“Prepare the prime rib I like so much for dinner tonight. I’ll be here by seven.”
His tone was calm, but she always felt the underlying tension as if his request held a threat behind it. Make him the prime rib and cook it perfectly or she’d pay.
“Of course.”
He dropped a kiss on her cheek and she forced another smile. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.”
Then he grabbed his coat off the hook by the door and his keys and stepped into the garage. Seconds later, the engine rumbled to life and the electric door slid up.
All night she’d lain awake thinking about Minnie’s little girl. If Claude had known about the baby, was there any proof?
If there was and she found it, she’d know for certain he’d lied to her and the police and she would leave him.
Hands shaking, she darted down the hall to her husband’s office. Normally she didn’t set foot in here but before they had a housekeeper come, she’d cleaned it once a week, so she knew where he kept things. His work files in one cabinet, an extra internal drive for backup files and their personal finances and information on the home computer instead of his work one.
She slid into his black leather chair and was grateful the computer was already booted up, which meant he’d probably been paying bills. All his domain, not hers.
She scrolled through the file names, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. A list of bills and creditors, which he kept on QuickBooks, insurance company, banking information, a list of investments and his Charles Schwab account.
Another file caught her eye. One with a name she didn’t recognize. She clicked to open it, but it was encrypted.
“What the hell are you doing in here?”
Bertha froze at the sound of her husband’s voice and looked up at his angry face glaring down at her. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t heard his footsteps.
He stormed across the room and slammed the laptop closed. “I warned you that my office was off limits.”
He yanked her by the wrist and shoved her toward the door. She stumbled and cried out then he slapped her, sending her bouncing against the wall and onto the floor.
SEVENTY
Dalton
Rhonda Glasser stirred from unconsciousness in a confused fog. She blinked to clear her vision and realized she was lying on the floor in the hallway, a sliver of sunlight shining through the hall window.
Fear crept through her as tidbits of memories flashed behind her eyes. She blinked against them and tried to sit up, but the room spun in a dizzying whirlwind.
Daylight seeped through the window, and a sharp pain ripped through her skull. Her head throbbed, and she touched it and felt a gash. Her fingers came away sticky with blood.
She groaned as shadows drifted around her then she turned her head to the side and realized Lou Lou’s bedroom door was open. The house was quiet, no baby chatter.
“Dana Jo,” she whispered. Silence echoed back and panic seized her.
Another shadow floated behind her eyes as memories of the night before flitted through her mind.
Dark, tall… shifting.The sound of footsteps came from the stairs. She’d just tucked Lou Lou in bed. Maybe Dana Jo was home.
The floor in the hall creaked. Maybe her daughter had returned from her AA meeting in time to kiss Lou Lou good night. Then she stepped into the hallway.
Suddenly she sensed someone behind her. Detected the faint scent of a man’s musky odor.
Before she could turn around, something hard whacked her on the back of her head. Her knees buckled and she screamed as his fist connected with her head again. Her knees hit the floor and she doubled over. Then a heavy boot came down on her back and pain robbed her breath.
Lou Lou… dear God… Lou Lou!
Her granddaughter’s scream filled the air. Rhonda tried to push herself up, but the world twirled and nausea climbed her throat. From the floor, she saw black boots and a shadow passing her. Terror wrenched her as her attacker carried Lou Lou down the steps.
