Page 18 of Her Last Secret

"I've been here,” she said. “Haven't been out in weeks. You can ask anyone, the delivery boys, my neighbors. I haven't left this hellhole in at least two weeks.

Rachel studied Juliette for a moment, her icy gaze unwavering and intense. She was either telling the truth, or she was a remarkably good liar. "What delivery boys?"

"Oh, Christ," she said, fuming now. She got to her feet and headed for the small counter in the kitchen, where she grabbed her phone. "I ordered pizza for dinner two nights ago, and Thai take out two nights before that. Both were brought by Uber Eats. I have receipts on my phone."

“But no friends or family that can back this up?”

“No. As I said. I was here. Alone.”

Intuition told Rachel that she was being honest. All the same, she was by far the most hostile character they’d met along the way. “Very well,” Rachel said. “Thank you for your time. We’d appreciate it, though, if you’d stay in the city for the next few days while we continue the case.”

Rachel looked over to Jack, her gaze communicating:Anything else?

Apparently, there wasn’t…and apparently, Jack wanted to get out of the house as quickly as he could as well.

"Thank you, Juliette. You've been very helpful," Rachel said, heading for the door. The little dogs followed along, making a small whining noise.

She and Jack stepped outside. Juliette closed the door behind them with a decisive slam.

“What a charming lady,” Jack commented. “Likely not a killer, though.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so, either.”

“Maybe she gave us something, though,” Rachel said, inhaling the crisp, fresh air. The smell of smoke still clung to her.

“The fan she mentioned?”

“Potentially. This fan, if he could be called that, may have crossed a line from obsessive to threatening.”

"If Juliette's story is to be believed, that is," Jack pointed out as they got into the car.

“We could find out easily enough if it actually happened. If the police were called, there would be a report. We need to find the report and then locate the guy.”

Jack got behind the wheel and pulled back out onto the street. They drove in silence, each lost in thought as the cityscape blurred past. If this lead panned out, they might finally have a solid suspect. But time was of the essence, and Rachel knew that with each passing hour, the killer was getting further out of reach. And maybe even more dangerous.

CHAPTER TEN

Soft afternoon light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the Gift’s living room floor. Paige, having just arrived home from school fifteen minutes ago, sat cross-legged on the carpet with Janell, her babysitter. A small stack of Uno cards sat between them. Paige, looking down at the remaining three cards in her hand, grinned.

"You're letting me win, aren't you?" Paige accused playfully, though her voice carried an undertone of certainty.

"Who, me?” Janell feigned shock, her eyes twinkling playfully. "Maybe you're just having a really good day. Trust me, little girl…I don’t ever let anyone win. Not on purpose. I’m too competitive for that."

"Uh-huh," Paige drawled, not quite buying it but happy to indulge in the façade of competition. Their small talk—a mix of schoolyard tales and Janell's college anecdotes—filled the spaces between turns.

Paige liked Janell mainly because she liked hearing stories about dates and college classes. Janell was very pretty, and her nails were always gorgeous. Last night, Janell had done her nails and Paige and showed them off to all her friends at school. Janell's long, sleek hair fell gracefully over her shoulders, framing her pretty face. As they'd played the game, Paige had noticed her sitter's outfit and couldn't help but feel a little impressed and even mature. Janell was more than just her sitter, after all. She was her friend.

She looked at Janell’s cards and saw that she had six remaining. She was pretty sure Janell was holding onto a Draw Four…either because she was letting her win or because she was waiting until the very last minute to play it.

“It’s your turn, slow poke,” Janell said.

“I know, I know,” Paige said, her fingers on a Skip card. But before she had the chance to play it, there was a sudden knock at the door.

Paige jumped a bit. Ever since the day that mean woman had come by and knocked Grandma Tate down, Paige had been terrified of the sound of a knock at the door, or even the doorbell. But she saw Janell smiling as she got to her feet and started for the door. Apparently, Janell already knew who was on the other side.

“Who is it?” Paige asked.

“Well,” Janell said before she even answered the door. “Your mom called me earlier. She’s not sure I’m cut out for the job anymore, I think.” She said this playfully and with a smile, so Paige knew her feelings weren’t hurt. “So she called in back-up. And she told me not to tell you.”

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