Page 54 of D for Dead

She watched Heidi walk the dog out of the house, listened to the pattering of his paws on the decking as she led him down to the beach.

In that instant the atmosphere within the house changed and her sense of foreboding grew.

She was being stupid. There was nothing here to be afraid of.

Well, okay, perhaps she was a little scared of Nadine. The woman had a presence about her that unnerved Amy. But other than that there was nothing for her to fear.

Go get Boaz and you can get out of here.

Sucking in a breath, she stepped into the centre of the house, finding herself in a long narrow central hallway with several doorways leading off. She paused for a moment as she heard the faint murmur of voices coming from the end of the house. The air held a scent of lemon, some kind of household spray or disinfectant.

Feeling like she was trespassing, despite Troy having invited her in, she made her way towards the sound, pausing as she passed a cluster of pictures in frames along the hall wall. More photographs. Troy or Nadine appeared in most of them: in some together; in others with family members, she guessed.

She spotted another picture from one of her launches: again she stood with Nadine, the woman proudly holding a signed book. She wavered for a moment, feeling uncomfortable. The woman barely knew Amy, yet had photographs of her in the house. It wasn’t right.

Get Boaz. Get out.

She took another step forward, her gaze drawn towards an open door. The room had the curtains drawn and the light on. Amy could see more pictures and, although her brain told her not to, curiosity had her stepping inside.

It was filled with more photographs, some on shelves, others hung on the wall. Most appeared to be family shots, but among them she spotted a couple more pictures taken at her launches. It was as if Nadine had deluded herself into thinking they were friends.

One frame hung empty, the glass cracked.

Amy stared at it for a moment before finding her eyes drawn to the bureau, to the damaged photograph lying on the desktop. Again it was of her with Nadine, except someone had tried to erase her image with a red marker pen.

What the hell is this?

Her mouth was dry. Something tickled at the little ball of unease knotting in her belly.

Fear.

She took a shaky step back, wanting to get out of the house, and now.

A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. Swinging around, she found herself staring into cool eyes. Scarlet lips curved as Nadine blocked the doorway.

‘Well hello, Amy.’

18

Jake got the call from Paul Shinnick early afternoon. He had left the doctor a message on his cell that morning, knowing he was unlikely to be working on a Saturday but hoping he could schedule an appointment for Amy the following week.

As luck would have it, Shinnick had finished a round of golf and was stopping by his office on the way home to write up a couple of files. If Amy could make it over at short notice he would spare her an hour late afternoon. Jake thanked him, hung up and called Amy’s cell.

It rang continuously.

He tried Boaz, irritated when it went straight to voicemail.

‘Problem?’ Rebecca questioned.

‘No answer from Amy or Boaz.’

‘Perhaps they went out.’

‘Boaz knows to keep his phone with him, and on.’

At least Jake hoped he did. The officer was an idiot, but he wanted to give him a little credit. It bothered him he couldn’t get an answer.

‘Maybe he’s in the john,’ Hickok suggested. ‘Give him five minutes and try again.’