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“Where the heck have you been?”
“Dealing with a case.”
“A man by the name of Dean Wheeler called here. You must’ve left your purse in Prescott because he was trying to return it to you. I’ve called and called, hoping to get you, but—”
“He got hold of me. I’m heading there now. But I wanted to let you know about something that’s going on, something that has me worried.”
“What?” she asked, then fell silent as Francesca explained.
“This Butch guy came to your house?” she said when Francesca was done. “You were afraid he might try to break in when you woke me up last night, and you didn’t say a word?”
They’d been too busy talking about Jonah. “I didn’t want to scare you. I figured I could handle it myself. But now…I think you need to know that he might try to hurt me by hurting people I love. He has your address as well as your phone number. Tonight his brother-in-law, Dean, mentioned you and Josephine, even Heather and her son.”
“And you believe this man, this Butch, killed a woman?”
“I believe he may have killed a lot more than one.”
“My God, this is surreal. Like something out of a movie.”
“It’s not. Take it seriously, Adriana.”
“How?”
“Lock your doors and windows. Tell your husband to watch for any suspicious activity. Keep a cell phone handy in case you need to call the police.”
“You’re scaring the shit out of me,” she said.
“That’s what I’m trying to do. Then you’ll be cautious, watch out for strangers, look around whenever you leave the house.”
“What about you? So what if this guy has your purse? Maybe you should just let him keep it.”
“I’m hoping it’ll help maintain contact. If he’s focused on me, he won’t be out killing anyone else. I hope.”
There was a brief silence, then Adriana asked, “Does Jonah know about this?”
“Yes.”
“He called here earlier, too. He wanted me to give you the message that he’s trying to reach you.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” She wasn’t sure why she didn’t admit that he was sitting in the car next to her. Like everything else about the three of them, it was complicated.
Glad she’d given Adriana some notice, Francesca felt the tension begin to seep from her body. “I’ve got to go. I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“Francesca?”
She hesitated. “What?”
“If things between you and Jonah are heating up again, I hope…well, I hope you won’t let the past stand in the way of…of a reconciliation. If that’s what you want. If that’s what you really want.”
“It’s not what I want,” she said. She had no intention of asking for a second helping of the kind of hurt he’d dished out a decade before. For all she knew, he’d lied about having a girlfriend.
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“Maybe he’s changed, Fran.”
“And maybe he hasn’t.”
