Page 99

“Fair enough, unless you forget about the drive here—”

Kenton shrugged and then looked at Alessandra. “So I may have been slightly distracted.”

He had no retort for that.

Sitting back, Lawrence thought back to the night of the break-in, ignoring a conversation between a husband and wife across the pool. Even as old as he was, sometimes he had to concentrate to block out noises outside of the ones he wished to hear.

It had happened quickly, but Lawrence wasn’t surprised to learn that the register hadn’t been touched. It was still possible he just hadn’t gotten around to opening it yet.

The question was, if not a robbery, then what?

His phone buzzed on the ground beneath his chair, breaking his reverie. Picking it up, he let out a sigh of relief.

“What is it?” Alessandra asked.

Toni’s eyes flew open. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he said, preparing to text back. “Just the opposite. It’s Laria. She said she’s at my house and wants to know where I am.” He typed back a quick reply and raised his head to see all three of them staring at him.

“At your house?” Kenton asked. “In Stone Haven?”

“No, at Bowden,” Lawrence quipped.

To which he got a glare in return.

“That’s great news,” said Toni. “So she’s safe. I can’t wait to see her.”

“Yep,” he agreed. “And even better . . . she’s not alone.”