15

Everyone was up and out of the house before I’d finished with my morning shower. I’d hoped to talk to Ben about Jack, but honestly, I trusted him to know how to handle his former best friend. If all went according to plan, there’d be no more break-ins at Casa Denton.

And anyway, I had my own troubles to deal with.

After breakfast, and with some trepidation, I loaded Chico into a dog carrier, slid him into the back of my van, and I was off to meet with Stacy Hildebrand.

It hadn’t registered when she’d given me her address, but as I pulled onto Stacy’s street, I realized she lived only a couple of blocks from Courtney. Coincidence? I seriously doubted it. I just wasn’t sure whether Chico’s dognapping happened because he got loose and Courtney saw an opportunity, or if there was some amount of conspiring going on between the near neighbors.

The house looked clean and quiet from the outside, which was a good sign. I pulled into the driveway and went to the back to retrieve the dog. Chico was barking up a storm, and while I loved all animals, I was glad he was moving back home where he belonged. I could use some peace and quiet.

“You’ll see mommy soon,” I told him. He barked and bared his teeth at me before he spun in a rapid circle inside the carrier.

I was surprised when Stacy didn’t come storming outside to rant at me the moment I’d pulled up. It was even more of a jolt when I knocked on the door and someone else answered.

“Hi, I’m looking for Stacy Hildebrand,” I said in my cheeriest voice. “I have Chico here for her.”

The man at the door heaved a sigh and seemed to shrink three sizes. “Oh,” he said. “You brought him back.”

I blinked, my forced smile cracking. “I did. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, but Chico is in great health and I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting back into his usual routine.”

The man—Stacy’s husband, I assumed—sighed again. “Do you know how quiet it was without him?” He crouched to peer into the carrier. “No barking. Just . . .” He glanced up at me. “Nagging.”

Uh-oh. I wanted no part of any sort of marital strife. “Is Stacy here? She told me to arrive this morning at nine sharp.” I glanced at my watch-less wrist. “I’m here just in time.” I flashed Mr. Hildebrand a smile in the hopes he would reciprocate, even a little.

He didn’t.

Instead, he straightened with a grimace. “I guess that explains why she was so hot to get out of here this morning.”

“She left?”

He nodded. “Barely bothered to berate me before she was out the door. Poof.” He snapped his fingers before running a hand over his bald pate. “And now, this. I get it now. Let poor old Terrance deal with everything.”

We stared at each other. Chico yapped in the carrier. He was growing heavier by the second. I had no idea what to do or say.

Terrance heaved yet another sigh, this one so dramatic, he might have won an award if someone had been filming it. “Fine. Give him here.”

I held out the carrier and he took it. “Thank you, Terrance. Please tell Stacy I’m sorry about the mix-up. If there’s anything I could do to make things better, tell her to not hesitate to call.” Though I hoped never to receive that call.

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved me off before setting the carrier down just inside the door. “It’s always about Stacy and what she wants. It’s me you should be apologizing to.” And then he slammed the door in my face.

An urge to knock on the door and tell Terrance I’d take Chico back was so strong, I very nearly did just that. It was obvious he had no use for the dog, and I didn’t want the Chihuahua to suffer from neglect, especially since Stacy couldn’t be bothered to be here to retrieve her supposedly beloved pet.

But Terrance didn’t seem like someone who’d actually hurt an animal, even if he disliked it. And perhaps it was all a show, another part of Courtney’s plan to make me look bad. How Terrance’s dour performance could affect me, I didn’t know. Maybe she thought I’d snatch the dog away for real this time and they could make some real waves.

I returned to my van. After a quick mental debate, I decided that since I was in the neighborhood, I might as well see if I could put this entire mess behind me for good.

I put the van in gear, shot a worried look toward the Hildebrand house, and then I drove a couple of blocks for what would inevitably turn into a confrontation I’d regret.

Courtney Shaw’s house looked like a dollhouse. The outside was lime green and pink. It made my stomach churn just to look at it. Inside, everything was themed, right down to the coasters on the coffee table. The decor fit Courtney’s personality perfectly.

I pulled into the driveway, relieved to see Courtney’s own van there. The pink was too loud for this early in the morning, so I tried not to look at it as I got out of the driver’s seat and strode up to the front door. I pressed the doorbell, gritting my teeth against the princess-themed sound it made.

The door opened and Courtney’s voice floated out to greet me. “I’ll be sure to let him know, thanks.” She clicked off her cell and turned to face me, startled as if she hadn’t heard me ring. “Oh! Liz. What are you doing here?”

“Why do you think?” I asked. My anger tried to rise, but I held it in check. Mostly. This was Courtney I was dealing with. This sort of behavior should be expected.

The smile on her face was so fake, it looked painted on. “I honestly couldn’t say.” Little meows came from behind her. I leaned to the side enough so I could see a pair of carriers filled to the brim with fluffy kittens. They were climbing over one another in a vain attempt to reach Courtney’s white Siamese cat, Princess, who was sitting off to the side, looking put out.

As cute as the kittens were, I refused to let them distract me from what I’d gone there to do. “I thought I’d let you know I returned Chico to his proper home.”

“Chico? Who’s Chico?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Courtney. I talked to Duke.”

Her eyes widened briefly. “I’m sure I don’t—”

I raised a hand, cutting her off. “I’m not here to argue with you or accuse you of anything,” I said, which was only partly true. “I know what happened. I know why it happened. I wanted to let you know it’s over. Your little scheme didn’t work. Chico is back home where he belongs and everyone is happy.” Or so I hoped. I was afraid to check to see if Stacy had posted anything about me online, though I figured I would eventually have to do some damage control.

Courtney looked like she really wanted to keep playing innocent, but thought better of it. “I see,” she said. “Well, if that’s all, I suppose you’d better get going then. I have some little ones to deliver and can’t be late.”

“Without Duke?” I asked. I didn’t know her to do much of anything on her own.

Courtney’s face clouded over. “Yes, without Duke. Apparently, he’s busy.”

Or has he had it with your antics? The question popped into my head, but thankfully didn’t pass my lips. I refused to stoop to that level.

“I hope he’s okay,” I said instead. “Duke’s a good man. We could all learn a lot from him.”

Okay, so maybe I had to get one little shot in. I’m not above being petty when the situation calls for it. Courtney tended to bring that out in everyone.

Unfortunately, Courtney didn’t seem to catch the jab. “I’m sure we could.” She bent down and picked up the carriers. “If you’d get the door for me, I really do need to go.”

She walked past me, kittens meowing from their carrier. I had half a mind to leave the door hanging open and walk away, but as much as Courtney was getting on my nerves, I refused to risk letting Princess escape. I’d never forgive myself if something were to happen to her.

“Be good,” I told the Siamese, as I closed the door. I turned in time to see Courtney pop into the driver’s seat of her van, start it up, and back away without a second look my way.

One day . . . I didn’t know what I’d do, but darn it, sometimes all I wanted from some people was a little respect.

I climbed back into my van and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. There was one more thing I wanted to do before the day truly got started, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it alone. After a few moments of debate, I snatched up my phone and dialed. It rang twice before an aged, trembling voice came over the line.

“Hastings residence. Who’s calling?”

“Hi, Mr. Hastings, my name is Liz Denton. I was hoping we could speak.”

“Regarding?”

I considered how I wanted to phrase my response before answering. “There’s an old case that’s drawn my interest and I wanted to talk to someone about it. Your name was given to me by a police officer named Reg Perry.”

“I remember Reg.” There was a fondness in Wayne’s voice that gave me hope that he might be willing to talk. “How is he doing?”

“He’s good,” I said, hoping it was true. I liked Officer Perry, but he was getting up there in years. “He’s considering retiring soon.”

“Good for him. He deserves a break.” Some of the energy in his voice died away when he continued. “What was it you wanted to speak to me about? You mentioned an old case?”

A car drifted down the road. Irrationally, I waited for it to pass before I answered.

“I did. Do you remember a case you worked some thirty years ago?” I asked. “A missing-persons case? The woman’s name was Christine—”

Before I could finish, he did it for me. “Danvers. I remember.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet, but she’s been found.”

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end of the line. I couldn’t even hear him breathe.

“Alive?” was the response when it finally came.

“She was, up until recently. Her son . . .” I struggled with how to say it, and settled on, “He came to see me. He told me that Christine fled Grey Falls when she vanished, but she wasn’t afraid of her husband, Joe. It was someone else who frightened her. I was hoping you might be able to tell me who that might be.”

This time, the silence went on long enough that I grew worried. Like Reg, Wayne Hastings wasn’t a young man anymore. Too much of a shock might send his heart over the edge.

“Mr. Hastings?”

“I’m here,” he said. His voice was choked with emotion, so I gave him a few more moments. “After all this time. She was alive.”

“She was pregnant when she ran.”

“Joseph’s?”

“Yeah. His name is Erik. He came to Grey Falls to meet his dad, but when he arrived, it was already too late.”

“Too late?” Wayne said. “What do you mean by that?”

I closed my eyes. Great, he didn’t know. “Joe was murdered. I found his body. It’s why Erik sought me out.”

“Murdered?” He muttered a couple of expletives under this breath. His next word came out stronger, as if hearing about a crime brought some of the old detective back. “How?”

I didn’t know if I was breaking some sort of rule by telling him, but since Detective Cavanaugh hadn’t told me to be quiet, I assumed it was okay. “He was shot in his home. I think it was because he figured out his wife might still be alive, and why she’d run.”

“I . . . I don’t know what I can say to you,” Wayne said. “Christine’s disappearance happened a long time ago, and we’d run on the assumption she was dead. It means most everything we’d thought we’d known about the case was wrong.”

“I just have a few questions I hope you can answer,” I said. “I’m not a reporter or a detective or anything, but I do have an interest in the case. I was hoping that maybe we could meet and talk about some of the suspects. I know the detective in charge of the murder investigation. Maybe something will come out of our conversation that I can pass on to him.”

“I don’t see how,” he said. I was about to resort to begging when he went on. “But I suppose it can’t hurt.”

“Thank you!” I almost jumped up and down in my seat. “Where should we meet?”

Wayne rattled off his address and we made plans to meet there in an hour, which gave me time to ready myself for our meeting.

I hung up feeling giddy, and a little frightened. Wayne Hastings seemed nice enough over the phone, but he was still a stranger. As far as I knew, he was the reason Christine fled town in the first place.

And he might have killed Joe.

Good thing I didn’t plan on visiting him alone.

This time, when I dialed, I knew the man on the other end of the line.

“Duke. It’s Liz.”

“Liz? What did Courtney do now?” He sounded almost resigned.

“Nothing, as far as I know. I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

“That murder you mentioned.”

He knew me so well. “Yeah.” I took a deep breath. “This is a big ask, but I have a meeting set up with the detective who was in charge of the case thirty years ago. I was hoping you might be willing to come with me?”

There was a beat where I could almost imagine his confusion before he asked, “Why?”

“It’d make me feel better,” I said. “I really want to talk to him, but I don’t want to do it on my own. If you can’t, that’s okay. I could always find someone else.” Though I had no idea who.

“No, I’ll come.”

I was so shocked by how easily he’d accepted the invitation, it took me a few heartbeats to answer. “Thank you, Duke.”

“Where do you want me to meet you?”

I almost rattled off Wayne’s address, before I changed my mind. “I’ll pick you up, if that’s okay?”

“All right. That’s fine. I’ll be here.” And then, sounding almost amused, he added, “You’d better not get me killed.”

“I’ll try not to.” I disconnected, hoping that if it came down to it, and we were about to confront a killer, Duke would be the one keeping me from a murderer’s hand, not the other way around.