the doctor wants,” he said, once he’d unclenched them enough to release the words. “The moment she’s ready for company, I’ll let you know.”
She smiled, glad for the first time in months that she’d been trained to smile anytime it might benefit her. “Be sure you do. In the meantime, we’ll stay out of your way.” That last part was true enough. If the neighbors were going to find out what was going on, they would have to do it without him around.
He relaxed a little. “It’s a difficult time. I’m sorry if I sound rude. But sometimes the best thing anybody can do is nothing.”
“I am so sure you’re right.” She nodded in emphasis. “And hey, I’m the queen of doing nothing. But I’ll be right here when you need me.” She stepped back from the car. “I know you’re taking good care of Alice. You take care of yourself and Olivia, too, please. We’re all rooting for you.”
The moment the crunch of oyster shells under his tires was no longer audible, Tracy took off for home. She grabbed the bag of smoke detectors, but she knew better than to think that ploy would work if Lee came back while she was inside. He’d just warned her off. She could pretend she had simply forgotten to mention the detectors, but he would see right through that.
Still, what choice did she have? Wait another week and try it? Who knew what the situation would be at that point? She was more convinced than ever that something had to be done quickly.
She took a moment to dial Wanda before she left for Alice’s, but she got a busy signal. It was too early in the day for seduction, but Wanda often called her children and grandchildren. Hopefully Tracy would be in and out before Wanda hung up. She tried Janya, but there was no answer, and Tracy gave up. She didn’t have time to rally the troops. She had to go, and go right now.
Alice’s keys in her pocket, she took off the way she’d just come. The street was deserted. Lee hadn’t dropped a hint about where he was going, but she hoped his destination was somewhere across the bridge. Maybe Olivia needed school clothes, or they needed a good grocery shopping, since they hardly left the house anymore. She told herself that if Lee just needed bread or milk, he wouldn’t have taken Olivia with him for the trip.
On the other hand, maybe he wouldn’t have taken Olivia if he wasn’t planning to be back home in a matter of minutes….
She sped up so much that she almost slammed into Alice’s door. Stopping just in time, she flipped open the screen door and jammed the key into the doorknob, praying as she did that Lee hadn’t changed the locks.
He hadn’t, most likely for all the reasons Wanda had suggested. Or possibly because he believed Tracy was just a ditz with a key ring.
Inside, the house was not as clean as she remembered, although nothing seemed out of place. A healthy Alice would never have allowed dust in corners, or streaks on the glass doors of the cabinet that held her dance trophies. The lilac smell was fainter now, as if the plug-ins were overdue to be changed. The aquarium looked murky enough that Tracy hoped the fish had written their last will and testament.
“Alice? It’s Tracy. I’m here to install a new smoke alarm.”
The air conditioner came on with a whine, and she jumped at the noise, her heart pounding harder.
“Jeez, Wanda,” she muttered, “if you hear me screaming over here, come quick.”
Pretty sure she knew which room Olivia and Alice shared, she started down the hall and knocked on the closed door at the end.
“Alice?” She listened. “Alice, it’s Tracy. Are you all right?”
No one answered.
She stopped, heart nearly in her throat now. The last time she’d checked a renter’s bedroom, she’d discovered a corpse. She closed her eyes. All she had to do was put her hand on the doorknob and turn it. Then all she had to do was open her eyes and take one good look. Still she couldn’t make herself move. She hadn’t forgotten how it felt to find Herb.
“Okay, here I go. It’s like sex. It’s got to be easier the second time. Everything’s easier the second time.” The pep talk didn’t work. “I’m doing this for Alice. No matter what I find, it’s got to be better than not knowing.”
She still wasn’t