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Authors: Diana Pharaoh Francis
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wasn’t going to be so easy to kill, and that’s what he’d have to do to keep me from finding Josh.
Chapter 5
I FOLLOWED PRICE back into the kitchen. Taylor was sitting at the island, clutching her cup, staring blindly at nothing. She was shivering. I took the cup out of her hand, and she jumped and yelped. It would have been funny if she wasn’t so scared. You’d think from the way she acted with Josh that my sister was weak. But she’s not. She’s made out of steel most of the time. She’s a pilot and has no fear. She flies charters out of Diamond City. She learned to fly in the service and flew a lot in Afghanistan, Iraq, and a few other places we weren’t supposed to be. She does not scare easy. Nothing knocks her off balance except Josh. He’s always been her own personal kryptonite.
“It’s okay,” I said. “We’re going to figure out what happened. I promise.” Well, I was, anyway.
Price started punching numbers into his cell, and after a couple of seconds, he gave Josh’s address to someone on the other end, saying something about a possible homicide. Taylor heard the words and shuddered; the tears that had momentarily stopped starting to flow again.
I put an arm around her, half expecting her to shake me off. Taylor didn’t go in for a lot of touching and feeling. Neither did I, for that matter. But she clearly needed it, because she leaned into me, pressing her face against my stomach.
“They should be here in a little while,” Price said as he hung up. “Depending on the roads and visibility.”
He’d want to wait for them. I went to where the linen closet had been emptied onto the floor and found a soft blanket. I put it around Taylor’s shoulders.
“When was the last time you heard from Josh?” Price asked gently, pouring more tea into her cup.
“Last night. We talked before bed,” she said in a hiccupy voice.
“Is that something you usually did?”
She nodded. “When I didn’t—” She broke off and looked at me, flushing.
“When you didn’t come over and spend the night,” I finished matter-of-factly.
“Things were getting better between us,” she said defensively. “He was talking about getting a place together.”
That was a step down. He’d talked about marriage before. He’d actually bought her a ring and started planning the wedding. Then he’d dumped her. I didn’t say it. Taylor didn’t need me chewing on her about that at the moment. Besides, maybe he had changed. I hadn’t seen him to know one way or another.
“Did he seem worried when you talked to him?” Price pursued. “Did he say or do anything unusual?”
Taylor started to shake her head and then stopped. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but he told me he loved me. He told me never to forget it, no matter what happened. I thought it meant he was starting to think about getting married again.” She bit her lip. “He knew something bad was going to happen to him, didn’t he?”
Price ignored the question. “Can you think of anything else that might have seemed unusual or different about his behavior or anything he might have said that would indicate who might have come after him?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t—” She covered her mouth with her hand.
“Didn’t?” I prodded.
“I didn’t want to upset him. He was busy and things at work were really complicated. I didn’t want to give him any reason to—” She broke off again with a helpless wave of her hand.
I filled in the blanks. She had no idea why he’d broken off their engagement and didn’t want to do anything that would make him do it again. I sighed inwardly. This wasn’t Taylor. She was outspoken, assertive, and totally in control of her life. This woman—she was needy and pathetic.
She read my expression before I could mask it. “Don’t look at me that way,” she said sharply, almost sounding back to normal. “You’ve never been in love your entire life. You have no
Chapter 5
I FOLLOWED PRICE back into the kitchen. Taylor was sitting at the island, clutching her cup, staring blindly at nothing. She was shivering. I took the cup out of her hand, and she jumped and yelped. It would have been funny if she wasn’t so scared. You’d think from the way she acted with Josh that my sister was weak. But she’s not. She’s made out of steel most of the time. She’s a pilot and has no fear. She flies charters out of Diamond City. She learned to fly in the service and flew a lot in Afghanistan, Iraq, and a few other places we weren’t supposed to be. She does not scare easy. Nothing knocks her off balance except Josh. He’s always been her own personal kryptonite.
“It’s okay,” I said. “We’re going to figure out what happened. I promise.” Well, I was, anyway.
Price started punching numbers into his cell, and after a couple of seconds, he gave Josh’s address to someone on the other end, saying something about a possible homicide. Taylor heard the words and shuddered; the tears that had momentarily stopped starting to flow again.
I put an arm around her, half expecting her to shake me off. Taylor didn’t go in for a lot of touching and feeling. Neither did I, for that matter. But she clearly needed it, because she leaned into me, pressing her face against my stomach.
“They should be here in a little while,” Price said as he hung up. “Depending on the roads and visibility.”
He’d want to wait for them. I went to where the linen closet had been emptied onto the floor and found a soft blanket. I put it around Taylor’s shoulders.
“When was the last time you heard from Josh?” Price asked gently, pouring more tea into her cup.
“Last night. We talked before bed,” she said in a hiccupy voice.
“Is that something you usually did?”
She nodded. “When I didn’t—” She broke off and looked at me, flushing.
“When you didn’t come over and spend the night,” I finished matter-of-factly.
“Things were getting better between us,” she said defensively. “He was talking about getting a place together.”
That was a step down. He’d talked about marriage before. He’d actually bought her a ring and started planning the wedding. Then he’d dumped her. I didn’t say it. Taylor didn’t need me chewing on her about that at the moment. Besides, maybe he had changed. I hadn’t seen him to know one way or another.
“Did he seem worried when you talked to him?” Price pursued. “Did he say or do anything unusual?”
Taylor started to shake her head and then stopped. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but he told me he loved me. He told me never to forget it, no matter what happened. I thought it meant he was starting to think about getting married again.” She bit her lip. “He knew something bad was going to happen to him, didn’t he?”
Price ignored the question. “Can you think of anything else that might have seemed unusual or different about his behavior or anything he might have said that would indicate who might have come after him?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t—” She covered her mouth with her hand.
“Didn’t?” I prodded.
“I didn’t want to upset him. He was busy and things at work were really complicated. I didn’t want to give him any reason to—” She broke off again with a helpless wave of her hand.
I filled in the blanks. She had no idea why he’d broken off their engagement and didn’t want to do anything that would make him do it again. I sighed inwardly. This wasn’t Taylor. She was outspoken, assertive, and totally in control of her life. This woman—she was needy and pathetic.
She read my expression before I could mask it. “Don’t look at me that way,” she said sharply, almost sounding back to normal. “You’ve never been in love your entire life. You have no
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