Even after all the warnings, Abby had made some halfhearted attempts to find out more, but her mom’s unhappiness was more than she could bear. Abby quit looking and she even forbade Scully to search or to speak of what had happened.
It had worked well because Abby saw her mother begin to get happier. She liked her job and for a while their lives had been pleasant. But then Orin called and Grace went running to him—and she came back poorer than when she’d left. The money for Abby’s new dress was gone.
She knew her mother hadn’t meant for Abby to find out. But on Sunday Abby wanted to go to the mall in Williamsburg to look for a dress, but her mom said she couldn’t. She said she needed to talk to her boss, Mr. Frazier, on Monday. Abby knew what that meant: Orin had taken the money and her mom was going to ask for a loan. Abby hadn’t said anything, just walked out of the room in silence.
It wasn’t easy to hold that much anger. Her mother had reassured her that they’d buy a beautiful dress, but to Abby, it was the principle of the thing.
Tonight it was her anger that woke her. Her teeth were clenched, her hands made into fists, and she was in pain.
She got up and went into the kitchen to get something to eat. She didn’t want her mother to know she was up, so she didn’t open the fridge with its bright light and a noise that her mother always seemed to hear. As she was on her way back to her bedroom, she walked past the window and a movement caught her eye. At first she didn’t pay any attention to it. Rex was a great watchdog that barked at the slightest movement. But then Abby backed up. To her disbelief she saw the shadow of what looked like a woman sailing over the top of their fence. She was so graceful, it looked like she was performing on some dance show.
As Abby stared out the dark window, she saw a man close behind the woman. The two of them went to the shed in the back—what Scully called the Forbidden Building because Abby’s mom never allowed anyone to enter it—and slipped inside.
Abby grabbed her phone to call the sheriff. But she didn’t. Maybe it was her anger at her mother, or maybe it was her extreme curiosity. Of course, years ago, she and Scully had found the lock combination and had investigated. Inside the shed were just boxes full of old receipts. Why would these two rather elegantly dressed people want to break into an old shed?
She pulled up a stool to the side of the window and ate while she watched the show. At one point she cranked a window open and it creaked. She barely had time to close it before the shed door opened and the man came out and looked around. He even came close to the window and looked in.
Yet again, Abby stayed behind the curtain, her finger hovering over the keypad of her phone. But she still didn’t touch it. The man—who she saw quite clearly—turned and went back into the shed.
The second he was inside, Abby again opened the window a bit. Another woman arrived, then the two women went back over the fence. Minutes later, she saw the man begin to toss boxes over the fence. She thought maybe she heard voices, but in the gathering wind, she wasn’t sure.
She saw the shadow of a man—heavier than the first one—close up the shed and put a lock on it. She was willing to bet it wasn’t the lock that her mother knew the combination to. The outdoor light flashed for a moment, then went off.
Finally, there was silence. Abby sat still for a while, but her instincts told her that all the people were gone.
Long ago she’d found the little red book where her mother kept all her passcodes. Tiptoeing, Abby went to her mother’s desk in the spare bedroom and looked. In the next minute she was running across the yard in her bare feet. She tried the combination six times but it didn’t work.
Yawning, she started back to the house and nearly tripped over Rex. At first she was sickened as she thought they’d killed him, but he was just sleeping. How interesting, she thought, and went back inside and got into bed. She couldn’t wait to tell Scully everything.
10
Frank dropped Pilar and Chelsea off at Eli’s house, saying that someone would return Chelsea’s car the next day. The men didn’t explain to the women where they were going. They just drove away, leaving the women standing on the sidewalk.
“My car is over there,” Pilar said. “I’ve got a long drive ahead so I better go.”
“Take the other guest room,” Chelsea said as she went to the front door.
“Thanks,” Pilar said.
Ten minutes later, Chelsea was in the shower. She was exhilarated from the evening, but also exhausted. She felt like she wanted to sleep for a week, but at the same time she thought she might never sleep again.
She shampooed her hair, then held her head back under the showerhead. As the hot water cascaded down over her long hair, she closed her eyes. She wondered what Eli and his dad were doing now. Sitting in a coffee shop somewhere and discussing everything? Talking together about things that Eli seemed to think Chelsea wasn’t smart enough, involved enough, whatever, to help him figure out? Were they—?
She opened her eyes to see Eli, naked, standing in the shower with her.
All the questions in her mind disappeared. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was a kiss that in seconds went deeper.
Eli picked her up, his hands on her round, curvy bottom. Her legs went around his torso, pulling him to her, and he set her down on his hard maleness.
It filled her. Her head went back as his lips were on her neck. He moved her so her back was against the tile wall. The water beat down on them as his strokes increased in depth. Chelsea clutched at his back,
pulling him closer.
When she came, he kept on stroking, slowly and gently until she returned to life. “My turn,” he whispered, and she held on for his last strokes.
He held her against the wall, his lips against hers. “You still have shampoo in your hair.”
“And you’re sweaty,” she said.