I would think that she would be close to her daughter, too. I wonder if anyone notified her of Maria’s death.”
• • •
Toni called Pamela Larkins, who’d indicated that, yes, Myrtis Gunther, who was now living in California, had been notified. When she heard of Maria’s death, she and her new husband were vacationing in the Netherlands and hadn’t been able to get back for the funeral.
Pamela also remembered Maria meeting Myrtis, the month before she had been killed for lunch. The older woman had been in the area visiting her sister in Baltimore. Pamela didn’t know what the two had talked about, though. The only thing Maria had said was that it had been good to see her mom’s friend again.
Back at their desks, Toni glanced over Drew. “I think we should talk to Myrtis Gunter. Perhaps Maria confided in her.” She glanced at her watch. “She’s on the West Coast and that’s Pacific time. It’s before noon there.”
She tried calling Myrtis Gunther, but the call went to voicemail. Myrtis Gunter called back within the hour. It just so happened she was in Baltimore visiting her sister again, and not in California. Toni made arrangements to meet with Ms. Gunther tomorrow at her sister’s home at eleven.
Drew glanced at his watch. “I’m leaving a little early today. I’m expecting a package and want to be there when it arrives.”
“Okay. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“You, too. Don’t work too late.”
She watched him leave, loving the swag in his walk. He paused before rounding the corner to glance back at her and smile. That smile made a deep, sexual hunger stir to life in the pit of her stomach.
It was getting harder and harder to remember why she’d insisted on those rules. Why was she denying what she wanted? What he wanted? Were those rules making it easier for them to cope during the day? Or had things suddenly become much more difficult?
Toni had not missed the way Drew had looked at her this afternoon, when they’d grabbed a sandwich and fries at Brewster’s Café. The sexual vibes swirled around them while they ate.
She glanced out the window, knowing he’d had enough time to get to his car. As if he had known she would be standing there watching him, he paused before opening his car door and glanced up where he knew she would be. Even with the distance between him, she read the look in his eyes. Waiting for Friday was killing him as much as it was killing her.
When she had put her rules in place, they had seemed to make a lot of sense. Now, they made no sense at all. Not when she lay in bed each night wanting him, loving him, needing him.
Life was too short to waste. Tomorrow was promised to no one. If anything, Maria Tindal’s death had made her realize that. When you loved someone, you wanted to be with them all the time. Not just on the weekends.
It didn’t matter if Drew hadn’t yet told her he loved her. Nor did it matter that she was doing the same thing her mother had done. Loving a man who might not love her back. But then, she now knew her father had loved her mother, just not enough. He had done what Toni was doing now—sticking to the rules he had established. Her father had admitted it was a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life.
Drew finally released her gaze and got inside his car. She drew in a deep breath. She knew Drew would follow her rules until she relented. And it was time that she did. She loved him and wanted to spend every moment she could with him… Starting now.
ANDREW FINISHED READING THE investigator’s report Duan had sent him and had to take several deep breaths to control his rage. No wonder Thomas Gilmore had worked so hard to shift the blame for his son’s actions—killing his wife and two small boys. If the truth got out, there would be hell to pay.
A part of him had a mind to call Duan and tell him to leak it to the press. Then they’d all see what people thought of the man they held in such high esteem. But he could not do that. The decision to handle this—or not—was Toni’s to make.
He would give her time to get home, and then he would call and ask if he could come over, telling her he had