The bathroom is so small, it takes me only a moment to inspect every nook and cranny. I even look beneath the lid of the toilet tank.
Nothing at all.
I stalk back to the main room and pace the floor, raking my fingers through my hair.
“Where would she put it?” I ask aloud. Quincy has taken cover under the table but her ears perk at the sound of my voice. Or maybe the frustration in it.
Could Tori have made the whole thing up? To mess with Evie’s head? At this point, I’d put nothing past her, but I think about the look I saw in her eyes today, and it wasn’t the look of someone whose bluff could be called.
She’s been here. She’s left something. Obviously, it has to be something small. And valuable. And personal. Jewelry, most likely.
I scan the ceilings and walls. All tongue-in-groove. No ceiling tiles to pop out. No central air vent. I narrow my eyes at the window unit and dive for it. A moment later, I’ve removed the cover, thrown the filter across the room, but the cavity is empty.
“Shit.”
A niggling voice the the back of my head whispers that a pair of diamond earrings could be hidden nearly anywhere. Sewn into the lining of my coveralls. Dropped into the freezer’s ice tray. Hidden behind an outlet cover.
“I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”
Whatever it is, I can’t find it. And if I can’t find it, I can’t have Evie.
And if I can’t have Evie, what else is there?
I sink to the floor and catch my forehead in my hands. All I want is to go to her. Take her away from that hateful sister, and promise to protect her. To see her the way no one else does. To love her forever.
But how can I promise to protect her if I can’t even stop her sister from throwing me in jail on false charges?
If I gave up on this search and went to her now, would Tori call the police as soon as she saw me? Would Evie have to watch as I was arrested? I wince at the thought of her seeing me behind bars. She’d come visit me even if I told her not to.
The other inmates would touch her with their eyes. Lick her with their words. Call her names and name her parts.
The thought makes me shudder.
“Never.” I shake my head and get to my feet. Everything in my apartment has to go. Everything. Maybe I’ll find the mystery weapon along the way. Maybe I won’t. But it won’t be here anymore. It won’t have power over us, and as soon as every fucking thing is gone and this place is just an empty shell, I’m getting Evie.
I look over the mess that has become my apartment, and my eyes settle on the first things to go.
“Let’s go, Quincy.” The dog springs to her feet at the familiar command. “We have a delivery to make.”
The Acadian-style house on Twin Oaks looks pretty much the same. The bricked driveway and the landscaping had spelledmoneyback then, as did the king-sized fishing boat in the side lot. The boat’s still there, and the landscaping is even nicer. The one obvious difference is the ADT security sign next to the brick mailbox.
That, and the not-so-hidden camera on the front porch.
Quincy gives a nervous whine from the seat beside me. I’ve pulled to a stop and killed the engine, but I haven’t moved otherwise.
And, yeah, I’m nervous, and she can probably sense it.
I look down at the dog and pat her. The impulse that had spurred me to take her home had come from Evie. To live a way that would make her proud. The thought settles me.
“This would make her proud,” I say, opening the Buick’s door. “Stay put. I won’t be long.” The trunk squeaks as I open it, and the sound echoes off the front of the house. It’s not dark yet, but twilight is gathering the light on the street. I feel its eyes watch me.
Are the people inside this house already peering through the blinds?
I hoist the TV and tuck it under one arm, grab the PlayStation and remotes, cradling them to my chest, and leave the trunk open. As I walk up the brick path, I have no damn idea what I’m going to say to these people. I reach the porch and push the brass-framed doorbell, debating just dropping the stuff and sprinting back to my car.
Anthony and I had chosen the street because it horseshoes with Oakview, giving us two exit points in case the raid had gone south. Both streets ended on Johnston so we could have slipped into traffic and been lost in a moment. The same is true right now.
But before I can make up my mind, the door swings open, and a kid of about twelve glares up at me.
