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Always?
How often did Leo have playdates with other children? Were they held at the other child’s house or here at home?
What if a delivery was made? Did Bea open the door to pick up packages left on the doorstep? Had she ever let someone in the house that she didn’t know — a contractor or utility repair person or anyone else of that nature?
What about when she went home? Where did she keep her keys to the Perez house? Did she have a home security system of her own? Did she have a garage where she kept her car at night or did she park in the driveway or on the street?
The questions went on and on, and Logan made special notes about one-time additions to Leo’s schedule in the coming weeks, including an end-of-year field trip to the Shedd Aquarium.
Gabriella tried to look busy tidying the kitchen, but Bea kept it so neat she ended up wiping the same counter spots fifty times over.
“Thank you,” Logan finally said. “I think that’s all for now.”
Bea hesitated. “Anything I should know?” She was all business, like a patient asking her doctor for a straight-up prognosis.
“I don’t want you to be scared…” Logan started.
“Please!” Bea laughed. “It’ll take a lot more than a bunch of criminals to scare me. I just want to know what I’m dealing with.”
Logan smiled and an invisible fist tightened around Gabriella’s heart. Logan had always been so serious. When he did smile, it was like watching the clouds part to reveal a radiant beam of sunshine.
It completely transformed his face. Once upon a time, she’d lived for that transformation.
“Just stay alert,” Logan said. “We might make some changes to your routine with Leo once we get a handle on the situation, but for now, maybe hold off on the playdates. We want to keep Leo’s routine as close to normal as possible, but if there are places where we can eliminate risk without him feeling the impact, we should do it.”
Gabriella swallowed. Logan was good at this, made for this — calm and reassuring while being totally straight, thinking about Leo’s needs, not just his physical safety, but his need for stability and routine.
Bea nodded. “You tell me what to do to keep Leo and Gabriella safe, and I’ll do it.”
“I have no doubt,” Logan said.
Bea gathered her things and said goodbye to Leo, then left with a kiss on Gabriella’s cheek.
“Wow,” Logan said when she was gone. “Where’d you find her?”
“She’s great, isn’t she?” Gabriella said, pouring herself a glass of iced tea. “She literally holds us together.”
“I can see that,” Logan said.
“Is it my turn?” Gabriella asked.
“You haven’t eaten,” Logan said. “Unless you ate before I got here?”
She shook her head, not at all surprised that he’d noticed something so mundane. “I only got home about a half hour before you got here.”
She’d barely had time to explain their soon-to-arrive guest to Leo and change into jeans and a fresh blouse.
“Why don’t you make a plate then.” There was nothing solicitous in his suggestion, nothing to indicate he was concerned about her. Just professional courtesy. She was a job now. Nothing more. “You can eat while we talk.”
She wasn’t really hungry, but she did as he suggested, more to keep her hands busy than anything else. They’d been alone in her office, but now he was in her home, sitting at her kitchen. He’d met her son, had seen her life up close and personal.
It was intimate in a way that made her self-conscious and even more aware of the fact that he wasn’t exactly happy to see her, that he didn’t want to be here.
“Why did you come?” The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it.
“You asked for our help,” Logan said.
“But you could have sent anyone.”
