“No, not too far,” Nikki answered, wrapping her arms around her middle, holding tight.
“And you have a key?”
“There’s a code. It opens her garage door.”
“You know it?”
“Yeah. I had to let the plumber in when her sewer backed up, and she was at a conference. She has an automatic service that sends an alarm to her… Why are you asking about Risa?”
“Your sister is hot, Nikki. And she dresses with style. Maybe you can find something nice in her closet. I think you could use an upgrade.”
Nikki wanted to tell him she had nice clothes of her own, back in her suitcase. Clothes with more style than anything Risa ever wore. But she supposed Eddie knew better. He was just trying to make things right for her. That had to be it.
But there was something else. “What if Risa’s home?”
Eddie’s face widened in a grin. “Then she can pick something out for you herself.”
Risa
Even though Trent didn’t say a word, Risa recognized the expression on his face, and it shook her from head to toe. He was afraid. Afraid for her. And she had to admit, at that moment, she was afraid for herself. “It’s me this time, isn’t it? His wife is dead, so now it’s me.”
The conference room was silent. Everyone waiting for Trent’s answer.
“I think so, yes.”
“You?” Cassidy asked. “Because of the article?”
“I’m not following.” Chief Schneider had been quiet since she’d entered the room.
Trent drew himself up, the flash of fear suddenly gone, replaced by the cool, in-control exterior she knew so well. But his calm facade did nothing to reassure her. Nothing to stop the spinning in her head.
As he explained his thinking to Cassidy and Schneider, Risa let his voice wash over her, willing his calmness to ground her as well.
Risa had seen the malevolent hatred in Dryden’s eyes the day he’d married Nikki. She’d heard it in the guttural undertones of his voice. ‘Til death do us part. And even though he appeared to be threatening her sister, Risa had felt he meant it to hurt her. “I should have seen it.”
Trent’s voice stopped, and she realized all three men were staring at her.
“He seduced Nikki, married Nikki, and now is going to kill Nikki because of that article,” she said, trying to explain. “Nikki is going to die because of me.”
“If not that article, chances are he would have searched until he found some other way you humiliated him. And if he couldn’t find anything, he would have made something up.”
Trent’s argument was logical. And in her mind, Risa knew it was accurate. Dryden would have found someone to hate. Her for another reason. Someone else. But knowing it and feeling it were two different things. The mind versus the heart. And right now, her heart was holding her responsible. “I should have found a way to stop him.”
Cassidy grunted. “You should have stayed away from him in the first place. But you couldn’t do that, could you?”
“Cassidy. Cut it,” Trent said. “Ed Dryden is the one to blame here.”
Risa glanced from Trent to the sheriff’s detective and police chief. Trent might have defended her from Cassidy’s attack, but she knew he felt the same way. That she should have steered clear of Ed Dryden. And that Trent had called off their wedding to shield her from the type of evil Dryden represented.
Hunting Dryden had changed Trent. Something had happened on that trip to Wisconsin. Something that made it impossible for Trent to separate his work from the rest of his life. Something that made him afraid for her.
And that was exactly what had made studying Dryden irresistible.
“There’s nothing I can do now, is there?” Risa said. “Nikki’s running out of time and there’s nothing any of us can do.”
“We can catch him,” the police chief said. “Right?”
“Right.” Trent said. Grasping her chin in gentle fingers, Trent turned her head to face him. “When Dryden let those young women loose in the forest and hunted them down, he did it so he could make the experience last. Their panic. He wanted to draw it out. Savor it. If he kills Nikki right away, he loses his connection to you. He loses his power to torture you, to make your fear last. And that’s what he wants most.”
Risa closed her eyes and latched on to Trent’s words, to the energy flowing from his fingertips. She wanted so much to believe him, it throbbed like a physical ache in her chest. “I hope you’re right.”
A cell phone’s ring jangled through the room.
The sound traveled along Risa’s nerves like a jolt of electricity. She drew in a sharp breath and opened her eyes. She was so close to the edge that any sound probably would have startled her. But the ringing seemed unnaturally loud. Unnaturally ominous. “Sorry. That’s me.”
Trent dropped his hand from her chin, and she rummaged in her purse for her phone and looked at the number.
“What is it?” Trent said, frowning.
“I… I have to take this.” Turning away from the men, she flipped open the phone and pressed it to her ear. “This is Risa Madsen.”
“Ms. Madsen, E&G Security. Sorry to bother you, but the alarm we installed on your sewer line is indicating there’s a backup in your home.”
Risa slumped in the conference chair. It was such a small thing, a stupid thing, But right then, it felt like far more than she could take.
“You’re sure?”
“That’s what the sensors are indicating. Account number 587562. Correct?”
The backups had been happening frequently enough that Risa had memorized her account number. “Thank you.”
“What is it?” Trent asked as soon as she lowered her phone.
“A problem at my house. Sewer backup.”
Trent frowned. “That seems convenient.”
“It’s legit. They gave me the account number. Same as always.”
“And Nikki doesn’t know the number? She couldn’t have given it to Dryden?”
“It wasn’t Dryden on the phone. And Nikki doesn’t know the number. I only remember it, because lately this has become a regular thing. Two weeks ago, I had to rip out all my basement carpet. I’m just waiting for my contractor to find the time to dig up the pipes to the road.”
“What a nightmare,” Chief Schneider said. “You need a hand with it, just let me know. I have a cousin who’s a plumber. I helped him one summer while I was in school.”
Risa gave the chief a polite smile then pulled Trent aside. “I’m going to need to borrow your car.”
Ten minutes later, Risa leaned back against the headrest in Trent’s rental car and watched the lush green of Wisconsin’s spring whip by the window. Her arms lay in her lap, heavy, tight. A weight closed in on her chest.
Of course, Trent wouldn’t let her check on her sewer alone. Even though it meant he would be cutting it close to return to Lake Loyal in time for the task force meeting, he’d insisted on driving her.
And worse, she was glad. But that didn’t mean she felt safe. To be near him, even for one minute, was to be swamped in feelings from the past. Memories of walking hand in hand through Washington at cherry-blossom time. Feeding each other strawberry shortcake in bed and the resulting sticky mess. The warmth of his strong body holding her, surrounding her, inside her.
She entwined her fingers together in her lap and concentrated on the familiar houses of her neighborhood scrolling by the window. She had to be careful. She couldn’t let her memories of the good times or her need for his help now swamp her. She had to remember the knife-sharp pain of losing him. And the fact that when this nightmare was over, however it turned out, he would be leaving her again.