The Wife Stalker(57)

Whose fault was it that she was gone? Piper wanted to ask. If she loved her children so much, she wouldn’t have left them. But of course, she just gave Rebecca a sad smile. “I’m sure he did. I think I’ll go check on him now.”

“Piper . . .”

She stopped and turned back to face Rebecca. “Yes?”

“I know it’s not easy if you’re not used to raising children, especially stepchildren. But you’re doing a good job.”

Piper smiled at Rebecca, though the term stepchildren rubbed at her, bringing an image of Mia to her mind. “Thank you for saying so. I appreciate it.” When she got upstairs and peeked into Stelli’s room, he was sleeping, and Leo was sitting by the bed watching him.

“How is he?” she whispered.

Leo stood and tiptoed out of the room into the hallway. “He’s better. Fever’s gone.”

She put a hand on his arm. “Leo, I feel just awful. Please forgive me. This parenting stuff is new to me.” She nestled closer to Leo, pressing herself against him.

“It’s all right, my love. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”

She tilted her head up and kissed him slowly. “How about we go take a little nap together before dinner?” She put her hand on his fly, pleased to feel him respond.

“That sounds like the perfect idea,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire.



After dinner, she and Leo went upstairs to check on Stelli again, Piper carrying a cup of tea with honey. Leo was about to read him a story, but she asked if she could instead. He’d looked at Leo, who nodded, and Stelli unenthusiastically agreed. Leo leaned down to kiss Stelli on the head.

“Good night, my boy. Love you to the moon and back.”

Stelli grinned up at his father. “Love you more than all the stars.”

Leo withdrew from the room, and Piper took a seat on the edge of the bed and held the tea out for Stelli. “This will help ease your sore throat.”

He took a few sips then made a face.

“Thanks for letting me read you a story. Which one would you like, Stelli?”

He held her gaze a moment, and she had to admit that he was a beautiful child. His normal rambunctiousness had been dampened by the illness, and she realized that this was the first time she’d really had the chance to sit quietly with him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“How about this one?” she said, sliding The Giving Tree from the bookcase next to the bed.

He shook his head. “It’s too sad. That one makes me cry.”

She smiled at him. “Aww. You’re right. It is sad.”

He pointed. “That one.”

“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?”

He nodded. “Mommy was reading it to me.”

She felt her face flush with annoyance, but she kept her expression impassive. “Sure, honey.” She picked up the leather book and flipped to where the bookmark was. “Looks like you left off when Edmund went missing.”

Stelli nodded again. “He didn’t listen. The Witch got him.”

For a minute, Piper wondered if Stelli was trying to tell her something, comparing her to the White Witch, but no, she was being ridiculous. It was just a coincidence.





38

Joanna




One dead husband could be an accident, but two? After reading Ethan Sherwood’s obituary, I had called his parents. Their house sitter informed me that they were visiting their son in Chicago but were scheduled to return the day before Halloween, and I promised to try them again then.

I’d tried reaching Leo, too, but his new legal secretary wouldn’t put me through. I wondered if Missy had been let go because she was too sympathetic to me. I tried to find a home number for Missy, but she was unlisted. I still hadn’t been able to get Leo’s new cell phone number. I even showed up at his office once, but he had instructed security to escort me from the building. So I thought about the only other person I might be able to get on my side—Rebecca. I knew that Piper had probably done her best to turn Rebecca against me, but if there was a chance she’d seen through Piper, too, I had to try. Maybe together, somehow, we could stop her.

Rebecca’s routine rarely varied, and I knew that she did the grocery shopping on Wednesdays and Fridays, hitting Fleishers butcher in Saugatuck last. When I pulled into the parking lot of the shop, I saw her red Honda CRV parked there, but all the other spaces were filled. I anxiously circled the block three times before a black Mercedes finally pulled out of Fleishers’ parking lot and I was able to grab its spot. By that point Rebecca was coming out of the store, two brown paper bags in her hands. I jumped out of my car and walked over to her.

She looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. “Joanna. What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

She looked around nervously, then nodded.

I followed her to her car and waited while she put the bags in the back. She turned to face me. “How are you?” she asked, her eyes kind.

I felt mine fill. “I’m really worried about Stelli and Evie. I’ve found out some things about Piper.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“She was married before. Twice. Both of her husbands died. One fell off a cliff. The other died in a sailing accident along with his daughter while she was with them. The police couldn’t make anything stick, but they definitely suspected foul play.”