At the Quiet Edge(2)

He didn’t laugh as he took a business card from his pocket and handed it over. He didn’t even offer the smile she’d worked so hard for. “The world can be a dangerous place on your own, ma’am.”

“Oh boy, I know.”

He finally met her eyes again, studying her until she had to force herself not to squirm. His sharp jaw ticked once, then twice before he finally nodded. “I’ll be sure to drive out more often now that I know you and your boy are here. Call me if you see anything.”

Oh, damn it. She’d only been trying to seem harmless, not helpless. But she’d taken her acting too far.

“Thank you, but we’re really fine. Like I said, it’s quiet!”

He started to turn away, then changed his mind, his shoulders softening a little. “I know Herriman seems safe and quaint, but there are dangerous people in every community.”

A moment of new worry for Everett broke through the red buzz of Lily’s fear. “Was this more than a tip about a car?”

At long last, Detective Mendelson offered a smile, and his dimples were just as charming as she’d imagined. “Just keep your eyes open, since you’re alone out here at night. Do you have cameras pointing outward? We could review the footage together.”

“The cameras are focused on the gates and the buildings, but I’ll be sure to take a look. The company is pretty strict about customer privacy. We’re part of a big chain, and you know how that goes.” She rolled her eyes as if she considered their rules a burden, but in this case it was a blessing.

“Got it.” He glanced around one last time, then pointed at her hand. “You’ve got my card. Get in touch anytime. I mean it.”

For a brief second she got the impression he might be flirting, but maybe that was why he kept the dimples under wraps. He was pretty cute, and certainly not out of her age range for dating. He looked maybe forty-five? Forty-six?

As if she could risk a cop hanging around.

As if it mattered when she hadn’t dated since college.

She knew thirty-two wasn’t old, but good God, she felt old. Tired of all these years dangling from a cliff’s edge. She couldn’t add new risks to her world. She had to fight her own impulsiveness for the sake of her son. If she drew police attention back into her life . . . If she lost her job . . .

Lily raised her hand in a small wave as the detective took a backward step toward the sedan he’d parked outside the gate. He hadn’t pulled in to one of the visitor spots. Cop instincts, maybe, wanting to leave himself a quick exit in case of an emergency. She admired the watchfulness. She could understand it.

Staring hard until he slipped back into his car, Lily managed another friendly wave of appreciation as he shut the door behind him. He was done. He was leaving. She was safe.

Detective Mendelson had barely made the turn out of the entrance when Sharon Hassan’s foot hit the street. She stepped off the curb to hurry across the road toward Lily.

“Is anything wrong?” she called with far too much excitement in her voice.

“No, nothing.”

“Is Everett okay?”

Lily’s irritation faded a little at the concern for her son.

“Everything is fine! The cops were just checking on that car you saw hanging around last night.”

“Me?” Panting from her near jog to get a little gossip, Sharon pressed a hand to her chest. “No, I didn’t call. Was there a robbery? A break-in?”

Lily frowned at that surprise. “Nothing like that. Just a suspicious car, maybe.”

“Wasn’t that Detective Mendelson? There must be something going on if they sent an actual detective.”

Lily watched as his car disappeared up the road, wondering if she’d been too quick to focus on her own worries. She’d assumed Sharon had been in her shop for a late appointment and had seen the delivery dropped off for Lily after dark. And that definitely would have looked suspicious. But if it wasn’t that?

A little icy fear trickled along her nerves. Were her old ghosts back to haunt her? Had Mendelson only been testing the waters?

She dragged a sleeve over her forehead to wipe off the nervous sweat. “He didn’t offer any specifics. Just asked if I’d seen anything out of the ordinary. A car, people, he wasn’t really clear.”

“Well, I’ll keep my eye out, and I’ll remind Nour to keep the alarm set when I’m not around. She always forgets, and she wears those dang sound mufflers when she’s using power tools. Someone could walk right in and steal the whole place right from under us, and she’d look up an hour later to an empty shop.”

Lily suspected Sharon was actually right about that. Nour was nothing like her wife. She kept her head down and her eyes focused on upholstery and woodworking, and she cared nothing for gossip. Then again, Sharon’s penchant for loose talk fit in perfectly with her front room job of going over fabrics with interior designers and their clients. She always had local stories to pass along, even if Lily had no idea who most of the people were.

Lily had been a part of the community when she’d first moved here, but trying to keep up with cleaning a house, cooking meals, and entertaining a toddler had consumed her free time. The only people she’d known had been other moms with young children.

And her husband’s clients, of course, but they made a point of not knowing her now.