Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(76)

Hayley shook her head and listened.

“Some days I find myself babying him, doing every little thing for him, but on the other days I do my best to practice tough love. The physical therapists told me to let him do things. They want him to keep his muscles strong. The joints need to stay limber, and they want Magnus to keep active. So when I insist he do things for himself, we fight.”

“I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.”

With nothing else to say, they both exited the car.

The house looked well kept, the trees trimmed and the walkway swept. The grass was weed-free and newly mowed.

“Here we go,” Hayley said, then knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” The woman answered immediately, as though she’d been waiting for them right on the other side of the door.

“My name is Hayley. It’s very important that we talk to Mr. Chalkor.”

“Go away.”

“If you don’t talk to us, we’ll have no choice but to make a call and get the police involved.”

The door inched open. “What did he do now?”

She was heavyset. Blonde. Deep grooves made from her permanent frown were plastered across her face.

“Is he inside?” Hayley asked.

“No, but I’m his wife. Tell me what’s going on.”

“A friend of ours is missing. She drives a new Ford Escape and—”

“The girl who’s been parked across the street off and on for two weeks taking pictures?”

“That would be her.”

“I have no idea where your friend is.”

Jessica flashed her badge. “FBI.”

“Shit.”

“I guess that means you know something?”

The woman looked down and away and locked her arms across her stomach. Then she released a sharp, tense breath through her nose and looked up at Jessica. “I just know that he was gone for most of the day yesterday,” she said in a low voice. “He needed to get some tools from the warehouse. I also know I haven’t seen the girl in the past few days.”

“Does he work at a warehouse?”

“Oh, no. The warehouse is a run-down building that we invested every penny into when we were first married. If he had sold it when I told him, too, we’d be living the good life about now.”

“Could you give us the address?”

She looked suddenly pensive. “You don’t seriously think my husband would have anything to do with your missing friend, do you?”

“Why don’t you give us the address,” Jessica said, “and let us check it out.”

“What if I refuse?”

“We’ll be forced to call for backup and they’ll haul your ass down to the station for further questioning,” Hayley told her. “It’s up to you.”

Hayley also knew she could do another Internet search and find out any and all properties the Chalkors had ever owned, but that would take precious time they didn’t have.

“It’s 11500 Sunco Drive, Rancho Cordova.”

“Do you have a key to the place?”

“My husband is the only one with a key, but he’s not home.”

“When will he be back?”

The woman sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine.”





CHAPTER 55

Ever since being warned that almost every member of the Ambassador Club had died in some sort of bizarre manner, Chelsea Webster had been unable to eat, sleep, or do much of anything at all . . . except stare out the window, jump at every sound, and pour herself another shot of Jack Daniel’s. With a trembling hand, she brought the glass to her lips, took a sip, winced, then downed the rest in one swallow.

That’s why she’d left her boyfriend a note at their apartment in Orangevale and then had driven out of town. She was scared, and she didn’t want to put him in any danger. She was staying in a Motel 6 off of I-80 in Auburn. Where else would she go?

Certainly not to her family. Most of them had disowned her when she was only seventeen after she’d kicked her grandmother in the shin, cutting through skin and hitting bone, causing swelling in Grandma’s leg that she’d heard from a cousin still bothered her to this day. Not that that was the only awful thing she’d done. It had just been the final straw.

Chelsea didn’t know why she’d been such an angry teenager. Looking back, it didn’t make much sense. She’d been spoiled since birth. But lots of kids in the world were spoiled and somehow they turned out all right.

Maybe if her parents had disciplined her every once in a while, given her chores, things would have turned out differently. When she used to get angry with her mother, she would dump the contents of her mother’s purse onto the floor and then take cash and credit cards. Her mother never stopped her.

She poured herself another glass, swallowed the contents in one gulp.

To this day, she didn’t like waiting in lines, had zero patience, and did not like to share. The world hadn’t made any sense at all until she’d met Adam. He was the most caring, patient, understanding individual she’d ever met. He loved her for who she was, and yet he didn’t take her shit, either. He stood up to her. She’d never had anyone do that before.

It sounded corny, but it was the truth: love had opened her eyes to so many things—the good and the bad, although the bad all had to do with her past. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to shake all the nasty things she’d done back in high school.