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The boozy smile erased the confusion from Lillian’s face. “Wonderful. It’s an outstanding year for this particular cab.”
She almost knocked the bottle over and Ava grabbed it. “Allow me.”
Max had disappeared through the door to the attached garage, and Ava poured a generous amount of wine into Lillian’s glass and a splash in her own.
She clinked her glass with Lillian’s. “Here’s to Dr. Arnoff.”
“Wherever he is.” Lillian took a long pull from her glass.
The knock on the front door startled them both.
Lillian put her glass down and brushed her fingers together. “Looks like we’re going to have a party tonight without Charles.”
She took a halting step toward the front door as Ava glanced at the garage. If that was the police reporting Dr. Arnoff’s death, she’d better do some quick thinking and she could use Max’s help.
Mrs. Arnoff was halfway to the front door when Max came barreling into the room. “Don’t answer that.”
“What?” Lillian stumbled to a stop.
“You shouldn’t answer your door when you’re home alone at night.”
“But I’m not alone.” Lillian spread her arms to take in the two of them and proceeded to the door.
“Wait.” Max held up his hand.
A man yelled from the porch. “Mrs. Arnoff? It’s the cable company. Several people in your area have been reporting outages.”
Ava’s heart thumped and she stepped back, glancing at the TV, still flickering with images. Lillian must have a great cable provider if they came out at this time of night.
Mrs. Arnoff reached the door and placed her hand on the knob while leaning toward the peephole. She called out, “I think my TV’s fine.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ava. “Don’t you think so?”
Max charged forward and grabbed the laptop. Then he took Ava’s arm and whispered in her ear. “We need to get out of here. She just announced our presence.”
“We still need to check, ma’am,” the voice on the porch insisted.
Lillian took the chain off the door and Max yanked Ava toward the sliding door in the back.
As soon as Max slid open the back door, a crackling sound rang behind them and Lillian fell back into the room—missing half her head.
Chapter Eight
Ava didn’t have time to react. Didn’t have time to let loose with the scream gathering in her lungs.
Max yanked her out the back door and sped across the patio toward the fence on the side. She moved mechanically, still in shock. His voice grated in a harsh whisper. “I don’t know if they saw us or not, but they’ll know someone was there. Even if they didn’t hear Lillian speaking to you, they’ll notice the second wineglass.”
They reached the fence and Max bent over and cupped his hands to hoist her up.
She wedged one sneakered foot in his hands and grabbed the top of the stuccoed fence. She pulled herself up and over, landing in some dirt on the other side. “Slip the laptop over.”
She stepped onto a sprinkler cover and reached up with trembling hands. The hard edge of the laptop met her grasping fingers and she eased it over the wall and hugged it to her chest. “Got it.”
Two seconds later, Max vaulted over the fence, landing beside her. “Any vicious beasts in residence?”
She gulped. “Not yet.”
She followed his lead across the backyard, hunching forward and keeping to the shadows, her knees trembling with each step. The next fence presented a bigger problem, as spiky hedges bordered the entire length.
She huffed out a breath, as fear clawed through her chest. “How are we going to get over that fence?”
“Don’t worry. We got this. The hedges are stiff enough to use as a ledge.”
Before she could respond, he took the laptop from her and his hands encircled her waist. He lifted her off the ground, high into the air. “Find a stable point to get a foothold.”
With her legs dangling in the air, she tapped her foot against the dense hedge until she found a stationary spot. “I think I’m good here.”
“Is there a place to put your hands?”
She groped along the edge of the bush, ignoring the sharp pain from the nettles, and found the rounded top of the stucco fence that separated the two houses. “Yeah.”
