The words sounded good in his head before his feet hit the floor.
He wasn’t as sure of them fifteen minutes later when, Caleb in his arms, he walked into the kitchen to see the sexy blonde in jeans and a braless tank top, whisking scrambled eggs over his wife’s stove.
“Diane called,” she said. The words were accompanied by a look that had him doing a ninety degree turn. Grabbing a toaster pastry from the shelf, he sat Caleb on the living room floor, unwrapped the pastry, gave it to the toddler cold and untoasted, turned on the television and was back in the kitchen in less than a minute.
“What’d she say?”
“Cause of death wasn’t the car accident.”
“What was it?”
“She had a brain bleed due to a severe blow to the head. She was dead before impact. And that was why she crashed. Not because of blood alcohol levels, which was what they blamed the accident on the first time around.”
Forensic science at its best. And unless you were some type of celebrity, or the suspected victim of a decorated cop, there probably wouldn’t be access to it.
“The coroner ruled it a homicide,” Chantel said. How a woman could look so sexy making an announcement like that Max would never know.
And that was probably why he’d never been able to get as close to Jill in several years of marriage as he had with Meri on their first date. Because, like Chantel, Jill had a certain hardness about her, a skin grown thick enough to shield her, the result of having to observe some of life’s uglier moments.
She hadn’t really needed him.
And Max needed to be needed.
“Does this mean there’s a warrant out for Smith’s arrest?”
“Yes.”
“In Nevada only?”
“National law provides for an arrest in any state if a perp is wanted on criminal charges. He’ll have to be extradited to be tried, but that’s not going to be a problem.”
He couldn’t believe it. The nightmare was finally going to be over.
Lightheaded, bemused and completely disoriented, Max picked up the gorgeous blonde in his kitchen and kissed her full on the lips.
After which he dropped her to her feet and wanted to die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JENNA LEFT The Lemonade Stand for the last time Sunday morning while Lila was off the property and her housemates and Renee were at the private, nondenominational church service held in the theater in the main building.
She signed out, so no one would think she’d been abducted. And left a note for Lila, thanking her for her hospitality and included a check for ten thousand dollars. It wouldn’t go all that far at The Lemonade Stand, but it was as much as she had in her personal account. She wouldn’t spend money she shared with Max without his permission.
When this was all over, she’d be dead. Or she’d have access to her joint account with Max.
There was another note for Carly and Latoya, with a personal message for each, and a third one for Renee.
She begged the older woman to have the strength to love her son with the tough love he needed. And told her that she considered her one of the only true friends she’d ever known.
As she sneaked out the gate, and slipped away, taking only the purse she’d come in with, and the prepaid cell phone, she sent up a prayer that Yvonne would heal. And remain strong.
That Maddie would have a healthy baby.
That her young client who stuttered would overcome his speech disorder.
And that if anything bad happened to her, someone would find the diary she’d left hidden underneath her mattress—she didn’t want it found too soon—and give it to Max to save for Caleb.
She’d left instructions to that effect on the first page of the diary.