Page 136 of Trust No One

“But what if I’m bad?”

“You’ll never be that bad.”

She was silent for a moment. “I want to go home.”

I’d already breached the crime scene tape. I didn’t have any qualms about returning, but I didn’t know how the crime scene debris would affect Molly. “It needs to be cleaned first.”

“It always needs to be cleaned.”

“I can’t really explain everything right now, Molly. But trust me. When I can get a crew in there and clean it up, I’ll take you home. Deal?”

“Okay.” She bit into the bagel. “Can I have more juice?”

The front bell rang, echoing in the house. Great. Ken was back. He knew walking into my house stretched boundaries. He knew how to press it right up to deniable plausibility.

Ready to threaten police action, I strode toward the door. If Ken truly loved anything, it was his job and the respect of his superiors. I’d threatened once to tell his bosses about his antics, and that had caused him to back off. I’d still play that card.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Judson. Color warmed my cheeks as I thought about him crossing paths with Ken. He had to be wondering if my ex and I were rekindling the fire.

“Hey, what brings you out here?” I asked.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I moved aside. As he stepped into the entryway, the space shrank a little.

“How’s Molly?”

“Eating a bagel in the kitchen.”

“You bought food?”

“No. Ken dropped by. He brought them.”

A frown layered on a scowl. “Ken.”

“Came right in, unannounced. He let himself in, came upstairs, and found Molly and me napping.”

“If he does that again, call me.”

“I thought about it. He said he was trying to help.”

Judson’s jaw flexed. “Is Molly okay?”

“She’s fine, considering. And I’m having all the locks on the house changed.”

“I know a guy if you need a recommendation.”

“That would be great.”

He pulled out his phone and typed, and a second later mine dinged. “Can I talk to Molly?”

“About?”

“Trying to get a general sense of how it was in her house.”

“Sure. Just go easy. She’s still kind of in shock, I think.”

“I’ll be careful.”