A Fatal Romance. June Shaw
walked around the house fast and saw the broken sliding glass door. He asked if the glass was going to be replaced, and I told him probably. I said he should come back and find out.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“He didn’t ask what happened to the sliding door. And I’m thinking—could he be the person who broke in here?”
“You’re kidding.” Now she really had me confused. “You believe he could be? Hadn’t you called him to come over?”
She spread her hands. “Yes, but that was right before Stan left. He got here just minutes after Stan drove away. Dave told me he’d been in the neighborhood. Had he been scouting my house? Besides, he would have been able to tell beforehand that I didn’t have an alarm in place.”
“Really?” None of what she suggested made total sense. “So cancel the call.”
Her pinched expression suggested I was off kilter. “Are you kidding me? He could be the one.”
I nodded. I’d seen her painting that suggested her intense attraction to this man. Yes, it would be wonderful if she could meet the perfect one for her. She had tried. Being settled with a man she could share equal love with had been her goal for years. I wanted her to reach that goal.
She swept through the room, shaking her head as though mentally trying to sort things. “I saw him a couple of times since his shop opened last year and wanted to meet him, but wasn’t sure about getting an alarm system. Now I can have him right here for a while.” Her pacing halted in front of me.
“And you want me to be your backup here just in case, right?”
She grabbed my fingers, leaned her forehead against mine, and looked me in the eye, a sure sign of trouble. “Sunny, I really like him, and I don’t really believe he’s a bad guy. But with all the strange things that’ve just happened, the thought occurred.”
“That’s definitely not enough to call the police.”
“Correct. And I do want to check him out, you know. See if he might care about me.” She offered a warm smile.
“So…?” By the time she finished telling me her idea, the man might come over and leave.
“That wouldn’t be possible if you and I are both here.”
“Okay.”
She squeezed my hands. “So I need you to be me.”
Chapter 5
“Uh-uh, no way.”
We’d had fun tricking others when we were little. I hadn’t played the part of Eve since high school, that day she didn’t show up to take her final exam in science. Most people couldn’t tell us apart unless we were together, and then they might notice slight differences, mainly that she was slimmer. I hadn’t been great in science but understood that subject a little more than she did. She needed a passing grade on that test, or she would have flunked the course. I only took the exam because she’d begged.
Maybe I should have let her fail so she would’ve learned a lesson. But she was my sister. My sister.
Now that I thought about it, the reason she hadn’t studied back then was also her interest in a cute guy who found her attractive, too. Who knows where they went off to?
“Sunny, there is no way I’d let you get hurt. I really don’t believe he’s a bad guy, but I need to be one hundred percent certain, and you can be much more objective about people, especially male ones.” She gave me her sad eyed, lower-lip-out hopeless look. “I truly believe he could be my soul mate.”
“Oh, Eve.”
“I mean it. He seems real nice, and I think he likes me. But you are a great judge of men, and you know I am not.”
I hummed, considering the possibility of looting or sex.
She set her index finger on the tip of my nose. “You meet with him.”
“Excuse me?”
“You have a clear head. You can judge him, and he wouldn’t behave the same if we were both here. I’ll be right across the street watching to make sure everything’s okay.”
“Wow, what protection.” I stepped to the door of her art room. “If a man tries to hurt me in your house, you’ll do what? Throw a rock at the door to scare him?”
“I’m sure he’s not a bad person. He surely isn’t a killer.”
“Eve, this time—”
“I’ll be right out there, and I’ll call you as soon as he gets inside. Then you can tell him I’m coming over—of course you’ll say I’m you. And tell him the police will be following to do more inspecting in the house. Besides, Stan left me a pistol. It’s loaded.”
My stomach clenched like a fist ready to punch. “A loaded gun? You’re kidding.”
She yanked open the top drawer of the end table to the right of the sofa and lifted a pistol. Black, silver top. Metallic smell. “There, it’s off safety. This is easy to use. You just point and pull.”
I backed away, shaking my head. “No, Eve.”
She kept nodding. “I’m just kidding about having to use a gun. But you can stay close to the table after he comes inside. If he wanted to do anything bad, he’d probably try it right away. You’ll be fine, Sunny. You know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I believed he’d hurt you.” She smiled, looking pleased with her plan.
“This isn’t a good idea.”
“Just do this one favor for me, please. Stay here. Be nice to him—unless he tries to hurt you.” She smiled wider. “Kidding. I’m just jittery. And I really, really like him.”
The shadow of a truck crossed the sheer curtains in front of her den.
She returned the pistol to the drawer. “I’ve gotten close to Dave, so he expects that of me—you. Just be nice. You’ll be safe. Promise.” She swiped her fingers across her heart. “I’ll be right out there.”
She waited, purse on her arm, letting me make up my mind. She looked so much like me, except for her better clothes and more confident attitude. This idea of performing was rather intriguing and pulled my mind away from death scenes. She had no real reason to think the man would hurt anyone, and my current purpose in life was keeping her safe.
I shivered and hummed. “I’ll do it.”
“You won’t regret it. I owe you. Big time.”
I forced a cheerful laugh. “Right. This will be a breeze. Go on.”
She hugged me and dashed toward the door to the garage. My mind screamed Are you crazy? while my stomach squeezed into a knot no Boy Scout could ever untie.
Chimes from the front door rang out.
Anxiety swelled through my chest. I had to go through with our plan. Eve needed the man checked out. If he wasn’t okay, he wouldn’t have stayed in business long. A call to the BBB should tell if complaints were registered, like had he bludgeoned any customers? With an unsteady step, I moved to the peephole.
Dave Price stood away from the door. A tiny image showed him waiting patiently. He didn’t keep ringing the doorbell like I would have. I sucked in a breath and unlocked the door.
“Hello.” I thrust my hand out.
He took it with a broad hand that was warm, his grip firm. “Hello, Eve. You asked me to come back.”
His greeting brought me to fully recall I was playing a role. My sister would have told this fine-looking businessman to call her by her first name.
“Yes, Dave, please come in.”
Dave stood taller than me