Turning this into a showplace isnt challenging enough? He pointed to the painters tape lining the glass inside the dining room windows. Are you sure I cant help you do something here?
Elise looked at his hands, which were pale and pristine compared to the stained fingers with which she was petting the dog. He wasnt really into home repair work, was he? Ive made enough of a mess for one night. Im really tired.
Maybe another time? He put up his hands in placating surrender before she could answer. Strictly as friends. I dont know why youre so gun-shy about rekindling things, but I wont put any pressure on you. Like I said, Im just looking for someone my age to hang out with until I get my feet under me again.
How about I invite you over the next time I have a big piece of furniture to move.
He laughed, and the awkwardness between them eased a little bit. Deal. He thrust the wine over the top of the gate. Here. Youd better take this.
Elise backed away a step. I couldnt.
Of course, you can. Its a gift.
If he was hoping shed invite him in to share a glass, then hed be in for a long wait. Still, she sensed he wasnt going to move until she accepted the so-called peace offering. At least she knew who was giving her this gift. She wrapped her hand around the neck of the bottle.
Thank you. Ask him. Why not? Clearing up the mystery would go a long way toward improving her chances of getting a good nights sleep. Did you send me flowers at work today? There wasnt a card attached, and the officer at the front desk said he didnt find one, either. I havent had a chance to check with the florist yet. Its a bit of a mystery.
You used to like it when I sent you flowers. He grinned. Remember? A daisy or a rose? To commemorate any little eventacing an exam, the start of spring break... He grasped the rail at the top of the gate and leaned in. Thanking you for a special night?
Yes. Those had been sweet and romantic and fitting for the young couple theyd once been. Not the point. The flowers I got today werent cheap.
He snorted. That cabernet wasnt cheap.
James, did you?
I can see Im not getting anywhere with you tonight. He shook his head, then adjusted his glasses, glancing skyward before zeroing his gaze in on hers. Keep an eye on the weather. Were under a tornado watch until midnight. I wouldnt want you or the pooch there to get hurt. Good night.
And then he was striding away.
Her mouth opened to call after him to clarify his response to her question, but Elise wisely snapped it shut. Better to just let him leave. Good night, she muttered.
Were straight answers really so much to ask for? Elise plopped Spike down on his feet in the grass as James walked to the curb where hed parked. A black-and-white police car cruised past on its regular rounds for the night, giving her ex the impetus to climb behind the wheel and start the engine when he hesitated at the open door, no doubt readying another argument as to why she should rethink sending him away.
Elise waited for James to pull into the driveway behind her car and back out in the opposite direction to leave the neighborhood, and then she turned off the water and picked up her glass. Come on, boy. Here, Spike.
The dog bounded up onto the deck and followed her into the house. He danced around her feet while she locked the back door and headed into the kitchen. She hit the light switch with her elbow, flooding the room with light before setting the wine on the granite counter and rinsing out her glass. She turned on the radio to get an update on the possibility of dangerous weather, got Spike a treat from the jar next to the sink and set about her nightly check of the doors and windows on the first floor.
She secured locks and pulled window shades and makeshift curtains, listening to the jingle of Spikes tags as he lapped up a drink of water in the kitchen. She stopped for several seconds in front of the living room air conditioner, unhooking the top couple of buttons on her paint shirt and cooling the perspiration on her skin before turning it down for the night. Moving into the foyer, the growing noise from the wind cruising through the leafy trees outside and knocking twigs and other debris against the house fully registered. Elise paused with her fingers on the front doors dead bolt.
She could hear the dog in the kitchen at the back of the house.
Her breath hitched in her chest at the disquieting thought that crossed her mind. Praying that shed be proved wrong, Elise quickly returned to the living room and turned the AC unit back on high. The light in the foyer flickered at the sudden drain on the neighborhoods overtaxed power grid as the machine roared to life and the cold air blasted her again.
Noisy enough. She couldnt hear Spike anymore.
Then she opened the red front door and reached outside to press the doorbell.
The instant the bell chimed, Spike barked and came running from the kitchen. He barked again, eager to greet or warn off their visitor.
Shush. Its okay, sweetie. Its just Mommy testing a theory.
But the yapping and squealing continued until she picked him up and pushed open the storm door to show him no one was there. Greeted by a wall of summer heat and uncomfortable suspicion, Elise crossed the porch, mentally timing how long it took her to reach the railing at the edge of the house.
Elise hugged the dog against her shoulder, patting his back as if burping a baby. He lied to us, Spike.
Such a small slip of the tongue. Maybe nothing more sinister than a clichéd response.
I rang the doorbell.
No way had James stood on her front porch, announcing his arrival. He would have needed to sprint down the steps and around the side of the house to the back gate to reach her before Spike heard the bell and sounded his alarm. But James had strolled up the walk. His breathing had been perfectly normal, without a drop of sweat visible anywhere.
Glancing up and down the street, Elise peered into shadows beyond the streetlights but saw nothing out of sorts. The only thing that wasnt right was the portentous wind that made her clothes instantly stick to her skin again, and the nagging suspicion about a man who claimed to be her friend.
Why would James lie? What was the point of sneaking around her house? And when shed asked him about the flowers, hed never actually confirmed sending them. Or denied it.
Shed gotten rid of the roses. Shed gotten rid of James.
But she couldnt get rid of the feeling that her life had taken a very weird, very unsettling turn.
* * *
GEORGE HEARD THE hurried rhythm of a womans high heels tapping across KCPD headquarters marble floors behind him.
Hold the elevator, please.
Even if he hadnt recognized the voice, he would have pushed the button to hold the doors open. It was the polite thing to do. But he did recognize Elise Browns articulate, slightly breathless tone, and his blood suffused with an instant warmth.
Thanks. Elise tilted her head and smiled as she darted into the car and moved to the railing behind him.
He knew it was wrong to identify his assistant by the warm contralto pitch of her voice. And he shouldnt be familiar with the faint whiff of tropical fruits that emanated from the soft waves of her chin-length hair as she breezed past him. His gaze dipped down to the navy blue heels she wore without hose, a choice made in deference to the forecasted triple-digit temperatures, no doubt. While a part of him admired the sensible concession to the summer heat wave, Georges chest constricted and he resolutely averted his eyes.