes later, a tired and rumpled Jared is sitting in my kitchen. Our hands are wrapped around mugs of tea.
After we discovered the rose, Jared inspected the entire house top to bottom. Once he determined there weren’t any murderers lying around, he had me check for anything that might be missing or out of place.
Anderson arrived while we were upstairs, minutes after Jared had called him. Anderson is still here, trolling around for any signs of damage or anything else the intruder might have been up to. Besides leaving behind the single rose.
It has to be the parents. Who else could it be? Are they involved in all of the other incidents around town? Why would they be breaking into houses without taking anything? And why leave evidence they were here in the first place? None of it makes any sense.
If they are in town, Paige and I need to leave. I can’t risk them finding her. Taking her from me. But we can’t leave right now, not with Jared sitting here staring at me.
“Do you know of anyone who might have left the rose for you?” Jared asks.
“No.” I take a sip of my tea. “What did they find at the other crime scenes?”
He hesitates before answering my misdirection, watching my face for something.
Does he not believe me?
“A few had nothing left behind, just objects moved around the household or left in odd places. At Mr. Godfrey’s, they found one of those little plastic swords they use for drinks. At Eleanor’s, there were a bunch of leaves and honeysuckle flowers scattered on her counter and floor.”
Someone else had something floral? I relax a little bit. Maybe it’s a coincidence. A super creepy coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless. Although I don’t believe that. The call and now the rose? It’s too purposeful.
He stands up and opens my freezer.
“I don’t think the perp is in there.”
He pops back out to give me a dry look and then sticks his head back behind the door. “I’m looking for anything out of place.”
“Like what?”
“Spoons.”
“Spoons?”
Apparently there’s nothing in my freezer of interest because he shuts the door with a frown.
“Or other objects. All the other crime scenes had weird things in the freezer or sweaters with the sleeves tied in knots. Did you notice anything like that?”
“No. Why would someone break into a house to put spoons in the freezer?”
He sits back in the chair across from me. “Your guess is as good as mine.” He lifts both brows at me. “Do you have any guesses?”
“Not a one.”
“Unfortunate. If this is anything like the other cases, Anderson won’t find anything.”
I shiver and hug my arms around myself.
“Either way, you can’t stay here alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have Gravy.”
“Gravy welcomes intruders. And pretty much anyone but you. He’d probably aid and abet the perpetrator if there was an attack on you.”
“Ha ha, that’s funny but no one is going to attack me.”
“What if this person comes back? What if these seemingly harmless incidents escalate?” He leans forward, his eyes piercing mine. “What if someone is scoping out places to rob later and Paige is home alone?”
I frown. “I won’t let her be alone. And that’s a lot of what-ifs. I can’t shut down the shop. I’ll have to be here during the day at least.”
“I know, but still. It might not be safe.” He drums his fingers on the table, a line between his eyebrows as he frowns down at the floor for a second before meeting my eyes. “You should at least go somewhere else for tonight. You can stay with me.”
“What? No way.” We’ll never be able to sneak out of town if we’re staying with Jared. Plus, living in the same space, seeing him at night before bed and in the morning when I wake up, accidentally running into him after a shower when he’s in nothing more than a towel . . .
“Why not?” he asks.
I shake my head to clear thoughts that are quickly descending into madness. Sexy madness. I absolutely cannot stay with Jared.
“I can stay with Tabby tonight. I’ll let Paige know in the morning.”
He’s silent for a moment, watching me, his eyes seeking something in my face, maybe if he can convince me further. He doesn’t like what he sees. His eyes shutter and he looks away. “Fine. I’ll call her.”
~*~
The drive to Tabby’s is silent and awkward. I clutch my overnight bag in my lap in the front seat of the patrol car.
Jared’s knuckles are nearly white, wrapped around the steering wheel.
He parks in front of her house and gets out to walk me to the door. Tabby’s racing down the walkway before we’ve even exited the vehicle.
“Are you okay?” She’s wrapped in
a thin pink robe. Her hair is tied on top of her head in a dark, messy bun and she throws her arms around me.
“I’m fine.” I shift my overnight bag over my shoulder. “I’m sorry to wake you in the middle of the night like this.”
She shushes me with a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I was already up. What happened?”
“When Jared dropped me off, the front door was standing wide open, even though I locked it when I left. That’s about it.”
“What a trip.” She turns toward Jared. “You better catch this guy before the whole town starts freaking out.”
He runs a hand through his already-rumpled hair. “Too late,” he mutters.
“Come on, let’s get inside and you can tell me all about it.” She grabs my arm and drags me toward her house. “Bye, Jared,” she calls over her shoulder.
Jared stands next to his car, watching us with an inscrutable expression. I give him a small wave, and before the door slams shut behind me, he smiles. But it’s a sad smile. My own lips falter.
Fortunately or unfortunately for me, no time to think about that.
“Ben and I had sex,” Tabby blurts.
We haven’t even made it past her entryway. Apparently, her concern isn’t about me. “And?”
“And? That’s all you have to say? And?”
“I’m confused. Haven’t you guys already had sex, like multiple times?”
“What? No!”
“Really?” I scrunch my face at her. “That seems highly unlikely.”
“We’ve . . . messed around before. We were make-out buddies only.” Now she’s wringing her hands and pacing.
“Can I put this stuff down somewhere—?”
“But then, things got a little more intense and it just happened. And then it was weird. Now what am I supposed to do?”
I have no idea what to tell her. She’s upset, insecure probably, and she wants me to help her. I’m not sure I know how to console people who aren’t thirteen-year-old girls, and even with Paige I suck. But then again, I sat with Mr. Bingel when he was sad about his wife and son. I helped the boys when they were distraught. I could be like a life coach or something.
Or not.
I swallow. “Go open a bottle of wine. I’ll meet you in the living room.”
A few minutes later we’re sitting on her couch, wine in hand.
“Start from the beginning,” I tell her. “What exactly happened?”
She cocks her head at me. “Well, we were fooling around and then he put his tongue in my—”
“No, no!” I hold up one hand in the air to stop the words coming out of her mouth. “I don’t want to know about all that. I mean, what happened afterward to make you all freaked out? You said it was weird?”
“He wasn’t weird per se.” She grimaces. “He left.”
“He left? Without saying anything?”
“He said it was nice.”
“Nice? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” Her hands flail. “This is why I need help. What do I do?”
“When did all this happen?”
She bites her lip. “About an hour ago.”
“Tonight? He was here tonight? And you guys had sex for the first time? Tonight?”
“Would you stop saying that? Yes. We had sex tonight. He came over after he closed up the bar and . . . you know. And it didn’t take very long. And then he left.”
She puts her wine glass down and starts pacing again and mumbling to herself. “I knew this was a bad idea. I should have listened to him from the beginning. But I had to get all handsy and we had to go and do this and now everything is going to be awkward. Troy is going to be pissed. He might kick Ben’s ass or my ass or both our asses and then we can never be friends again ever.” She flops down next to me with a groan. “What have I done?”
“I think you’re exaggerating, just a little. It’s not going to be that bad.”
“Not that bad? We had sex! Then he said it was ‘nice.’ ” She grimaces, then covers her face with her hands. “It’s terrible!”
“Maybe nothing will change,” I try.
“That would be even worse. But you’re probably right. He’s going to act like nothing’s different. I hate him.”
“Or maybe he likes you too much, and he panicked and that’s why he left.” I can relate to that scenario.
Her head tilts as she considers my words. “Maybe he does have feelings for me. Maybe I have feelings too. Maybe I love him.”
“I don’t think you should make any rash decisions. At least, not tonight. If you sleep on it, things will seem better in the morning.”
She deflates a little against the couch. “You’re probably right.”
I lean over and put my hand on her shoulder. “Tabby, I’ve seen you guys together. Trust me when I say Ben likes you more than he lets on. I can tell.”
“You really think so?”
“I do.”
“Thank you.” She pats my hand on her shoulder.
I sit back and take a sip of the wine.
She sighs. “Sorry to take over the night. Now it’s your turn. Tell me about you and Jared. What is up with all the tension there?”
“Tension? There’s no tension.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please. There was so much tension between you two I could walk it like a plank.” She brings the wine glass up to her lips.
I decide to throw her a bone. “He wanted me and Paige to stay with him.”
The wine glass sinks back toward her lap. “He did?”
“Yeah, but I told him to call you instead.”
She frowns. “Why didn’t you stay with him?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Pssshhh. You’re calling me crazy? You’re an idiot.”
“I’m the idiot? I’m not the one who slept with Ben.”
She tilts her head and purses her lips. “Touché. Well. At least we can be idiots together. But you cannot sit there and pretend like Jared asking you to stay with him means nothing.”
“You know how Jared is. I’m sure he would have offered the same to anyone who lived alone.”
“Au contraire, mon frère. Eleanor had someone bust into her house, and he didn’t invite her to sleep with him.”
My face heats. “He didn’t ask me to sleep with him.”
She toasts me with her glass. “Whatever. Here’s to men who don’t want to sleep with us. Or who think it’s nice to sleep with us. Ugh, has there ever been a more terrible word in the history of the English language?”
“Um, yes. Orifice.”
She grimaces. “Okay, that one’s pretty bad.”
“Fecal.”
“Ugh.” Her mouth twists.
“Moist.”
“Okay, moist is where I draw the line.” But now she’s laughing. She throws her arms around me. “Thanks for making me feel better. I am so glad you’re here, Ruby. What would I do without you?”
I’m glad she can’t see my face as I pat her back.
CHAPTER SIX
Two days later, Paige and I are still living at Tabby’s.
We tried to leave. “Tried” being the operative word. I’ve been stashing money under a loose board in Ruby’s bedroom. It’s not much, but it might have been enough. We made it exactly a block and a half when the car stalled out and died. We had to push it to the side of the road and leave it. Which means we’re still in town.
Even though there haven’t been any more clues from the parents, I can’t shake the need to run. What if they show up and claim Paige, accuse me of kidnapping? It wouldn’t be a baseless charge. Legally, I have no right to custody.
On the other hand, if they’re already here and keeping tabs on us, will they just follow us wherever we go anyway? How did they find us to begin with? If I take Paige somewhere new—which I can’t yet afford, especially without a car—will they follow and take her? Are we safe anywhere?
Despite the anxiety, staying at Tabby’s is actually kind of fun, except there are o
nly two beds so either my legs get kicked all night (Paige) or my ears get assaulted all night (Tabby).
It could be worse. Even though I’m exhausted, we cook dinner together, watch movies at night after work and laugh a lot. Tabby gives me some of her clothes, insisting they were things she was planning on getting rid of anyway, but I think she’s lying to me.
She felt bad after seeing most of my pitiful wardrobe, which consists of a few shorts and T-shirts, one pair of pants, one set of PJs, and a couple of dresses Ruby left behind.
I don’t argue with her too much, she’s a little shorter than me, but most of the tops and summer dresses she gives me fit just fine.
She’s been totally great about everything, except I feel like we’re intruding. Especially since Ben hasn’t come around to talk and I think Tabby is worried he’s not making an appearance because she’s too busy with her houseguests—us. She plays it off like it doesn’t bother her, but I see the tension in her eyes and her mood has been more subdued than normal.
In the meantime, I’ve made mild inquiries to Mrs. Olsen about new people in town, but she doesn’t know of any new residents around my parents’ age. Although being nearly summer, tourist season is picking up, so they could be blending in.
After I told Paige about the rose, we decided to set up the cameras around Ruby’s property. That way, we might be able to catch anyone lurking about the place.
Two days later, there hasn’t been any activity on the cameras except for Mr. Bingel and the boys and the mailman.
But if the parents are in town, they’re watching us somehow.
“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” Paige tries after we’ve reviewed the tapes at Ruby’s and found nothing unusual going on. “Roses are common flowers. And you said someone else had flowers, too.”
“Not a rose, though. At the other house, it was more like they’d rolled around in a bush and tracked in leaves and stuff. This was placed specifically on the counter where I would see it as soon as I walked in the kitchen.”
“But these things are happening all over town. Not just to us. It might not have anything to do with them.”
