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Authors: Mary Anna Evans
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holds barred.”
Before doing that, Faye interrupted the interview to blurt out an idiotic question. “Why would someone want to hurt a twenty-something-year-old girl?”
Overstreet just looked at her and shook his head, and she felt completely stupid. She knew the answer to her question, and so did he. Any woman alive who’d ever wished she wasn’t alone in a dark place could answer it.
***
Overstreet noticed that Faye Longchamp-Mantooth’s husband was standing right behind her, with his hand resting lightly between her shoulderblades. He remembered how he’d felt when his wife was this pregnant. If a violent kidnapper had suddenly turned up in the neighborhood when she was in that condition, he’d have probably turned paranoid and homicidal. Only in a good way.
Joe Wolf Mantooth looked constructively paranoid and homicidal. Overstreet had no doubt that this man would be protecting this woman. He wished he had enough officers to protect all the other women within striking distance of Dunkirk Manor.
Surely, Mother Nature had had her reasons for making women smaller and weaker than men. And surely she’d had her reasons for making some men aggressive enough to use that imbalance in ways that weren’t very nice or even very human, but Donald Overstreet couldn’t imagine what those reasons were.
Why would someone want to hurt a twenty-something-year-old girl?
Alas, the answers to that question were age-old.
Chapter Seven
By noon, the gossip machine had spread the word that Glynis’ boyfriend Lex was not a nice man. Faye had seen Lex exactly once and she knew that already.
A single glimpse had told her that Lex Tifton was tanned and as handsome as she’d expected. Women like Glynis attracted high-status men.
Glynis was pretty enough to satisfy the male urge to crow, “Look what I’ve got!” but her attraction for powerful men would have gone beyond mere looks. She was smart enough to make pleasant dinner party conversation. And she was soft-spoken enough to avoid challenging her boyfriend in any meaningful way at all. Or she’d seemed that way until she’d gotten her dander up last night.
Faye was not surprised to learn that Lex was a lawyer, because Glynis would be the perfect lawyer’s wife…if they found her…when they found her.
The scuttlebutt said that Lex was the kind of boyfriend who complained when his girlfriend was just a few minutes late getting home from work. He was the kind of man who didn’t like the idea of a girls’ night out. Again, Faye had seen Lex just once, and she knew that already.
Those who knew her well said that Glynis didn’t talk about these things, but people notice when a woman is constantly on her cell phone, saying things like, “Suzanne wanted me to work a few minutes late, but I’ll be right there,” or “I’d love to have dinner with you and the girls, but Lex and I enjoy our evenings together.” People notice, and they talk about it.
Glynis said and did these things with a gracious smile. And there was nothing wrong with showing your partner the courtesy of telling him you’d be late for work, or with preferring to spend most of your time with him. Still, a certain kind of man has been controlling a certain kind of woman for all of human history. People who care about a woman notice the signs when she’s been backed into that kind of corner.
Glynis’ friends didn’t like Lex. Faye knew this meant that the police were giving him an uncomfortable amount of scrutiny.
Or they would be, if they could find him.
***
Daniel and Suzanne had been sitting on the porch glider for two hours, motionless. Faye had been watching. She wasn’t sure they’d spoken to each other in all that time. They’d just sat side-by-side in the wrought iron glider, hands folded in each of their laps. Only the sides of their thighs and their upper arms were touching.
Faye hadn’t been married as long as they had, but she knew the comfort that came with the wordless
Before doing that, Faye interrupted the interview to blurt out an idiotic question. “Why would someone want to hurt a twenty-something-year-old girl?”
Overstreet just looked at her and shook his head, and she felt completely stupid. She knew the answer to her question, and so did he. Any woman alive who’d ever wished she wasn’t alone in a dark place could answer it.
***
Overstreet noticed that Faye Longchamp-Mantooth’s husband was standing right behind her, with his hand resting lightly between her shoulderblades. He remembered how he’d felt when his wife was this pregnant. If a violent kidnapper had suddenly turned up in the neighborhood when she was in that condition, he’d have probably turned paranoid and homicidal. Only in a good way.
Joe Wolf Mantooth looked constructively paranoid and homicidal. Overstreet had no doubt that this man would be protecting this woman. He wished he had enough officers to protect all the other women within striking distance of Dunkirk Manor.
Surely, Mother Nature had had her reasons for making women smaller and weaker than men. And surely she’d had her reasons for making some men aggressive enough to use that imbalance in ways that weren’t very nice or even very human, but Donald Overstreet couldn’t imagine what those reasons were.
Why would someone want to hurt a twenty-something-year-old girl?
Alas, the answers to that question were age-old.
Chapter Seven
By noon, the gossip machine had spread the word that Glynis’ boyfriend Lex was not a nice man. Faye had seen Lex exactly once and she knew that already.
A single glimpse had told her that Lex Tifton was tanned and as handsome as she’d expected. Women like Glynis attracted high-status men.
Glynis was pretty enough to satisfy the male urge to crow, “Look what I’ve got!” but her attraction for powerful men would have gone beyond mere looks. She was smart enough to make pleasant dinner party conversation. And she was soft-spoken enough to avoid challenging her boyfriend in any meaningful way at all. Or she’d seemed that way until she’d gotten her dander up last night.
Faye was not surprised to learn that Lex was a lawyer, because Glynis would be the perfect lawyer’s wife…if they found her…when they found her.
The scuttlebutt said that Lex was the kind of boyfriend who complained when his girlfriend was just a few minutes late getting home from work. He was the kind of man who didn’t like the idea of a girls’ night out. Again, Faye had seen Lex just once, and she knew that already.
Those who knew her well said that Glynis didn’t talk about these things, but people notice when a woman is constantly on her cell phone, saying things like, “Suzanne wanted me to work a few minutes late, but I’ll be right there,” or “I’d love to have dinner with you and the girls, but Lex and I enjoy our evenings together.” People notice, and they talk about it.
Glynis said and did these things with a gracious smile. And there was nothing wrong with showing your partner the courtesy of telling him you’d be late for work, or with preferring to spend most of your time with him. Still, a certain kind of man has been controlling a certain kind of woman for all of human history. People who care about a woman notice the signs when she’s been backed into that kind of corner.
Glynis’ friends didn’t like Lex. Faye knew this meant that the police were giving him an uncomfortable amount of scrutiny.
Or they would be, if they could find him.
***
Daniel and Suzanne had been sitting on the porch glider for two hours, motionless. Faye had been watching. She wasn’t sure they’d spoken to each other in all that time. They’d just sat side-by-side in the wrought iron glider, hands folded in each of their laps. Only the sides of their thighs and their upper arms were touching.
Faye hadn’t been married as long as they had, but she knew the comfort that came with the wordless
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