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.“Family? Um, no.”Angie hit the remote to open the car doors.Evan held the passenger door for Kiana to slip inside.He climbed in the back.As Angie started the car, she noted the time, just before 10 a.m.She checked her cell phone and found that Jarvis had called several times.Hoping there was no further trouble she dialed him back.Beside her, Kiana removed the album from her shirt and opened the cover, tears again gushing down her face.Jarvis answered on the third ring.His barked, “Where the hell are you?” almost made Angie jam the phone back in her purse.Apparently Evan heard the sharp tone because he pushed forward in his seat to listen.“In my car,” Angie said, catching Evan’s eye and raising her brows.“That didn’t answer the question.”“I’m here in Nashua.Where are you?”“I’ve been looking all over for you.”“I kind of figured that.Where are you?”“At the school.”When Angie asked, “What’s wrong?” Kiana looked up from the album.On the page was a 5x7 picture of two women, both about twenty.They stood in front of a white clapboard house.Along both sides of the paved walkway were pink flowers.Probably petunias.One of the women was Gwen.The other, also dark haired and about the same height, held a dark-haired girl of about a year old.“Nothing’s wrong,” Jarvis said in answer to her question.“I thought we could spend some time together.”Angie knew it was more than that but didn’t want to elaborate in front of the kids.“I’m on my way back to the hotel.Meet me there.”“When?”“A half hour.”“Where are you?”Angie held up crossed fingers that made Evan grin, and said into the phone, “Shopping.”Jarvis’s “Figures,” said she was off the hook.About time her past addiction came in handy for something.Angie hung up the phone then pointed to the album in Kiana’s lap.“Who’s that?”“This one is Gwen, of course.” Kiana touched the face of the other woman.“This is her best friend from college.Her name is Deb Fingerman.”“She’s pretty.Is that her baby?”“She has two children now.” Kiana turned the page.Since the photo had been mounted on a page underneath a clear vinyl sheet, any possible writing was hidden.At Farina’s Restaurant, Angie stopped the car next to Evan’s bike.She held the album while Kiana retrieved her backpack and handbag from the backseat.While she buttoned her coat all the way up, laughing about the chilly breeze on the bike, Angie thumbed through a few pages of the album.She recognized a group photo of the school drama club with Kiana crouching in the front row, right hand side.Another was of Gwen and Ted at some sort of formal affair.A third was taken at a church.A man of about twenty, with brown hair and a bushy mustache, held a dark haired newborn in a white dress.Deb Fingerman stood beside them.This must be the baby’s christening.Evan stowed Kiana’s bags on the back of the bike then came to Angie.“Thanks for going with us.You saved us from that neighbor.She would’ve called the cops if you weren’t there.”Angie handed Kiana the album, which she tucked inside her jacket.“We would’ve been in big trouble.”“Kind of like Mrs.Deacon’s gonna be when Jarvis catches up to her.”THIRTY-SIXEvan’s prediction turned out wrong.Jarvis never mentioned a word about her shopping excursion though she knew he would once his mind was cleared of whatever errand they were headed out on.Which so far, he kept a secret.Until he was ready to talk about it, Angie figured she’d better come clean about the morning’s events.While they walked out to the parking garage, she told him where she’d been and how Gwen’s place had been upside down when they arrived.“I figured it was something like that,” he said.Then he laughed.“I knew you couldn’t not investigate.”“Sorry to disappoint you Sherlock, it had nothing to do with me.The kids begged me to go, and I went because I knew they’d go regardless.”His nod said he believed her.“Did you find out anything?” Jarvis asked.“Nothing much.Kiana found a photo album.I let her keep it to remember Gwen by.Don’t look at me that way, if the cops, or the intruder, thought it meant anything, they would’ve taken it.”“S’pose so.” Jarvis opened the passenger side door of the Lexus for her.“You want to stop someplace for lunch?”“Depends.Will we be gone long?”“Probably [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]