You Are Not Alone(66)

“We’ve got a little prezzie for you first,” Jane says as Cassandra extends a heavy box, wrapped with a silver bow. Jane is holding a plain brown shopping bag, which she casually sets down on the floor by the couch, where it’s partially concealed from view.

“It’s a combo gift to celebrate your new job and your new place,” Cassandra says.

Shay looks down at the box. “You guys really didn’t need to bring me anything.”

“Open it!” Jane orders, laughing.

Shay unfurls the bow and removes the box’s lid to reveal a sea-blue leather purse. It’s much more feminine and luxurious than the simple tote she uses.

“Oh my gosh!” Shay stares at it, not even touching it. “It’s gorgeous!”

“Take it out,” Cassandra says. “One of our new clients designed it, so we each got one, too.”

Other than the colors—Jane’s is a dusky rose and Cassandra’s is black—the hobo-style bags are identical.

Shay carefully removes hers from the box. She lifts the strap and hangs it over her shoulder.

The tracker is hidden inside the lining, which was sewn back up expertly.

“It’s perfect with your new look,” Jane says.

“I love it!”

“Let me take a picture to show our client,” Jane says.

Shay smiles awkwardly while Jane lifts her phone and snaps one.

“Now check inside,” Cassandra tells Shay.

She unzips the bag to reveal a sugar-cookie-scented Nest candle, with notes of Tahitian vanilla and bourbon-infused caramel. “Just looking at this makes me hungry!” Shay laughs.

The bag also holds Warby Parker sunglasses, a gauzy floral scarf, and a peachy-pink lip gloss.

“This is too much—” Shay starts to protest.

Cassandra cuts her off. “We have a closet in our office filled with this sort of stuff. A lot of companies send us their products because they want our clients to wear them. So you’re just helping us do a little seasonal cleaning.”

“Promise us you’ll use it all,” Jane says. “Especially the purse. There’s no point in having a beautiful bag just hanging in your closet.”

“Don’t be afraid to carry it all the time,” Cassandra adds. “This is your new everyday purse.”

Shay looks a little overwhelmed—maybe from all the gifts, or maybe from the sisters’ concerted effort to quash any objections she might have to accepting them. “I will. I’ve had that old tote forever, and I’m going to switch everything out today.” She gives them each a hug. “Thank you so much.” Then she takes the candle out of the box and sets it on her kitchen counter. “How about some iced tea?”

“Love some,” Cassandra says. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”

“Of course. It’s right—”

Shay cuts herself off, clearly remembering that it isn’t the sisters’ first visit to the apartment.

As Cassandra opens the door to the tiny bathroom, Shay recovers with a joke: “The other day I dropped my washcloth in there and suddenly I had wall-to-wall carpeting.”

Both sisters laugh as Shay cuts lemon wedges and puts them on the rims of the tall, matching glasses, along with little sprigs of mint. She’s also set out a cluster of dewy red grapes in a little bowl, next to another of almonds.

Cassandra closes the door on that image. She runs the water in the sink to cover the sounds of her movements as she eases open the medicine cabinet. Just as she suspected, the bottle of Ambien that the sisters noticed while they were surveilling Shay in Valerie’s apartment sits on one of the shelves. Cassandra twists open the childproof cap; the bottle is almost completely full. She removes four capsules and slips them into the pocket of her jeans.

Her task is complete, but she takes a moment to scan the other items in the medicine cabinet: Tom’s peppermint toothpaste, contact lens solution, and the usual toiletries. She pulls open the door to the tiny shower: nothing of interest. She bends down and opens the small cabinet beneath the sink. It’s filled with cleaning supplies, extra toilet paper, and Kleenex. She’s about to close it when something catches her eye. It looks like the edge of a large manila mailer.

Jane is talking loudly, relaying a story about a terrible date she’d been on the previous night. “The guy asked zero questions about me, but I learned all about his fancy clients and first-class trip to Istanbul. It’s so hard to find a good one, isn’t it?” Her voice provides cover for Cassandra’s movements.

Cassandra’s hand closes around the manila envelope. She unclasps the metal fastener and peeks inside, sucking in a sharp breath when she spots the stained blue towel.

She unwraps it and sees a bloodstained scalpel.

She recoils, rocking back on her heels, barely able to process what she’s seeing.

Jane’s voice filters through the door: “So, Shay, you’re still liking the new job? And how’s the online dating going?”

It seems impossible that Shay could merely have discovered the envelope: The sisters meticulously searched the apartment after Amanda’s suicide, and again before Shay rented it. How had she obtained it?

Cassandra has to make a snap decision: Take the envelope, or leave it?

She can’t carry it out of the bathroom; she has nowhere to hide it. They can come back for it if need be.