before Johnny had pulled up outside, Caleb had finally realized she was just stressed and worried and wanted to go over the same things she'd been saying all day. Only he'd already done everything he could until morning and didn't want to hold her hand anymore. He was comfortable in bed, once again flipping through satellite channels on television and enjoying the solitude.
"It's after midnight, Holly," he said. "Can't this wait until we get together in the morning?"
"No, it can't," she replied. "Someone called me about the flyer a little while ago."
At last! Caleb hit the off button and sat up, giving Holly his full attention. "Who was it?"
"I'll tell you all about it when I get there. I have something to show you."
" Show me?"
"I'm on my way."
"Wait, I'm not staying at my folks' place," he said before she could hang up.
"You're not?"
"No, I rented a small house."
Silence. Eventually she asked, "Why would you rent a place? You could've stayed here for free."
"Holly, we're divorced."
"I know that, Caleb. It isn't as though I'm asking you to sleep with me. I only offered to put you up for a few weeks. You're helping me, after all. I feel it's the least I can do."
"There's no need," he said. "I'm fine where I am."
"And where is that?"
"Whidbey Island."
"Whidbey! What made you move there?"
"It's closer to the mainland."
"If you wanted to be close to the mainland, why didn't you rent an apartment on the mainland?"
Caleb considered telling Holly that he was renting from Ellis Purcell's daughter, but decided not to. He didn't want her badgering him for information until he was ready to share it. Just because he might come across answers no one else had been able to glean didn't necessarily mean he would. It was possible that Madison was too secretive to let anything slip. It was also possible that she didn't know anything. But he was willing to bet against both of those possibilities. She'd been living with Ellis during his killing spree. At a minimum, she should be able to tell Caleb bits and pieces of conversation she'd overheard between her parents, whether her father was really at home when he'd claimed to be, whether she sometimes heard things go bump in the night, whether she ever saw him move something heavy that just might have resembled a dead body....
"This place is nice," he said instead.
"How much is it costing you?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Waste your money, then. I don't care," she said. "You're so stubborn. I don't know why I married you once, let alone twice."
He thought she might hang up in a huff, but she didn't. "Are you going to give me directions?" she asked after an extended silence.
A quick glance at the clock told him it was even later than he'd realized. But she'd said she had something to show him. "What do you have?" he asked.
"You'll see."
If she had a lead, he needed to know about it as soon as possible. He told her how to find him. Then he got up, dressed and put on some coffee.
Across the yard, he could see that the lights were still on in Madison's house, and he wondered what she was doing. Earlier, it had looked as though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders....
Guilt about masquerading as a random renter flickered inside him. He could already tell Madison wasn't the ice princess he'd assumed from her television interviews and that one strongly worded letter. Her behavior wasn't strange, either, like her father's. Actually, she seemed pretty...normal. And there was no question she'd been through a lot.
Leaning against the wall, he stared out the window at her light. She might be nice. She might even be one of the most attractive women he'd ever met--but being nice and attractive didn't change the fact that the truth had to be told.
M ADISON COULDN'T SLEEP . She was tired yet wound up, and didn't dare take a sleeping pill, for several reasons. Brianna could wake up in the night. Johnny, or whoever had been with him, could come back. And she wasn't yet
"It's after midnight, Holly," he said. "Can't this wait until we get together in the morning?"
"No, it can't," she replied. "Someone called me about the flyer a little while ago."
At last! Caleb hit the off button and sat up, giving Holly his full attention. "Who was it?"
"I'll tell you all about it when I get there. I have something to show you."
" Show me?"
"I'm on my way."
"Wait, I'm not staying at my folks' place," he said before she could hang up.
"You're not?"
"No, I rented a small house."
Silence. Eventually she asked, "Why would you rent a place? You could've stayed here for free."
"Holly, we're divorced."
"I know that, Caleb. It isn't as though I'm asking you to sleep with me. I only offered to put you up for a few weeks. You're helping me, after all. I feel it's the least I can do."
"There's no need," he said. "I'm fine where I am."
"And where is that?"
"Whidbey Island."
"Whidbey! What made you move there?"
"It's closer to the mainland."
"If you wanted to be close to the mainland, why didn't you rent an apartment on the mainland?"
Caleb considered telling Holly that he was renting from Ellis Purcell's daughter, but decided not to. He didn't want her badgering him for information until he was ready to share it. Just because he might come across answers no one else had been able to glean didn't necessarily mean he would. It was possible that Madison was too secretive to let anything slip. It was also possible that she didn't know anything. But he was willing to bet against both of those possibilities. She'd been living with Ellis during his killing spree. At a minimum, she should be able to tell Caleb bits and pieces of conversation she'd overheard between her parents, whether her father was really at home when he'd claimed to be, whether she sometimes heard things go bump in the night, whether she ever saw him move something heavy that just might have resembled a dead body....
"This place is nice," he said instead.
"How much is it costing you?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Waste your money, then. I don't care," she said. "You're so stubborn. I don't know why I married you once, let alone twice."
He thought she might hang up in a huff, but she didn't. "Are you going to give me directions?" she asked after an extended silence.
A quick glance at the clock told him it was even later than he'd realized. But she'd said she had something to show him. "What do you have?" he asked.
"You'll see."
If she had a lead, he needed to know about it as soon as possible. He told her how to find him. Then he got up, dressed and put on some coffee.
Across the yard, he could see that the lights were still on in Madison's house, and he wondered what she was doing. Earlier, it had looked as though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders....
Guilt about masquerading as a random renter flickered inside him. He could already tell Madison wasn't the ice princess he'd assumed from her television interviews and that one strongly worded letter. Her behavior wasn't strange, either, like her father's. Actually, she seemed pretty...normal. And there was no question she'd been through a lot.
Leaning against the wall, he stared out the window at her light. She might be nice. She might even be one of the most attractive women he'd ever met--but being nice and attractive didn't change the fact that the truth had to be told.
M ADISON COULDN'T SLEEP . She was tired yet wound up, and didn't dare take a sleeping pill, for several reasons. Brianna could wake up in the night. Johnny, or whoever had been with him, could come back. And she wasn't yet
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