Pretty Little Wife(44)

“One day a man comes in with a gun. He’s not our client. He’s our client’s brother, and he’s heard the speech, but the police were closing in and he couldn’t hide the weapon his brother used to kill his wife for fear of being exposed.”

“He sounds lovely.”

Tobias flashed a smile. “You don’t always get to pick who you defend.”

She didn’t think that was true in a private firm, but she let it go. “So, he brought it in to you . . . and?”

“Lila left the room and called the police.” His arms fell to his sides, and he smiled. “Cost us our case. The client and his brother had to plead. They tried to sue us, but Lila had followed the rules.”

He acted like he’d shared some big morality lesson with her. “I’m not clear on the point of this story.”

“A lot of other attorneys would have reminded the person about their earlier speech and made a big deal of going to the bathroom or taking a call, giving the person the chance to fix their mess.”

Lawyers. “I don’t know how you do what you do.”

“Criminal defense is more interesting than probate work. Trust me.” He waved a hand as if to dismiss the moment of amusement in his voice. “But my point is that you’re dealing with the same Lila. She follows the rules. She does not flinch.”

That last part they agreed on . . . so far. But Ginny believed everyone had a flinching point. “Is that really the moral of your story?”

“You think it says something else about her?”

“Maybe she doesn’t like men who break the law. Or maybe she likes being in control. Or, like me, she hates when people don’t listen to her.” Ginny understood all of those. She also thought they fit Lila, either due to her father or in spite of him.

“Like I said, doesn’t flinch.” He pointed to the street. “And here she is.”

Lila turned into the driveway in the big SUV rental. She didn’t look surprised or scared. She didn’t look like a woman who was worried about her husband either. No, her blank expression didn’t give away much at all.

“Where have you been?” Ginny asked before Lila got to the porch.

“Are you my babysitter now?”

“Lila,” Tobias said, the warning obvious.

“Fine.” Lila rolled her eyes. “I needed a drive to clear my head.”

“From what?”

“Her husband is missing,” Tobias said in a dry tone.

“Right. That reminds me.” Ginny reached into her inside jacket pocket and pulled out the official document. “This is a search warrant. In about a minute, a whole lot of forensic types will descend on your house and start looking around. Anything you want to tell me first?”

Tobias swore under his breath. “Interesting how you saved that bit of information to spring now and didn’t tell me while we were waiting for her to come home.”

Ginny couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t flinch either.”





Chapter Twenty-Eight


THE NEXT MORNING ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE GATHERED AT the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Members of the sheriff’s office and a few police from some of the smaller communities in the area circled before handing out instructions. Two local television stations sent camera crews out.

Ginny shut her car door and walked through the packed parking lot, searching for Pete. He came bounding away from the crowd and headed for her. “Looks like we got some extra law enforcement help. I heard the Ithaca Police Department is sending a few officers as well.”

“They volunteered, and Charles said we couldn’t say no.” Ginny didn’t agree, but whatever.

Pete watched Charles pick up a megaphone. “But when did he give the okay for a public search?”

“He decided it was a win-win. Get the public looking and talking and make it clear the case is a priority.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “You’d never know he’s about a year out from the next election.”

“He’s always running. Pleasing people is nonstop.” It was a requirement of the job, which was part of the reason Ginny did not want that desk. “He’s also getting some pressure. Brent’s been calling in and getting the press to ask questions.”

“Yeah, he stopped by the office twice yesterday.”

“He’s panicked that Aaron is hurt somewhere and we’re not looking for him.” Little did Brent know they’d been poking into his background. The man had significant debt, but unless Aaron promised to give him money, that debt likely wasn’t relevant to the disappearance.

Pete looked out over the trees and toward the lake. “We’ve driven all over this area looking for Aaron’s car.”

“The hope is to find a body, not a car.” Ginny scanned the crowd. She recognized some faces of teachers who had been interviewed. A few other from business owners of places that either Aaron or Lila frequented. A bunch of kids, likely his students or from his team, showed up as well. She counted only one obvious absence. “I don’t see Lila.”

“Unless I missed her, she’s not here.” He snorted. “Big surprise.”

For Ginny, it was. Lila didn’t make mistakes, and missing this event and the chance to cry on camera counted as a misstep. “That’s going to cause problems for her.”