“You’re his partner, Tony. You’ve got to have a sense of what it’s about.”
He was quiet a moment. When he spoke, she sensed how carefully he chose his words. “He’s been under the microscope and there’ve been a few irregularities recently.”
A judge approved that trace?
I fudged the facts.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it, Tony? Because he kept me in the loop?”
“Not just that.”
She swore. “What else?”
“I can’t say.”
“I’d be dead if not for Spencer. So would Alice.”
But not Kay. How had the woman planned to explain it all away?
By killing Troy? By managing to escape?
“Stacy? You there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. How long do you think Malone will be?”
“No guess. But they’ve been in there awhile already.”
“Tell him to call me on my cell. It’s about White Rabbit and Cassie.”
“White Rabbit? But that’s-”
“It’s not over. Don’t forget, okay? It’s important.”
“Stacy, wait-”
She hung up on him. She didn’t have a plan for confronting Kay Noble, only a sense of urgency pressing her to action. Alice needed her. She doubted Kay would make a move so close to Leo’s death, but she wasn’t taking chances with the girl’s life.
Or with her own.
With that in mind, she tucked her Glock into her handbag.
CHAPTER 63
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
3:00 p.m.
Stacy pulled up in front of the Noble mansion. She saw that Kay Noble had wasted no time: A For Sale sign hung from the property’s iron fence; a minivan emblazoned with a moving company’s logo sat in the drive.
Stacy parked, climbed out of her vehicle and started for the house. As she reached the front porch, Kay emerged from the house with a man Stacy didn’t recognize. From the way he was dressed and the clipboard he was carrying, she assumed he was from the moving company.
The two shook hands; he told her he would be in touch, then walked away.
“Stacy,” the other woman said warmly, turning toward her. “What a nice surprise.”
“I wanted to check on you and Alice. See how you’re both doing.”
“Carrying on. Moving on.”
“I see that.”
“Too many memories.” She released a sad-sounding breath. “It’s been especially hard on Alice. She’s been so quiet.”
I’ll just bet. Probably too terrified to speak.
Stacy made a clucking noise she hoped sounded genuine. “It’s to be expected, I would think. She lost her father in a shocking way. She was exposed to a horror beyond the comprehension of most girls her age.”
“I’m getting her counseling. Her doctor said to expect healing to take time.”
The woman was the picture of love and concern. An award-winning performance, Stacy thought. Oscar-worthy.
“I just hope one day she can forget.”
“May I see her?”
“Of course. Come in.”
Stacy followed the other woman into the home. She saw that they had already begun consolidating their things for packing. She glanced around. “Is Valerie here? I’d like to tell her hello, as long as I’m here.”
“Valerie’s gone. She’s moved on.”
“Really? I’m surprised.”
“She was Leo’s hire, and now that he’s gone… I guess she didn’t feel comfortable.”
Mrs. Maitlin had thought of herself as so much more than a “hire.” She had considered herself one of the family. That had been obvious.
Stacy felt a moment of compassion for the woman. But only a moment: considering the circumstances, she was better off this way.
Kay crossed to the bottom of the stairs. “Alice!” she called. “Stacy’s here to see you.” She waited a moment, then called her daughter again.
When she still got no answer, she looked at Stacy. “That’s the other thing, she’s hardly come out of her room.”
Again, probably afraid to. Probably couldn’t bear to look at her mother.
The woman started up the stairs. “We owe you our lives, Stacy. And I want you to know how much I appreciate what you did for us. The chances you took.”
Her dark eyes welled with tears and Stacy once again silently congratulated her on her performance.
“If you hadn’t happened into our lives…I don’t even want to think about it. We’ll never forget you.”
“I’ll never forget you, either, Kay.”
They reached Alice’s room; Kay tapped on the closed door. “Alice? Stacy’s here to see you.”
The girl came to the door. When she saw Stacy, her lips lifted in a weak smile. “Hi, Stacy.”
“Hey,” she said softly. “How are you?”
The girl looked at her mother. “Okay, I guess.”
“Kay,” Stacy said, “go do what you have to do. I’ll visit with Alice awhile.”
The woman hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll be downstairs.”
Stacy watched her exit the room, then led Alice to the window seat. She wished she could close the door, but she didn’t want to arouse Kay’s suspicions.
Once seated, Stacy didn’t waste time. Tone hushed, she began, “I received a very interesting package today.” The girl didn’t comment and Stacy went on. “A laptop computer. An Apple. You know anything about it?”
Alice glanced toward the open doorway, obviously terrified. Her throat worked, as if she was trying to speak but couldn’t.
Stacy covered her hand. “I’ll take care of you. I promise. Did you send me the computer?”
She nodded, eyes welling with tears.
“Where did you get it?”
“Found it,” she whispered. “In a box of things Mom set out for trash pickup.”
Trash pickup. Stacy flexed her fingers, fighting the anger that surged through her. That computer had been Cassie’s, her most prized possession. The way Kay had discarded it was a metaphor for the way she had trashed Cassie’s life.
“What made you go through the box?” she asked.
“I saw her put some of Dad’s things in it. Things I wanted. She’s been doing a lot of that. She-”
Her throat seemed to close over the words and she cleared it. “I knew she’d argue with me, call everything I wanted junk, so when she went for a massage, I went through the box.”
“And that’s when you found it?”
“Yes. In a black plastic garbage bag. I don’t know why I looked in the bag, but the minute I saw it, I knew something was wrong. Mom never used an Apple. None of us did.”
“What happened next?”
“I…I opened it. And turned it on.”
She choked up then, tears spilling over. “I recognized your friend. And I knew.”
The house phone rang. Stacy heard the jangle from the hall. Once, then twice. It stopped, followed by the faint murmur of Kay answering.
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“Because I…I trust you. I knew you wouldn’t let her get away with it.” She looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap. “I’ve been so afraid she’d somehow…find out what I did. What I found. I think she means to…to-”
“What, Alice?”
“I think she means to kill me, too.”
Stacy thought she did, too.
“I’m going to call Malone,” she said softly, reaching for her holstered phone, finding the holster empty.
She’d left it in her car.
“What?” Alice asked.
“My cell’s in the car. You stay put, I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. “Don’t leave me!”
“I’m just running to the car. I promise I’ll-”
“Use the house phone.”
She shook her head. “Too risky.”
“I’m coming, too.”
Stacy freed her hand. “Stay put. We don’t want to arouse your mother’s suspicions.”