Finally peeking around the corner, I saw Susan push back her barstool and begin clearing their dishes. “Not that I’ve heard. All I know is that the boys were all cleared, since the authorities have a video of the girl or woman responsible.”
“A woman, you say? Were they able to see who it was?”
“Not from what I overheard when the detective was here talking to Thea.” Susan refilled her coffee cup and then asked, “Would you like another cup?”
“Oh, no, I should be going. But thank you so much for breakfast.”
Knowing that was my cue, I backed up and then leisurely strode back to the kitchen, feigning surprise when I caught sight of Lily. “Good morning.”
Her smile was distracted, which was better than annoyed, I supposed. She’d never been my biggest fan. “Good morning, Thea.” She turned back to Susan. “Thanks again. I’ll see you next week for tea?”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
Once Hayle’s mother was gone, I set my bag on one of the barstools and sat in another. “I didn’t know you and Lily were friends.”
Susan’s expression grew thoughtful. “I try to have her over every once in a while. I worry about her getting lonely cooped up in that little cottage.” She shook her head, then said, “I made too much batter for lemon ricotta pancakes, so I hope you’re hungry.”
Actually, I was starving. “I’ll take two servings.”
“Wonderful.” She went to the stove and began heating up a griddle.
When I saw the oversized mixing bowl full of batter, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Were you expecting a whole orphanage to show up instead of this lone orphan?”
As much as I hated other people referring to me as an orphan, I was more than willing to use that term for myself. It was true enough, though my father was likely alive, somewhere. Since I didn’t even know his name, the chances of ever meeting him were pretty much nonexistent.
Susan shook her head good-naturedly. “I went a bit overboard, I guess. But I didn’t realize Mr. Sharpe had already left for a last-minute business trip early this morning, and Hayle said he wasn’t hungry.”
Wait. He left town? Finally?
No wonder Lily had come over for breakfast. There was no chance of her running into her ex-husband.
“Will Vincent be out of town long?” It would be just my luck if he was only going into Seattle for the day.
“He should be back tomorrow afternoon.”
That didn’t give me much time. But who knew when the next opportunity to sneak into his study would present itself.
As I ate my body weight in pancakes, I considered my options. I could wait until after I got back from my classes and hope no one else was home. Leo shouldn’t be, but it was hit or miss with Hayle. And it was possible Susan would be around.
My chances were even worse in the evening. Should I wait until the middle of the night and sneak around in the dark? It might be the best I could do.
“Do you need anything from the grocery store?” Susan asked, breaking through my thoughts. “I’m leaving in about ten minutes.”
“No, thank you.”
“How about Oreos? Individual bags of kettle corn? Ice cream sandwiches?” When I shrugged in response, she waved her spatula at me. “I’m going to discover your weakness one of these days.”
I stood and carried my dishes to the sink. “You know I love everything you make. I don’t need anything else.”
She scrunched her nose. “We’ll see.”
I shot her a grin as I headed from the room. “Thanks for breakfast. See you tonight.”
“Okay, honey. Have a good day.”
As I walked toward the door leading to the garage, a thought suddenly occurred to me. If Susan was going to the store, that meant the house would be empty in a few minutes. The cleaning crew came on Wednesdays, which meant they wouldn’t be here until tomorrow. And without Vincent or Susan around, Gerard would have no reason to come inside the house.
This was my chance.
It meant missing Western Civ, but we’d had a quiz yesterday, and I’d only skipped one class so far. So, it shouldn’t be a problem. I could easily get notes from someone in my study group.
I opened the garage door and confirmed Hayle’s SUV was gone. There wasn’t a single reason I shouldn’t get this over with now.
Shutting the garage door, I quietly slipped back down the hall and waited until Susan left the house about five minutes later. Then, I ran up