But, finally, they said their goodbyes, promising to return again soon, if not for hair and nails, then for tea.
Eva smiled through the turmoil inside her and said she looked forward to it.
Once she locked the door, she plastered her back against the cool wood and let out the tight, pained breath she’d been holding for far too long.
She didn’t have another client for a couple of hours, which was a blessing, because she really needed to sit down with a cup of tea and chill the hell out. Shutting off the lights in the spa, she ascended the staircase inside to the upper level of the house. Had she locked all the doors before she started work?
A clunk outside had her freezing where she stood. Holding her breath, she waited, counted to twenty in her head and then took a few more steps up.
Was the surveillance team outside now? Would she know it if they were?
The creak of the door sounded more like an airhorn blowing as it crashed into the stunning silence of the house. From the top of the stairs, she could see out the big picture window in her living room, and there were no other cars in her driveway besides her minivan.
Exhaling, she went to double-check the lock on the front door—secure. Then she checked that the small nanny cams she’d installed a few weeks ago were still working. There would come a time when she would have to leave her kids upstairs—awake—while she went downstairs to work, so she installed a few tiny cameras throughout the house to keep an eye on things. It also helped when she worked evenings in case one of the kids woke up and started wandering the house. She’d been a sleepwalker as a kid, and Lucas was definitely showing signs of being an active, restless sleeper as well.
When her phone in the back pocket of her denim capris started to ring, she nearly jumped clear out of her skin. Her pulse kicked up, and she might have peed a little.
With a hand on the wall and her chest heaving, she checked to see who was calling.
It was Celeste.
“Hey! I got the boys, and we’re on our way to some guy named Aaron’s house. His wife and baby are with her sister. Apparently, this Aaron guy is a retired military type?” her sister said, sounding distracted. The murmur of Kellen and Lucas in the back of the car gave Eva the reassurance she so desperately needed.
“Hi, Mom!” Lucas called.
“Hi, Mommy!” Kellen said.
After Scott’s call, Eva had called her sister and asked her to pick up the boys from school immediately. Even though Todd was not permitted to pick them up from school, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. He’d tried before. She’s also called the school and put them on high alert, just in case Todd did try something.
She wandered into the kitchen and began to make herself a cup of tea. “Hi, my loves. Is everything okay?’
“Yeah,” they both called.
“So cool getting out of school early,” Kellen said. “I want to do this every day.”
Eva groaned. “Maybe not every day.”
“What if you just called the police and made an anonymous report?” Celeste suggested. “Like how people do for Crime Stoppers, you know?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Liam’s PI has a bunch of photo evidence that will help add validity to the testimony? I have no idea.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucas asked.
Crap. Right. Little ears who heard everything.
“Sorry,” Celeste muttered.
“It’s fine,” Eva breathed. “Liam has a plan. I don’t want to muck that up.”
Celeste sighed on the other end. “Fair enough. I’ll text you when we get to this Aaron guy’s house.”
“Okay, thanks.” She closed all the drapes in the living room, which made her feel claustrophobic. “I hate this feeling. I thought I was over this feeling.”
“I know, sweetie. And you will be, for good. Now that we know he’s not only a psychopathic narcissist but a crook, he’ll get what’s coming to him. Chin up, sis.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Eva pulled back the drapes just a touch and glanced out into her driveway and the street. Nothing nefarious seemed to be in play. In fact, it was a beautiful, warm spring afternoon. “I’m being paranoid,” she murmured to herself, letting the curtain fall back into place.
She had forgotten about her plan to make tea and was headed back to the kitchen when the phone in her back pocket began to ding and warble again. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” She held her breath.
“Eva? It’s Liam.”
A rush of air whooshed out of her mouth. “Oh, Liam, it’s you.”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“No … I … I’m just on edge right now.”
“I know. I know. It’ll all be over soon. Scott went to go get Freddie, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And your sister has your kids and is on the way to Aaron’s?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ve got a two-man surveillance team that should be there by now.”
She knew she should be relieved now that she had trained bodyguards keeping an eye on her and the house, but there was only a little less ice in her veins. Todd was smart, and if he or any of his hired thugs wanted to get to her right now, they could.
“Okay, listen,” Liam continued, “I decided to submit all the evidence we’ve accumulated against him to the police myself. There was no sense dragging you down there. If they wish to gather statements from you, then they will be in contact. Besides, Scott mentioned that Todd has friends at the precinct, and if you’re there, they might tip him off quicker.”
Her stomach was now in her throat. “When did you submit the evidence, Liam?”
“About an hour ago. I meant to call you earlier, but I got tied up with work calls.”
An hour.
“Who did you hand the information off to?”
“The senior staff sergeant, why?”
Her heartbeat slowed down a few notches. “Okay, I don’t think he’s in Todd’s back pocket.”
But he could be. She and Todd hadn’t been together for a while. Hadn’t been amicable for even longer, which meant she had no clue who his friends were anymore. He could have the whole police department on his payroll by now.
“Guy seemed pretty hellbent on taking care of Fletcher himself, so hopefully he doesn’t waste any time.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” But then she started to wonder. Even if the senior staff sergeant accepted the information, that didn’t mean he personally was going to bring Todd in for questioning. Most likely he’d pass it off to a junior officer. “When you were there, Liam, was there a cop with short-cropped, almost black hair, big, big arms that looked like hams squeezing through sleeve holes, and a big scar running through one side of his top and bottom lip?” It was a shot in the dark that Kip Croy would be mulling around the precinct. He was probably off patrolling somewhere, but even so, she had to ask.
Liam hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Yeah, you know, come to think of it, there was. He was hanging out by the coffee maker when I went in to speak with the senior staff sergeant. Why? Is that the guy?”
Her stomach shrank, and a sinking feeling took over her body. “That’s one of them. Been friends with Todd for years.”