Chapter Fifty Raine #2
He slipped out his phone. “Got another picture I’d like to show you. Do you mind looking at it?”
“Okay.”
Soon Molly’s numbness would wear off and she’d realize how her life had changed. Judson understood this, and that’s why he hadn’t delayed this visit.
He showed her a shot of Gabe, Molly, and Amy. “Looks like you three were having a fun day,” Judson said.
Molly took a bite of bagel. “We went to the zoo. I liked the giraffes.”
“Can you tell me who the lady is?”
There was a dollop of cream cheese on her chin. “It’s a secret.”
“Your dad told me her name is Amy. Is that right?”
Surprise raised the girl’s brows. “Yes.”
“She’s smiling. She looks happy here.”
Molly shrugged.
“Did you see Amy a lot?”
“Sometimes.”
Leaning closer, I wiped the cream cheese dotting her chin. “It’s okay to talk about her. The old secrets don’t matter now.”
A young face shouldn’t have such a deep frown. “Daddy liked Amy. He made her laugh.”
“What did they talk about?” Judson asked.
“I don’t know. She bought me a bear at the zoo.”
“You have a few bears,” I said.
“The red one,” Molly said. “I didn’t like it very much. It smelled funny.”
The red bear was in her animal zoo. I remembered it because the color was unnatural.
“Did you see Amy again?”
“A couple of times,” Molly said.
“Where did you see her?”
Molly sighed. “Daddy left me with her when he had a job.”
“Where did you two go?”
She drew in a breath. “Here.”
Judson kept his expression neutral and his voice smooth. “What did you do here?”
“She showed me around the house. We played hide-and-seek.”
I thought about the scorch marks in the attic. “Did you go to the attic?”
Molly dropped her gaze. “Yes.”
“It’s okay if you did,” I said.
“You’ll think I was bad,” she said.
I laid my hands on her shoulders. “I won’t think you were bad. Never. You can tell me anything.” When she didn’t speak, I asked, “Was there a fire in the attic?”
Judson frowned at the question.
“I saw the black marks,” I explained. “I was with a worker man who’s going to fix it.”
She didn’t speak.
“I bet it was an accident,” Judson said. “Fires can happen so easily in old houses.”
Molly met his gaze. “The lights went out. It was dark. Amy lit a candle.”
“Where did she get the candle?” he asked.
“She had some in the attic. And matches.”
“And then what?” Judson asked. “Did it tip over?”
She nodded. “We were dancing. ‘Ring Around the Rosie.’ And then I hit the candle. It fell. Burned very fast.”
“Who put out the fire?” Judson asked.
“Amy grabbed a blanket. It was scary. I never told Mommy or Daddy.”
“Did Mommy know Amy?”
“They were friends.”
“How do you know?”
“We saw Amy at the store. Mommy said hi to her.”
Over the child’s head, I met Judson’s gaze. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. “I didn’t know that.”
Her feet swung back and forth. “Mommy invited Amy here.”
“To Hale House?” I tore a bagel in half as if I weren’t totally focused on her answers.
“Yeah.”
I bit into the bagel. Chewed. “Was that before or after the zoo?”
Her brow knotted. “Last week.”
“Really?” he said.
“We had tea and cookies.”
My smile was forced. “You remember everything.”
“It’s amazing,” Judson said.
“Can I watch TV?” Molly asked.
“Sure. For a little while,” I said. “Then we’ll go out?”
“Where?”
I had no idea. But I knew sitting in this house in front of a television wasn’t super healthy.
Molly hopped off her stool and dashed into the living room.
“Do you need help with the TV?” I asked.
“Noooo. It’s easy.”
When the TV clicked on, I said, “I’ve been told a lot of screen time isn’t good.”
“One step at a time,” Judson said.
I lowered my voice. “Where did you get that picture of Amy, Gabe, and Molly?”
“On Amy’s nightstand. Framed.”
“She saw them as her family.” Angry, I took a deep breath. “Maria would’ve fought it all the way.”
“Why bring Amy here? Amy suspected Maria was stalking her.”
“Tea and cookies.” I shook my head. “A real invitation to Hale House might’ve been hard to resist.”
We stood in silence. How could people we’d known so well have ended up strangers? “How did Amy die?”
He drew in a breath. “Possible ingestion of cyanide.”
“All three? The same poison?”
“Yeah.”
“How did they ingest it?”
“Maria’s in her wine. Gabe’s anxiety pills are being tested. And I don’t know yet how Amy was poisoned. The ME can check her stomach contents.”
“When did Amy die?”
“At least a week ago.”
“After the tea and cookies?”
“I’m not sure.”
Judson and I hadn’t spoken seriously in years. Back then hormones raged. We were always primed, ready to get naked and tumble onto a blanket. Even then, he was never rushed. His mouth on me, kissing my neck, my breasts, my stomach. How embarrassingly wet I’d been as he tasted all of me.
Only when I begged would he finally enter me. I’d savored the way my body had stretched to accommodate his. When I came, he’d watch, his gaze glistening with arrogance. And then he’d move in and out of me faster and faster until he came.
Judson stilled as if he’d sensed my thoughts. He had to remember what we’d shared.
I shifted. My habit of wanting what I couldn’t have never ended well. “I’m going to have Gabe and Maria buried in the Hale cemetery. Together.”
He swallowed whatever thoughts he had as he looked past to the child sitting six inches from the TV. “You sure about that?”
“Yes. It’ll be best in the long run.”
“Fair enough. Let me know when.”
“I will.”
“I’ll have that locksmith here in the next couple of hours,” Judson said.
“Thanks.”
“I want to see the attic,” he said.
He let the words trail. But I understood the meaning. Whoever was doing this could be after Molly and me.