Dark Room (Pete 'Monty' Montgomery 2)

“Where’s Elyse?” Morgan asked, scanning the area.

The two security guys nodded at her. They were posted at separate corners of the living room. Between the two of them, they had a full view of the hallway leading from the front door to the rest of the apartment. Comprehensive, but nonintrusive. They were drinking coffee and munching on slices of Jill’s all-natural banana bread.

“Mom’s getting dressed. I got her to take a nap and a shower. She should be out any minute.”

On cue, the master-bedroom door opened and Elyse walked out. Monty couldn’t help but feel sorry for the woman; she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Drawn, white-faced, and with a bleak, defeated look in her eyes.

“Hello, Detective,” she greeted him. “Thank you for bringing Morgan here safely.” She went over, gave Morgan a short, hard hug. “I made you some chicken soup. It’s on the stove, whenever you want it. Also, I picked up a bag of Snickers. I thought you deserved a little comfort food.”

Morgan smiled. “Thanks. I might polish off the whole bag this afternoon.”

“Any breakthroughs?” Elyse was looking at Monty again.

“Not yet. But there will be.” Monty

glanced at his watch. “I’m meeting your husband in a little while to discuss added security. Before I go, do you have a few minutes? I’d like to review the details of our conversation the other day.”

“I’m not sure what else I can tell you. But if you think it will help, of course we can talk.”

“Use the kitchen,” Morgan inserted quickly, before Jill could offer to stay with Elyse for support. “Jill and I will head off to my old room. I need a shower. And since I’m not crazy about being alone right now, she can hang out in my room and talk to me through the bathroom door.”

“That’s fine.” Elyse nodded, gesturing for Monty to follow her. “Have a seat at the table, Detective. I just made a fresh pot of coffee for our security team. You can warm up with a mug of that, and we can talk.”

“And you’re welcome to my banana bread, too,” Jill added. “I baked three loaves since we got home. Nervous energy.”

“Thanks.” Monty waited until Jill and Morgan had disappeared from view, then he followed Elyse into the kitchen.

Over coffee and banana bread, he calmly reiterated his questions about the crank calls Elyse had received, her feeling of being followed, and the driver of the white van she’d spotted outside the gym.

Her answers were the same. But her nerves had definitely frayed.

“Have you received any calls since Tuesday when we spoke?” he asked.

“No.” Elyse poured herself a cup of coffee, clutching the mug with unsteady hands. “I guess the caller moved on to bigger and better things—running down women and trashing apartments.”

“Speaking of the hit-and-run, I had a chance to interview both Karly Fontaine and Rachel Ogden.”

Elyse definitely tensed. “Did either of them provide information on who was driving the vehicle?”

“Nope. The incident happened too fast. They both offered to help in any way they could. Even Rachel, who’d just come through surgery. She’s one strong young woman. They both are.” Monty’s brows drew together quizzically. “Do you know either of them?”

“No. Why would you ask?”

A shrug. “Morgan mentioned that sometimes you and Winshore refer clients to each other. I thought maybe this was one of those times.”

“It wasn’t.” Elyse took a swallow of coffee.

“In that case, you should meet these two. They’d fit right in with your clientele. Karly’s a former model who’s now an executive in her modeling agency, so I don’t have to tell you the amount of time she spends working out and the kind of physical shape she’s in. And Rachel’s a knockout—a lot younger than Karly, and super-high-powered. She’s some kind of management consultant. It’s hard to believe that someone in her midtwenties could be so accomplished.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Elyse was staring into her mug. “Youth is a big plus in this superficial world of ours.”

Monty broke off a piece of banana bread, watching Elyse as he chewed. “You’re right. This is a youth-oriented society. Especially for women, when it comes to looks. It’s a shame men can’t see past their…well, you get the drift.”

“Yes, I do.” Elyse’s head came up. “What I don’t get is why we’re discussing this. Is there something about this Rachel Ogden I should know?”

“Such as?”

“You tell me. You’re certainly dwelling on her enough.”