40

Emily awoke as day was breaking the next morning. White light seeped around the edges of her blinds, and she struggled to shake the hangover of last night’s melancholy. She had not yet touched anything in her parents’ room. She wondered how long she could avoid facing the memories of this room before she had to either get the house ready to sell or remodel it into her master bedroom.

Emily crawled out of bed with a shiver and slipped her feet into plush mule slippers. She drew open the blinds to see the sun cracked over the sparkling white horizon. At least a foot of snow had fallen, burying her Leaf and Dr. Payton’s SUV. It held her motionless as she watched the sky change in minutes from pink to tangerine to faded blue. These were the mornings and moments she would never encounter in the city. Amazing. She could think of nothing as important right now as drinking in the scenery framed before her … with a hot cup of coffee.

Emily pulled a sweat shirt over her head and padded downstairs to start a fresh brew before Dr. Payton arose. With snow this thick, she knew he would be stuck here until the snowplow came through, which could take several hours to get this far into the county.

As Emily approached the kitchen, she thought she heard a slight shuffling of paper from the office. Was he up already? She crept closer and saw the door cracked open. Emily peered through the sliver in the doorway and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Dr. Payton was sitting at her father’s desk, paging through paperwork and taking photographs of each page with his phone. She reeled back out of view and clasped her hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t gasp audibly. What is he doing?

Her first instinct was to barge in and bust him. He was breaching her privacy—and that of the medical examiner’s office! But her investigative prowess took over, and she paused for a moment to observe and weigh her options.

She craned her neck for another look to assess the situation fully. Sure enough, he was positioning a photograph from the file folder to get the best angle for a good picture. She weighed her possible plans of action. She could step in and catch him in the act. It would be awkward and embarrassing, and he would for sure deny it. She could ask to see his phone, but he might not give it up. And then she might feel compelled to call the police. And that would get super awkward. He would probably leave before the police could arrive, and then she’d have to take the next steps to get him arrested for stealing. It would be a huge deal involving the Ann Arbor police and the university. He’d probably lose his job.

Why kill an ant with a sledgehammer when you can squash it with your thumb? her father had always said. Emily found a better plan hatching and she let him dig his own grave as she tiptoed back into the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast with a satisfied smirk. He wouldn’t get away with this.

After a few minutes Emily heard the floor creak as he exited the office and went back to the basement. Snake! Emily turned on the small radio her father had installed under a cabinet to listen to the morning news. Her mind reeled with her plan as she took her time making coffee and stirring up a batch of coffee-cake batter, one of the few breakfast delicacies she knew how to bake because it came in a box. She poured it into a Bundt pan and slid it into the oven and then took fresh fruit from the fridge.

While she was slicing pears, Dr. Payton emerged, fresh faced and dressed for the day in slacks and a sweater. She greeted him with a smile.

“Good morning. Sleep well?” she said, putting on a gleeful voice.

“I did.” He glanced out the dining room window to the backyard. “Wow, it looks like we’re snowed in.”

“Yes. But who doesn’t love a snow day? Especially when there’s nothing on the agenda. Can I get you some coffee?”

“I’d love some.” He sat on the barstool at the counter opposite her. “When do you think they’ll have the roads cleared?” He turned his gaze to the picture window that faced the country road in front of the house.

“Are you in a hurry?” She thought she detected impatience in his voice.

“Not entirely. I just … don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Emily set a piping-hot coffee in front of him. “Sugar? Cream?”

“Black.” He brought his lips to the rim and took a quick sip to test the temperature.

“It’s probably going to be a few hours before you’ll be able to drive out. I have a coffee cake in the oven and a bowl of fresh fruit. I can make some eggs, too.” Emily was studying him for the slightest tell.

“Wow. Impressive. A real bed-and-breakfast.”

There was no tell. He was calm and cheery. Not an ounce of guilt. Her heart sunk. What if he was just using her? Of course he is. Who spends Thanksgiving with a first date and total strangers? Now that she was single again, she really needed to brush up on her dating savvy.

“I was wondering if you could AirDrop the pictures you took yesterday at Anna’s? Before we forget.”

“Of course.” Dr. Payton was careful to hold his phone away from her. “Turn on your Bluetooth.”

She did, and soon the pictures came through. She pressed Accept. Dr. Payton set his phone on the counter, the screen now black.

“Thanks. These are great. The very first pictures I have of me and Anna.” She sprinkled sugar in her voice.

The kitchen timer beeped. Emily pulled the cake from the oven and set it on a hot pad. “It just needs five minutes to cool, and then we can cut it.” She set a plate and fork on the counter. She couldn’t stand to be in the presence of this liar one more second. “Fruit first?”

“I’d love some.”

She scooped some into a small bowl and slid it toward him with a force that knocked his coffee cup down like a bowling pin. The coffee spilled over the counter and onto Dr. Payton’s lap. The mug landed with a crash and splintered on the floor.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I’m a klutz!” she exclaimed.

“Don’t worry.” Dr. Payton bent down to pick up the pieces, and Emily took the opportunity to switch his phone with hers, pocketing it in the kangaroo pouch of her pullover sweat shirt.

“I’m gonna grab a couple towels to mop this up.” Emily disappeared into the laundry room off the kitchen. She quickly pulled his phone out. Darn. It had gone into lock mode. She tried a few generic sequences. No go. Then, remembering the address of his building, she punched in the number. Access! She clicked onto the photo app and found the photos she was after. There were at least three dozen he had captured from the Parkman case file. Snake times a hundred! She deleted every single one, before emerging from the laundry with a couple of old towels.

“Here you go.” She tossed him the towels. As he knelt to the floor to mop up the coffee, she deftly placed his phone back on the counter in place of hers.

“Oh, look. There’s the snow plow. Wow, they’re really on top of it today. Usually takes hours,” Emily said, pointing to the road, where the massive machine sent a wave of powder into the ditch. Dr. Payton bobbed his head up, and Emily could see the relief on his face.

“I think I’m going to head off before we get any more snow.”

“I totally understand. I’d probably do the same thing.” Emily couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

“Thanks for everything, Emily. I enjoyed our time. And I’m looking forward to the football game tomorrow.”

“Me, too. If I don’t get snowed in,” she said.

“So, I’ll call you later and we can make plans?”

“You bet,” she said with a calm smile.

Emily walked him to the front door. He gave her a hug, but she didn’t hug back.

“I don’t …” he said. “Did I miss something here?”

“What do you mean?” She liked that she was channeling her inner Scarlett O’Hara. She wished she could be there to see the look on his face when he opened his photo app.

“I thought maybe there was something between us. Sorry if I misinterpreted.”

“We should probably keep things professional for now.” She pressed her lips together with a quick raise of her eyebrows to show her absolute confidence in this decision.

He nodded. There was definitely disappointment in that frown this time.

“Drive safely,” she said.

He slipped out the door, and it took some effort for him to shuffle his way through the slippery terrain to his car. And when he got there he would have to warm it up and brush off a foot of snow before he could drive away. Emily didn’t wait to wave goodbye. She shut and locked the door behind him.