“You think he is here with your husband?”
“He did say he had driven Mathew here,” she said quietly, “in a green Jag, so I presume that he is responsible for taking it back. My ex has this thing about not picking up rental cars or returning them. He doesn’t like to be bothered with all the paperwork.”
“How nice to live like that,” Mack said caustically.
“He definitely has his foibles, like everybody,” she said. “I don’t imagine it’s any different for anyone else.”
“Maybe not,” he said, modulating his tone.
She still wasn’t exactly sure if something was going on there or not with Rex. “He did say that my ex had left already.”
“Apparently he did. I understood he was scheduled on a flight this morning. I don’t know if he showed up or not.”
“Well, that would be something else entirely, wouldn’t it?” she said. “An awful lot of murder and mayhem is going on here, so there’s no way to know if he told the truth.”
“Do you have any reason to think he is incapable of leaving?”
“You mean, not showing up at the airport? I have no idea,” she said. “I would hope that wasn’t an issue.”
“No, I would hope not,” he said slowly, “but we don’t know for sure. Maybe I’ll check with the airport to see if he actually got on.”
“That would probably be a good idea. Maybe you should just find out for sure,” she muttered, frowning. “I do think Rex was probably the one who searched my house, but I don’t have any proof. I was just assuming that he was the one because he was here with Mathew, and, therefore, while my ex-husband was keeping me occupied, Rex was the one who went in and searched my home.”
“It’s possible, but it would be nice if we had proof.”
“And,” she said, “it would also be nice if I had some way to let him know that nothing was there. I did tell him that I found a USB key and then I gave it to my ex.”
“And what did he say?”
“He didn’t say a whole lot. He actually seemed pretty oblivious to it all. I did pick up some undercurrents over the mention of Robin though. He said a couple things, and, every time, his voice changed.”
“Changed in what way?”
“I was trying to figure that out. It just, it just changed. It’s not like it softened or he was laughing or mocking or anything. It’s not like he was saying, ‘Ha-ha, the witch is dead.’ It was almost more like he was sad but trying not to show it.”
“Do you think they could have had a relationship?”
“If that was the case, my ex-husband would have had a heyday firing Rex.”
“Which could be why he’s still trying to hide it,” Mack said. “But could that have been who she was trying to meet?”
“I don’t know if he would have gotten away. Mathew always kept his people on a very short leash.”
“What a lovely existence.”
“No, not very, and Rex did comment on the fact that he had no family and that it wasn’t something my ex would have tolerated because Rex would have gone home to somebody he cared about every night, and, therefore, his loyalty to my husband would have been diminished.”
“I keep forgetting and then you remind me what an absolute jerk your ex is.”
“I keep forgetting too, until I remember bits and pieces,” she said sadly. “And then it comes rushing back. Rex did make several comments about me not understanding everything that had gone on while I was there and how nobody was allowed to talk to me about things because I was delicate,” she said in a scathing tone. “I was not happy to hear that.”
He started to laugh. “Well, I guess Rex hasn’t seen you recently, has he?”
“More than that,” she said, “I think it was a ploy so that nobody would ever let me in on any of the problems or issues at the house. Mathew kept me in this little panic room, completely isolated.” She shrugged. “But I’m out now, and I’m never going back in.”
“Glad to hear that,” he said, and, indeed, a cheerful note was in his voice.
She shrugged. “I guess maybe I said that a little too loud and strong, didn’t I?”
“And that’s okay,” he said. “This time, at least, I believe you. Now how about going home and just get out of trouble.”
“How do you know I’m not at home?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I assumed you were still at the coffee shop lot.”
“No, I stopped in at Kinsmen Beach. I’m just sitting here, with the animals.”
“Good,” he said. “Exactly what the doctor ordered.”
“Well, he probably ordered that a while ago,” she said, with a laugh. “I’m just trying to rearrange all the puzzle pieces in my life.”
“I hear you there,” he said. “Do you want to do dinner tonight?”
“Absolutely I do,” she said, “particularly since we had to cancel last night.”
“Well, I don’t know about had to cancel, and you definitely did better out of the deal because at least you got dinner,” he said. “I, on the other hand, did not get a beautiful meal out.”
“Nope, you’re quite right,” she said, “but I paid the price for that dinner, and I had to endure the company.”
“And you can keep that anytime,” he said, laughing. “I’ll be over when I’m done at work. We have a meal to cook.”
“Good enough,” she said, “looking forward to dinner.”
With that, she hung up. Still smiling, she called the animals to her and said, “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”
With everybody safely back in the vehicle, she drove to her house. On a whim, she opened the garage and pulled inside.
“I don’t know why I never use this very much,” she said to the animals, as she opened the car door. She let Mugs out; then Goliath slid out as well. Mugs immediately started barking. She turned around to see a tall man with a hood over his face.
She gasped in shock. “What are you doing here?” she cried out. She frowned, when he spoke in a mumble. “I don’t understand you.”
He just shook his head and reached out an arm to grab her. She pulled back immediately and started to turn away, racing for the kitchen door. Now, because she had pulled into the garage, she had limited space. Mugs immediately jumped and tried to bite the stranger, who was grabbing her. Then Goliath hopped up on the back of her car and jumped on the stranger’s shoulders. He immediately flung Goliath off, who hit the roof of the car and slid down the side. Doreen winced as she heard the cat scrambling down the car.
But it gave her a chance to get around Mugs, who was still barking and trying to jump up on the attacker. She raced around the front of the car, and, instead of heading for the house, she headed for the side door. Just as she got it opened, it slammed hard in front of her, and the stranger’s hand clamped around her nose, and she was picked up. She kicked and fought and screamed. In this hold he had on her, Thaddeus couldn’t get free because he was tucked in close against her neck.
Very quickly, a hood was pulled over her head and was tightened down. She heard a yelp as Mugs took a hit. She cried out, but a hand slapped hard against her head, and that was the last thing she knew.