At the Quiet Edge(48)

He watched silently as she crossed her arms over her chest to hide her shaking hands. “It’s just me and my little boy out here, and this is a fairly quiet business. If anything weird happened or anyone was hurt on my property, I’d certainly notice it. I’m always on guard, that’s part of my job.” When he didn’t respond right away, she added, “We’re not even open after dark. The gate can’t be accessed. That’s it. I can’t tell you anything more than that.”

“And you checked the surveillance?”

“I did. There’s nothing there.” Another truth, but only because she’d erased a few minutes. “She was seen nearby?” Lily knew she shouldn’t have asked, but she felt alarmed at that. What did that mean? Someone had seen her dropped off at Lily’s front door? “I don’t even know where anyone would go out here.”

Detective Mendelson ignored her, his head now cocked to peer at her expression. “When was the last time you saw Jones Arthur?”

“I just told you. Almost seven years ago.”

“Surely he’s been in touch. A pretty wife. A big, strong son.”

“Ex-wife,” she growled, hoping he would assume the shake in her voice was just anger. “And no.”

“Very strange,” he murmured, “considering.”

Lily told herself not to ask. She ground her teeth together. Squeezed her fists. Still, a tight, hoarse “Why?” escaped her control.

“Because five days ago, someone saw a prowler in their backyard in the middle of the night. Can you guess where?”

She held up her hands in an impatient shrug.

“Your old house, Ms. Brown.”

She had no idea what he was implying, but he kept talking, and each word was a pinprick of ice against her skin.

“The neighbor’s dog wouldn’t stop barking, and when the owner of your old house turned on the porch light, he saw someone crouched down near the backyard shed. Digging.”

Digging? She frowned hard, her pulse pattering faster, though she wasn’t sure why. “Okay, that is strange.”

“Isn’t it? The officer who responded found a big ol’ hole dug in the ground, twelve inches wide, six inches deep. Why would a prowler dig a hole in a stranger’s backyard?”

She started to shake her head, but it hit her then. What it must mean. The cops had found a bundle of ten thousand in cash hidden in their home. Jones must have buried more in the yard. And he’d come back for it. He’d come back here.

“Yeah,” Mendelson drawled. “I think you can probably take a guess. After I met you, and I looked you up, I started putting the pieces together, and . . . Well, you can see why I was a little curious what might be making you so nervous out here.”

She nodded again. And again. The memory of her ex-husband’s voice scraped through her brain, telling her he wanted his son. Calling and hoping to reach him. Why now? He’d called before too, even a month ago, but not like this. Was it truly possible he was in Herriman?

No. If he had been, he was long gone with his money now.

“I have nothing to do with Jones,” she explained, her words distant in her own ears. “I divorced him. He left us with nothing but heartache. I abandoned his name. He’s had no contact with his son.”

“Hmm.”

“Detective Mendelson, I’m still trying to claw my way back up from the hole he left us in. If he is here, and I have no idea if he is, he’s not welcome near my property or near my child.”

As if her words had summoned Everett, headlights appeared on the road, tiny, then small, then growing larger, until she could make out Barbara Woodbridge’s car.

Shit. A pain lanced through Lily’s chest. She didn’t want this for Everett, to pull up with his new friend and discover his mom being questioned by a cop. Mendelson had turned off his red and blue lights, thank God, but he could make it look bad if he wanted to. And Everett had just had those awful dreams.

Mendelson smiled in a deliberate way, and a new fear blossomed in Lily’s heart and quickly took over all the others. What if he mentioned Jones to Everett?

Her feet were moving before she could think, and suddenly she was at the curb, flagging down Barbara so she could open the back door and usher Everett out. “Thank you so much for taking the kids! Sorry to be rushed, there’s a security thing with one of the customers.” She waved her hand toward Mendelson, who stared hard at her.

“Oh my gosh, no worries. We had a great time. Thank you for having Josephine over so often!”

Lily got her arm around Everett’s shoulders and leaned close as she shut the door. “Just go straight in. No stopping, all right?”

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Everything’s fine. Straight inside, okay?”

She subtly pushed him toward the gate, offered Barbara a wave and a wildly fake grin, then hurried back toward Mendelson, putting her body between the detective and her child.

Barbara pulled away, and Lily could hear Everett’s footsteps behind her, moving far more slowly than she wanted. She didn’t dare look at him, as if Mendelson would somehow notice him only if Lily drew his attention.

Her caution didn’t pay off. “How are you doing, Everett?” Mendelson called.

Her son’s footsteps didn’t stop, thank God. The pedestrian gate rattled loudly before banging shut. The security lights gradually glowed to life above her, casting them into a strange and seamy vignette.