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He realized he’d made some kind of frustrated sound. “Never mind.”
“We’re not going to make it back in time to go to the school, are we?” Ravinia asked, peering out at the traffic.
“Unlikely.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Go home. Get something to eat. Have a beer . . . well, I will. Make some calls that I’ve put off.”
“I want to meet that older woman at the apartments. Brightside.”
“Tomorrow,” he told her firmly. The way he’d let Ravinia take over his life needed to be controlled.
Her expression clouded. “Maybe I should go by myself.”
“Be my guest.”
If he sounded snappy, he didn’t care. He felt snappy. Though he was glad he didn’t have to follow Kimberley Cochran around any longer, it felt like he’d tangled himself up in Ravinia Rutledge’s affairs for no goddamn good reason.
“I’ve helped you. It’s your turn,” she stated stubbornly.
He cut her off. “Symbiosis. I know. But the way I see it, you want to be a part of this investigation, and you’re angling for some kind of long-term position that’s not there. Understand? You’re not a partner of mine. You’re a kid, and as soon as we find your cousin or give up, we’re going our separate ways.”
“Testy,” she said, affronted. “We are going to find her.”
“Then it better be damn soon,” he growled, hitting his brakes and the horn at the same time as a black Mazda suddenly jigged in front of him, narrowly missing his bumper.
“Pain in the ass,” Ravinia said.
“Amen.”
Elizabeth’s cell sounded the default ringtone as she dropped her purse on the kitchen counter, kicked off her heels, and rubbed her right insole. She’d dead-bolted the front door behind her as soon as she’d entered the house. The sensation that someone was following her hadn’t abated once she’d finished work and driven home. She planned to pick up Chloe from preschool by three thirty, but had wanted a moment to unwind and assess first.
Sweeping up the phone, she checked the number. Not one she knew, so she let it go to voice mail. She poured herself a glass of water and drank half of it down, staring through the window above the sink to the small patio beyond. It was a nice house, but she wouldn’t miss it. Chloe, though, had known no other home and it would be one more huge life change in a series of huge life changes.
Maybe she could hang on to it. If she actually sold Mazie’s house, the commission would be enough to keep her afloat awhile. And if the Sorensons would ever settle on a property . . . or any of Mazie’s clients who’d called her and sworn they wanted Elizabeth and had decided to sell . . .
Her cell beeped, alerting her to a voice mail. Curious, she clicked on the number.
“Hello, Elizabeth. It’s Gil Dyne. I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner tonight? Give me a call at this number and let me know. I’d love to see you again.”
“No,” she said to the empty room, hanging up.
She was in the process of putting on her coat before heading to the preschool—rain was in the forecast again—when her doorbell rang, startling her. She actually jumped at the sound, her heart thrumming. “Geez, Louise,” she muttered, annoyed, then walked to the door and peered through the peephole.
Detective Thronson stood on her doorstep, head bent against the rain, her short gray hair glistening with moisture.
Elizabeth immediately froze. Her heart rate had slowed to normal, but it leaped in fear again. Stop it, she warned herself. Stop it.
She opened the door.
The detective gave her a fleeting smile. “I didn’t hear from you, so I thought I’d just stop by.”
Elizabeth looked past her, that sense of someone, or something, watching her washing over her again. A car drove past, a man at the wheel, but he didn’t look her way. “Yes, uh, I’ve been busy. Come in.”
She led the detective into the family room, then stood by the counter that separated the kitchen, leaning a hand on it for support. A lash of rain battered the sliding glass door.
“You’d never know it was Southern California,” Thronson observed. Her barrel body was wrapped in a navy blue jacket. If she wore a gun, it was probably beneath that coat because it didn’t appear to be at her hip or back.
