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She tried to open the door, but it was locked.
“Viv?” she said louder. “There’s a weird guy at the door.”
Rae started knocking again, and the bedroom door cracked open. Viv’s face poked out, and she was done up in full makeup, her dark hair swooped up into the 1940s style she once said was called victory rolls. She seemed fully annoyed.
“Did you say there’s someone at the door? A guy?”
“Yeah,” Rae said, her voice growing smaller. “He has ... a ball thing in his mouth. Like it’s strapped onto him.”
Viv’s face fell as she rolled her eyes. “Oh, fuck it all!”
She opened the door, revealing a mostly darkened room, except for a red light positioned to shine on her bed, which was in front of a large computer monitor. Rae could see a man’s confused face on the computer screen, his nakedness apparent even from this far away.
Then she noticed how Viv was dressed: a red corset cinched her already tiny waist, and she wore thigh-high fishnet pantyhose secured with a garter belt.
Viv turned toward the computer screen and said, “Give me a minute, Shawn.”
Rae felt like her tongue had enlarged by a hundred because she couldn’t get any words out.
“I didn’t mean for you to find out this way, hon,” Viv said to Rae as she rushed past.
She watched Viv open the front door wide, apparently not caring one bit about being scantily dressed. Upon seeing her, the man fell tohis knees, murmuring something Rae couldn’t understand because of the ball in his mouth.
“I told you to stop coming to my home, Dean. We broke up—get over it!”
Viv slammed the door and locked it. She slowly turned around to face Rae, a sheepish smile on her face.
“And that, hon, is why you never date a client.”
CHAPTER 8
RAE
2024
All weekend, Rae couldn’t focus on anything. When Lily had asked if they could watch a movie together, a request so rare Rae felt like she’d seen a white owl fly past, she’d latched on to the opportunity. But as they sat hip to hip on the couch under their fluffiest throw blanket watchingYou’ve Got Mail, Rae could only think about Detective Clearwater’s visit.
She didn’t know why he was so focused on her with his investigation. And she wondered what rumors he had heard about her and who was spreading them. She thoroughly vetted all her clients, and she knew none were on the police force.
“Mom?”
Rae jumped a little, and Lily stared at her with concern.
“Did you just stroke out?” Lily said. “I asked you why the internet used to make that crazy shrieking sound like in the movie, and it was like your brain shut off.”
Lily felt Rae’s forehead, and she gently pushed her daughter’s hand away.
“I’m not sick, silly. I’m tired.”
Lily leaned into her and rested her head on Rae’s shoulder. “Yeah, Angel told me you had a lot of clients this week when she took you home last night. She said that’s why you were stressed out and drank too much. I mean, as much as I find drunk Mommy amusing, I don’t want you to be stressing like that.”
Rae draped her arm around Lily, pulling her closer. “Don’t worry, honey. I didn’t mean to drink that much—I’m just a lightweight. And I was only stressed because an order of essential oils didn’t come in.”
Lily looked dubious as she removed Rae’s delicate silver watch and held it to her ear, something she often did when she was anxious, and Rae felt awful about lying to her.
She wished she could tell her daughter the truth about her work and the investigation of her missing client and about Lily’s father and how Rae had no choice but to do the horrible things she had done to ensure that her baby girl lived. She couldn’t. She knew Lily, knew her curious mind would make her search for her father. And when she discovered the truth? What then?
It was better to buoy her with lies than drown her in a truth that would crush her.
