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“Like what?”
I consider telling him about the townhouse fire, but I’m not sure I can muster the story again. Willa is staring at me, likely curious if I will bring it back up but I think it’s consumed me enough over the last day.
The messages, Lara’s phone call, my past connection to her. All the pieces are scattered around me but none of them match up. “I don’t know. I think that’s the problem.”
“Just before you got here, we saw Lara being interviewed on the news. The two little girls were by her side and looked like they hadn’t slept in days. However, their father wasn’t with them, which seems odd. I wonder if he could be the suspect they have in custody?” Willa questions.
Those unknown messages could easily have been from him.
“He wasn’t with his wife and kids?” Liam asks Willa.
“No, but it could have been a coincidence too.”
“He could be out looking for the baby,” I add.
Liam rubs his hands around the back of his neck. “You know, maybe I can talk to someone at the elementary school and see if there’s any information they could share with me. If one of the Smiths’ children is missing, I would be hard pressed to think the other two aren’t considered to be in danger. Maybe there’s a history within the family that the public isn’t aware of. Yet.”
I wish it could be so easy to just ask someone. “Would there be privacy laws protecting the Smiths within the school system?” Liam releases his hands from the back of his neck, red marks left behind. A question to the wrong person could get him in trouble. “I don’t want you to jeopardize your career for a question.”
“Yes, but there are sometimes perks to living in a small community. Plus, I’m friendly with one of the admins there. Let me see if I can find out some information. I won’t press, but anything more than what we know right now would be helpful.”
“Hales,” Willa says, shaking her head. “Just let him see if he can find anything out. Look at you. After last night, whether the person was Corbin, or whoever…laws have been broken. Now isn’t the time to be worried about following all the rules in life.”
I guess I can’t argue her point. I’ve never gone looking for trouble, but that didn’t stop trouble looking for me.
TWENTY-FOUR
SUNDAY, JUNE 11TH 7:00 PM
Liam left a few hours ago after Willa canceled her shift at the restaurant tonight. Neither of them want to leave me alone, which I appreciate, but I can’t remain a hostage in this apartment either. I have to get to my class tomorrow and I need to study all night, which seems like an impossible feat after hardly sleeping the last two nights.
“How’s the studying?” Willa asks, poking her head around the living room wall to check on me, as she has been doing on the hour every hour.
“Still brutal,” I say, clicking off the web browser on my laptop and going back to my study guide.
“Do you think Liam would be able to come back for a few hours? Jerry just called me because one of the waiters didn’t show up for their shift at five then called out sick an hour later. They’re short staffed at the restaurant. He said he understood if I couldn’t leave you, but?—”
“Please go to work,” I say, dropping my head back against the sofa. “I’m fine. I’m not going anywhere. The door will be locked.”
Willa leans her head against the corner of the wall. “Could you at least ask if he’s free to come over?”
I consider the thought but both she and Liam have already done so much for me today. I don’t feel right asking for more. “I really can’t. He already spent hours over here today. He has work tomorrow and might need to prepare lesson plans or something. I’m just going to be studying all night anyway.”
Willa’s quiet for a long minute then lets out a groan. “I’m going to be checking on you, so promise me you’ll keep your phone next to you.”
I slide my phone closer to my lap so she sees it’s beside me. “I promise.”
Willa rushes around the apartment for the next twenty minutes, trying to get herself ready to leave for her shift. It’s like watching a swinging pendulum, the number of times she walks between the kitchen and her bedroom. She needs to look her best while at work. Even though she and Jerry have been together so long, she still feels the need to keep up with her appearances. If I worked at a restaurant, I would be disheveled, running around in those circles.
With a kiss on the cheek and a toss of her bag over her head to sling across her body, she takes one last look in the mirror next to the small coat closet and grabs hold of the front doorknob. “Secure the door chain when I leave. I won’t be home past eleven thirty since it’s a Monday tomorrow, but I’ll call you when I’m able to cut out of there, so you’ll know when to expect me home.”
“Don’t rush because of me.” I shift my feet that are propped up on the coffee table and spot Willa’s phone on top of the stack of magazines. “Don’t forget your phone.”
“Oh my gosh. Thank you,” she says, turning back toward me. I lunge forward, forgetting about the pains in my neck and grab the phone, instantly regretting my decision to move so fast. I wince and grit my teeth, trying not to let a whine escape as I stand up to hand her the phone.
“Hales! I can get it,” Willa says, rushing toward me. “Please take it easy.”
“I will. I promise.”
