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She decided to call Finch when she had Paris’s “proof” in her hands, which would also give her time to figure out how to approach Jonah.
In a further attempt to ease the jackhammer in her head, she put on her sunglasses. Then she found her keys and hurried out the door.
* * *
The little Jonah had slept had been in the Jeep Cherokee he’d rented, which he’d parked a mile or so away from the salvage yard after driving back from Chandler last night. He’d spent most of his time watching the house and drafting Lori’s character reference on his laptop. He’d finally realized he didn’t have the right to hope Francesca would ever forgive him if he couldn’t forgive Lori, so he’d just e-mailed it—
He sat up. Something was wrong…
Grabbing his binoculars, he took a closer look at Butch’s house. With Dean being released from jail and Paris charged with manslaughter and subsequently posting bail, he hadn’t expected Butch or Dean to be active. They’d gotten in late. But he hadn’t been willing to bet Francesca’s life on that, either. Regardless of how she felt about him, he still loved her, and if he couldn’t stay with her to keep her safe, he’d protect her some other way, even if it meant watching Butch and Dean until he could determine, for sure, that they weren’t a threat to her anymore.
Now he was glad he’d made that commitment….
Although the results of his surveillance had been un-remarkable until several minutes ago, when he’d seen Paris drive off, that no longer held true. There weren’t a lot of people moving around, but the way Butch came in and out of the house, making several trips to his truck and pacing the front yard, reminded Jonah of an anthill after a stick had been jammed into it. Butch seemed to be reacting to a recent and rather upsetting change. But what?
The binoculars revealed him unshowered and un-shaven, an intense expression on his face and his cell phone jammed against his ear. He hung up, dialed again, hung up and threw his phone. Then he raked his fingers through his hair, recovered his phone and had to replace the battery that’d gone flying when it hit the ground. A second later he got into his truck and drove away.
Debating whether to follow him or take advantage of his absence by talking to Dean or Elaine, Jonah decided to try the house.
Once Butch was out of sight, he drove closer and went to the door.
Dean answered. Judging by the hair sticking up on one side, he’d just rolled out of bed. “Hey there! What’s going on?” he asked as if they were now good friends.
Jonah glanced in the direction Butch had gone, toward town. “That’s what I want to know.”
“Excuse me?”
“What’s up with Butch this morning?”
Dean didn’t seem to realize Jonah had been watching the house. Apparently, he assumed Jonah had tried to speak with Butch and been rebuffed. “Who knows?” he said with a shrug. “But don’t let it bother you. He can get like that sometimes.”
“He didn’t say anything before he left?”
A wry smile curved Dean’s lips. “Does ‘fuck’ or ‘damn’ count?”
Jonah couldn’t help chuckling. “As long as you can give me a reason he might be using those words.”
“It has to do with Paris. He doesn’t know where she went.”
“That’s it?”
“Plus, he’s afraid she might confront his girlfriend. I heard him call Kelly and tell her Paris could be on her way over. He said that she wasn’t to open her door and to contact him immediately if she tries to get in.”
Jonah arched his eyebrows. “Tries to get in? You think she might be that aggressive?”
Dean yawned but spoke through it. “She’s pretty tired of him cheating.”
“Does she know about all the women he’s been with?”
“A lot of them. I once saw a list in her purse.” Now that they were “friends,” Dean seemed eager to confide whatever he knew.
“How do you know it was a list of the women he’s cheated with?”
“I’m not positive because I just saw the top of it before she shoved it back in. But Kelly was on there. So was Wanda Erickson, who used to be a masseuse in town. I stopped by once in a while, but Butch went there every chance he got. I saw his truck in her driveway all the time. No way my sister would’ve missed it.”
Jonah’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re sure? It was Wanda Erickson?”
“Yeah, but her name had a line through it, probably because she moved back to Nevada.”
