by to see if everything was all right. Ella had left her husband to tend to the stragglers at their party while she came down to be with us.
“It was probably nothing,” I say lightly. “Some vagrant.”
Drew throws me a look from the chair by the window. He’s tense and not hiding it well, with a white-knuckled grip on the chair arm. Vivian stands behind him looking out into the night, frowning with worry.
“I told you not to call the fucking cops,” he’d whispered harshly on his arrival. He took me into his arms so that everyone in the room thought he was embracing me. He smelled of cigars. “What were you thinking?”
“It was Esperanza.”
He pushed a disdainful breath out of his nose. “And I told you two to hire an illegal. They don’t call the police.”
He’d released me and given me a disapproving scowl, reminding me how much I actually dislike him. Drew is a cold mountain of a man, as distant as the summit of Everest and about as easy to reach. Even if you got there, you’d want to leave right away.
“Annie,” Ella says, looking at me gravely, “someone followed you home. It’s something.”
One of the plainclothes officers walks in through the open door leading from the pool deck. We’ve already been through how I couldn’t identify the man, haven’t noticed anyone following me at any other time, and have no history with a lover, old boyfriend, or stalker. Of course, I do have a history—just not one I can share.
“To be honest, Mrs. Powers, there’s really not much we can do,” he says, closing the door behind him. I find myself liking him for some reason. He has a quiet air and seems like a careful person, observant and slow to react.
“I do see tracks leading from the beach; a smaller set leads up to the door to your house. They’re yours, I’m assuming. The larger set stops at the edge of your property. Technically, whoever followed you didn’t set foot on your land. And even if he had, we wouldn’t be making molds and tracking down boot manufacturers unless…”
“Unless he’d killed me,” I say, feeling Drew’s eyes on me. Wouldn’t that have made his day?
The cop clears his throat, runs a tan hand through salt-and-pepper hair. “That’s right. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here at all except that there’s been a rash of break-ins over the last few weeks. Usually the uniformed officers would have come to take a report.”
“That’s great,” says Ella. “That’s just great.” She has the sense of entitlement that pampered, wealthy people have, but not in that awful way. Just naïve. “How is she supposed to sleep at night?”
I look at her. I want to tell her I haven’t slept in years.
“This house has a good security system,” he says. “Keep the doors locked, and you might think about getting a dog.”
“A dog?” says Ella. “That’s your advice?”
I give the cop an apologetic look.
Drew stays silent. Vivian walks over and sits beside me, rests a hand on my leg. I examine her face for signs of judgment and disapproval. But I just see compassion and worry. And the shade of something else I can’t quite put my finger on.
“Mrs. Powers,” says the cop. Everyone’s looking at me. He has asked me something that, lost in thought, I didn’t hear. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sorry,” I say, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my free hand. “Sure of what?”
He lets a beat pass. “That you have no idea who might have reason to follow you.”
“Yes, of course,” I say.
His expression tells me he doesn’t believe me. He has picked up on something; he glances over at Drew, then back at me. I feel my shoulders go stiff at the tension in the room.
“All right,” says Ella, rising. “She said she’s sure. If there’s nothing else you can do, you might as well just go and let her get some rest.”
I focus on Victory, who has somehow, in spite of all the talking, drifted fully asleep in my arms. I listen to her deep, restful breathing.
He places a card on the coffee table, throws another glance at Drew. “If you need anything tonight, Mrs. Powers, give me a call. I’m on all night.”
“Thanks,” I say. “You’ve been a big help. Really.”
He looks at me uncertainly. If I sound sarcastic, I don’t mean to.
After the police have left, I put my daughter in her bed and convince Ella to go home.
“Did you call Gray?”