The Dead Girls Club - Damien Angelica Walters Page 0,102
me? You want to talk about the truth right now?”
“Since when do you wear a suit to work?” I say. “And why didn’t you say anything about seeing Mom? Why did I have to hear it from her? Why are you being secretive about the phone calls you’re getting and so evasive about the missing check? Not to mention going behind my back with Nicole. Seems like every time I turn, there’s something else.” There’s too much anger painting my words, shading the syllables wrong.
A muscle twitches in his jaw. “Am I hearing this right? What exactly are you accusing me of?”
“Why were you wearing a suit, Ryan? What are you hiding from me?”
Irritation shifts the planes of his face. “Fine. Yes, I talked to Nicole. I already told you I shouldn’t have. I already apologized. I haven’t talked to you any more about the Kanes’ check because it hasn’t shown up. And yeah, I saw your mom at the coffee place. Yeah, I was wearing my suit because I went on a goddamn job interview.”
“A what?” The word holds the ghost of humor.
“A job interview,” he says.
“But you own your company.”
“Yeah, I do,” he says. “But I’ve been thinking of closing up shop, letting someone else handle the business end of things.”
“But,” I say, “you’ve worked so hard for so long, I don’t understand. Why would you want to work for someone else? You’ve never said anything. Isn’t this something we should talk about or—”
“Heather, there are a lot of things we haven’t talked about lately. I didn’t say anything about this because you’ve been so stressed and distracted and I didn’t want to add any more,” he says. “But right now, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about anything. I just want to get home.”
“But I—”
“Please.” The word slices the air.
He turns on the radio. I stare out into the night. And the space between us grows larger and larger.
* * *
Sunday is a study in polite replies and pauses heavy with all the things we’re not saying. I try to bring up the job interview once, and he says, “Not now, please.” I let it go. Maybe it’s better this way. It gives us both time to think. I still can’t believe he didn’t say anything about his job. He always talks to me about things like that. Always.
Dropping my car off at the dealer and picking up a loaner takes less time than I expect. Since I sent Ellie an email letting her know I’d be late, I stop at Starbucks, but even after a cup of coffee and a scone, I’m earlier to the office than planned. The main office door is unlocked, but Ellie’s not at her desk and Christina isn’t here yet.
I stand in the hallway, staring down at my office door, my half-open office door. There’s a shuffle of papers, a sliding drawer. Someone’s in there, going through my files. I stand still, clutching the strap of my bag. Did Alexa call the police? Thank god I deleted the picture of Lauren’s address. But if the police are here …
Hello hangs on my tongue, but I don’t let it go. No way this is the police. There’d be an officer stationed by the door. If they were investigating me, this isn’t how it would happen. So who the hell is in my office and what do they want? I don’t keep anything personal there.
Are they looking for the half-heart necklace? It’s safe, locked in the top drawer of my desk. Safe, unless they know how to pick locks or have a key.
I take baby steps. By the time I draw near, my heart is a painful knot in my chest, my fingers clenched so tight they hurt. Beneath the elastic bandage, my wrist is thumping. From inside my office, there’s another rattle of paper, a sniff, a soft murmur. I can’t take it anymore. I rush forward and peek round the doorframe to see—
My receptionist sitting on the floor next to my cabinet, crying with a file open on her lap. What the hell? Yes, she has spare keys in case of an emergency, but she typically waits for me to unlock everything.
“Ellie?”
She jumps to her feet, swiping away the moisture on her face, holding the file tight at her side, the triangled corners of several pages jutting from the manila folder.
“Dr. Cole,” she says. “Hi, I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.”