The waiter arrived with food. Even those who’d eaten earlier seemed to enjoy the wings, mozzarella sticks and nachos they’d ordered. Finally, the evening came to an end, and they all bid one another good-night.
And as they did, Raina got her chance to hug Mya, Len and Lucia as they said good-night.
She didn’t speak her thoughts aloud until she, Axel and Titan were alone in the car.
“Nothing,” she told him. “Nothing at all. And I’m not sure that means anything. I might have convinced myself in some secret chamber of my mind that I see or feel things.”
“Don’t discount yourself,” Axel told her. “And thank you,” he added.
“I’m not at all sure of what I can do,” she told him. “But this matters so much to me. I mean, any murder is horrible, heinous, but Jennifer... I don’t know. I can’t help but take it personally.”
“I’m going to be talking to people tomorrow morning, and meeting up with Andrew and Nigel in the afternoon at Andrew’s place. It’s our easiest venue for saying things we don’t say in front of others. You’re welcome to come. Titan, too.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s a yes?”
“Definitely.”
They arrived at her house. She started to open the car door when Axel stopped her. “Wait. I’m not risking getting into any trouble with your brother. I’ll walk you to the door and make sure everything is okay,” he told her.
She waited while he walked around. Together, they walked to the front door and she unlocked it. Titan bounded inside.
Raina lingered on the porch next to Axel. They stood almost touching.
This was the moment, she thought. They were growing closer. Not just by the bizarre circumstances. She was extremely attracted to him, so much so she wanted to run her fingers down the front of his dress shirt.
But she didn’t move. And neither did he. She could swear fire or electricity or something snapped and crackled between them. But he didn’t move and she couldn’t allow herself to, either.
At last, he smiled and stepped back.
“You’re not going to check under the beds?” she asked, smiling wryly.
“The way Titan rushed in? You have an amazing alarm system right there. But please, make sure I’m on speed dial, okay?”
She nodded.
“I’m not sure of the time for tomorrow. It’ll be sometime after noon—”
“I’ll be ready whenever,” she told him.
He lowered his head, smiled and nodded, then turned to walk away. Raina watched him go, closed and locked the door and looked at Titan, who was wagging his tail, awaiting her next move.
“You were a very good boy. And now, it’s time for bed!” she told him. “Just a second. I have to text Robert.” She pet Titan with one hand and, with the other, sent a quick message to her brother, letting him know she was home safely.
The events of the day seemed abruptly to wrap around her and sap her of all energy. In her room, she didn’t bother to change.
She fell back on her bed. Her eyes closed. She wasn’t sure if she drifted or not.
She jerked up as Titan suddenly began barking, the sound of it ferocious and insistent.
Bolting out of bed, she ran to the living room. She’d left a night-light on in the kitchen, but the house was otherwise dark and in shadow.
Titan came tearing around from the back to the front, continuing his tirade.
Raina hurried to the back door. Both locks were in place. She ran back to the front just in time to hear a car revving up in the distance.
Had someone been there? Sneaking around her house?
Why? That was ridiculous. Who could possibly know she was seeing things? And if they did, why on earth would they believe it?
She stood in the living room, shaking and afraid. She ran into her room for her purse and her phone, ready to call Axel.
But she didn’t. She couldn’t call him every time her dog barked.
She sat there, holding the phone, awake and frightened for a long time.
She turned on the television for the company, not even aware of what was on. Then she walked through the house, grateful all the glass was stormproof and secure, and that her two doors were also double-bolted.
No one was in the house. If someone had been outside, they were gone now.
But she stayed awake until nearly dawn.
Because she couldn’t shake the feeling.
The feeling a killer somehow knew who she was. That a killer had underestimated her home and her canine alarm system.