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Shelby smiled as she separated the folders in front of her into neat stacks but didn’t open any of them. “No worries. It comes with the job.”
True, but even Elisa could admit she’d called sounding breathless, almost panting, as the winding sensation inside her pulled taut. “Yeah, but—”
“Elisa, stop apologizing.”
That’s all she did these days and was getting pretty good at it. “Okay.”
Shelby balanced her elbows on the edge of the table,managing to look both serene and in control. “You’re allowed to take up my time. In fact, you get to take up time and space, and screw anyone who thinks otherwise.”
Something about the way she said the words flicked a switch in Elisa. She tried so hard lately not to attract attention or take up too much room. She not only went along, she ran ahead of issues and smoothed out problems for everyone else. All while ignoring her own needs.
It was an odd time for a wake-up call, but Shelby’s straightforward comment lingered. Elisa silently promised to think it all through—what it meant and how she could take back space for her concerns and her life. But later. Now was, as always these days, connected to Josh.
“Did something happen?” Shelby asked.
Unexpected laughter bubbled up inside of Elisa. The first thought in her head sounded so wrong and not even a little amusing, but she said it anyway. “Are you asking if I found another one of Josh’s secret wives?”
“That’s actually my job, and no. Two wives. One missing fiancée.” Shelby lifted two, then three, fingers. “A few girlfriends.”
“Meredith Grange.” That woman was one of the reasons Elisa showed up today. Not the only, but a big part. Meredith registered as such a huge question mark. Her sudden presence in their lives didn’t make any sense. Her lies were obvious. And the possibility that she’d been letting herself into their house... horrifying no matter the reason behind it.
Shelby shifted a folder to the side and started making noteson a lined yellow legal-size pad. “I did come across that name while doing some initial checks on Josh.”
“Where?” When Elisa initially struck the deal with Shelby for her services, she’d mentioned Lauren, Candace, and Abby. She’d sent over some notes on each and listed her concerns. She talked about Rachel but at the time didn’t know much more than her name... still didn’t.
She’d left Meredith off the list because explaining about her meant opening the door to an accusation of paranoia. Elisa knew what she saw and what Meredith had claimed, but the fear of being branded out of her mind made her hold back from spilling more about the mysterious redhead. Good thing, too, since Meredith proved she intended to pretend the school incident never happened.
“One of Josh’s former coworkers mentioned her,” Shelby said.
Elisa relaxed into her seat. Up until that moment she hadn’t realized she’d tensed up, trapping a bunch of pent-up energy inside. “She told me they were dating. I ran into her with Harris and she denied everything. Made it sound like I was making up her relationship with Josh and our conversation about it.”
Shelby whistled. “That’s a lot. Makes me wonder why she thinks she needs to lie.”
The automatic acceptance that what she said was true and accurate stunned Elisa for a second. She carefully crafted what she said and how she said it to keep from causing explosions or being questioned. Having someone take what shesaid at face value was a nice reminder of how things used to be back when Harris didn’t question her. When she didn’t question her own mind.
“All I know so far is that she works in high-end condo sales in and around Philadelphia, or she did,” Shelby said. “And I can tell from the frown that you were hoping for a different answer.”
“It’s just...” The stuff with the open window and the perfume. Elisa had no idea how to talk about any of that and still sound rational. “We’ve had these house break-ins and now Josh’s current girlfriend is saying... I’m not sure what she’s saying, exactly. She just sounded like being with Josh was getting uncomfortable.”
Shelby sat up a little straighter. “Are these things related?”
“I have no idea.”
“I went to Rachel’s motel this morning. They didn’t have any license or personal information on her, and she’s checked out. The woman at the desk also talked about another woman who came and offered money for information.”
Elisa could admit that wasn’t her finest covert work. “Me.”
“You, and I will skip the lecture about how dangerous that was. But this woman had an outstanding deal with Rachel that if anyone asked about her, the woman would get paid two hundred dollars to let Rachel know.”
“That’s quite a moneymaking scheme.”
“Everybody has to make a living.” Shelby made some notes. “Do you think Rachel is going to leave Josh?”
“Would he let her?” History suggested not.
“About that.” Shelby picked up another folder and scannedthe note clipped to the outside. “The evidence does support Candace’s death being an accident.”
The words hit Elisa like a body blow. The wind ran right out of her. That resolution wasn’t what Elisa expected to hear. Not after their initial meeting. “You said her family didn’t agree with the listed cause of death.”
