Page 9 of Forbidden Whispers

“Maybe if I try retracing my steps from last night...”

“But you only remember the start of your date at the coffee shop,” Maggie said. “And that’s the only thing I arranged for you, so I don’t have any additional information either.”

“Well, I can start there, at least. Maybe I said something to Olivia, or maybe she’ll remember something.”

He was referring to the friendly owner of Lakeside Latté, Whispering Pines’ most popular coffee shop.

Noah looked down at Boon. He’d taken the dog’s leash back from Maggie when they’d exited the condo. “What am I going to do with you, though?”

The dog cocked his head, looking up at him with liquid brown eyes.

Noah sighed deeply and slid a sideways glance at Maggie. Her brows were furrowed, and there was a little crinkle over her nose. This was a familiar sight to Noah from back when they were in high school. He recalled how the crinkle always appeared whenever she was deep in thought. Despite the stressful situation, she looked absolutely adorable, and Noah felt an overpowering urge to lean over and kiss that crinkle away. He cleared his throat. “Look, Maggie, I’m really sorry about all of this. And I want you to know how much I appreciate you coming so quickly when I called this morning. I hate that I ended up involving you.”

“Don’t be silly! Of course I’m involved. We’re friends, Noah. And besides, all this happened while you were on a Matches by Maggie date. I care about you and Valentina. I need to know that you’re both okay. Besides, like Hugo said, we don’t even know exactly what happened yet.”

He was touched by her efforts to keep a positive spin on it all. But as he looked back up at the yellow tape draped across Valentina’s door, he couldn’t quite shake a feeling of impending doom. He sighed. “Well, I guess we should go now.”

“Do you need a ride?” Maggie asked.

“Uh...maybe?” He frowned and glanced toward the condo parking lot. “Like I told the police, I know I drove to the coffee shop for the start of the date. But I have no memory of driving here last night. And it’s scary to think I might have.” He ran a hand over his face. “But man! I really hope my car is here.”

“Let’s go see,” Maggie said.

The two of them walked along the sidewalk that led to the small lot in the back of the building. The neatly painted white lines offered enough spaces for about two dozen cars. Noah’s eyes swept over the colorful array of parked vehicles. He should have been able to easily spot his Trailblazer, but he didn’t see it.

He frowned and dug his hand into the pocket of his pants to pull out the key to his car. He planned to hit the lock button so his headlights would light up. Instead, what he found in his hand was a slim, black key fob with a fancy red-and-gold logo etched into the top of it. “What the—”

Maggie looked down at his hand and then back at his face with a surprised look. “Seriously? You drive a Porsche?”

Noah’s eyes were wide. “No, I don’t drive a Porsche!”

She arched a brow. “Then why does your key fob have the Porsche logo on it?”

“I don’t—”

She quickly pressed her fingertips against his lips. “Please don’t say ‘I don’t know’ again!”

He couldn’t resist smiling at her beneath the light pressure of her fingers, but then returned his gaze to the mysterious key fob. Giving a little shrug, he lifted it and aimed it toward the lot full of cars. He saw lights flash from the middle of the lot.

He pulled Boon along as he immediately started walking toward it, Maggie trailing behind them. He arrived at the spot where the lights had flashed and stopped short, Maggie bumping into him.

She stepped around him and then sucked in her breath. “Nice!” she breathed, walking toward the sleek, silver Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet. Noah stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.

Maggie pressed her face against the tinted window. “I can’t see anything,” she said.

Recovering, Noah hit the unlock button, and she pulled open the passenger-side door. “Oooh, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a red-leather interior kind of guy.”

“I’m not!” Noah protested as she slipped into the passenger seat. “Maggie, this is not my car.”

He circled the car like it was a dangerous animal about to strike. What was he doing with the keys to this Porsche in his pocket? And where was his car?

He took in the vehicle’s sleek lines and pristine condition, finally stopping at the hood to stare down at the unmistakable Porsche shield emblem with the prancing black horse at its center. It perfectly matched the one on the key fob he held in his hand.

Still holding Boon’s leash, he walked back to the driver’s side door, commanded the dog to sit, and slid in beside Maggie. She was busy rifling through the glove box.

“I don’t understand,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I promise you that I do not own this Porsche.”

Maggie was studying one of the documents that she’d pulled from the glove box. Then she glanced up at him, brows slightly raised. “Um, apparently you do.”

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