The Perfect Couple (Last Stand #4)(47)
Author: Brenda Novak

"Are you kidding? Tiff–" He swore in frustration. "Hang on a sec. I need to close my door."

As she waited anxiously, she imagined him rounding his desk and quietly closing the expensive, heavy door to his swanky office. She’d been the fat girl others made fun of in school, yet she’d married a lawyer–one with a prestigious firm. She was so proud of Colin, of their home and what she’d become. She loved bumping into people who knew her way back when, enjoyed their reaction when they realized who she was and how much she’d changed. That actually had more to do with the reason she didn’t want Zoe in her house. This was the first time her husband had been so taken with another woman. Tiffany couldn’t let the infatuation continue; it could get out of hand.

He came back on the line, but his voice was so low she had trouble making out the words.

"What?" she said.

"I know what I’m doing."

"I understand it makes us look good to help, but…why can’t you plan the search routes on your own?"

"Because I want her to see how hard we’re working. If we can win her loyalty, she’ll be the first to defend us if accusations ever arise."

"Then do it at her place, with Anton. His loyalties are important, too."

"She doesn’t live there anymore. She left that old tight-ass last night. I told you they’d never get married."

This wasn’t encouraging news. The thought of Zoe being available spooked Tiffany. "We could still meet her off-site. How’s it smart to invite her into our house when…when you know why we shouldn’t?"

"It’s a preemptive strike. I’ve been thinking about Rover. If he does wake up and starts running his mouth, he might come up with a few key details. If any of those details match us, Zoe could get suspicious. We live right next door to where Sam went missing, after all. So we open our home, make her feel she can move around freely in it. By the time she leaves tonight, she’ll be so convinced we have nothing to hide she’ll immediately discount any similarities as coincidence."

"But why tonight?" Tiffany complained. This was her one chance to recapture her husband’s full attention, to convince him she hadn’t lost her ability to satisfy him. "I don’t get off until five. And then I have to go to the gym."

A voice, cracking with age, interrupted. "Tiffany? Tiffany Bell, is that you?"

It was Mrs. Floyd in 32-D, just around the corner.

Tiffany covered the receiver to respond to her. "Yes, it’s me. What do you need?"

"I can’t reach my blanket."

Mrs. Floyd made up any excuse to draw Tiffany to her bedside.

Usually Tiffany didn’t mind. She understood the loneliness suffered by so many of their residents. But it wasn’t sympathy that motivated her to duck into Mrs. Floyd’s room today. She wanted to avoid the searching eye of her boss, who constantly roved around the home and could come upon her at any moment.

"Here you go." She spread the blanket over the old lady’s feet.

"Tiffany?" Colin said.

"What?"

"Forget the gym for today and stop at the grocery store to buy whatever you need. Grab some tri-tip that’s already been grilled. Then you’ll only have to make a couple of sides. And don’t forget to get some munchies for the guys."

"Who’re you talking to?" the old lady demanded.

"My husband." Tiffany put a finger to her lips to indicate quiet. "So they’re still coming?" she said into the phone. "Tommy and James?"

"You told me you wanted them to. Are you changing your mind now that you have me all excited?"

"No, of course not."

A shadow darkened the doorway and yet another voice interrupted her conversation. "Tiffany?"

Tiffany looked up to see her boss. "Yes?"

"Focus on your work."

"I’m sorry," she said. "I’ll get off right away."

"Make it now." Folding her arms, Amanda Hargraves waited to see that Tiffany followed through.

"I have to go," she told Colin.

"Just have the house ready, and make sure you’ve taken precautions with our new pet," he hurried to add.

She glanced nervously at Amanda. "The usual?"

"Two pills this time. I don’t want any surprises. This is going to be a big night."

It promised to be quite a party, all right. But as Tiffany ended the call, she couldn’t say she was looking forward to it. Her only hope was that Colin would be pleased, that it would put him in a great mood for a weekend at the cabin.

Mrs. Hargraves gave the inside wall a thump to show her approval of Tiffany’s obedience and moved on, but the bedridden Mrs. Floyd continued to watch Tiffany with interest. "There’s nothing like being happily married,"

she said.

Tiffany shoved her cell phone in her pocket and smiled. "No."

"You’re madly in love?"

"I’d rather die than live without Colin."

A faroff look entered the old lady’s rheumy eyes. "I felt the same way about my Richard, God rest his soul."

The difference was that Tiffany meant it literally. And, because of Zoe, she was facing the worst threat of her life. She should never have taken Sam. Colin wouldn’t have gotten so swept away by their neighbor if she hadn’t tried to cover up for one mistake with another.

Despite Mrs. Floyd’s complaint that it had been over a week since they’d played pinochle, Tiffany excused herself and returned to the vending machine, where she bought two candy bars and ate them both.

When she arrived to meet him at the hospital, Zoe wore an attractive sleeveless blouse with a pair of jeans that accentuated her long limbs and slender figure. But she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring. That wasn’t a detail Jonathan wanted to notice, but the tan lines on her finger as she opened her car door told him its removal was as rare as it was recent. Why was it gone today?

As he finished his call putting off yet another client, he noticed several plastic garbage bags, all stuffed to capacity and stacked to the ceiling in her backseat. If they contained trash, it was an odd thing to put in a Lexus.

And if they didn’t…"Everything okay?" he asked as she got out.

"Fine." With a nervous smile, she closed the door. "What’s going on?"

She eyed the entrance under the covered drop-off area as if eager to draw his attention away from her vehicle. "Please tell me no one’s seriously hurt.

Especially Sam."

She knew he would’ve told her if Sam was here, so he wasn’t in a hurry to explain. Not when her clothing and personal possessions were piled in her car as if she’d hauled them out of Lucassi’s house in a hurry.