Page 66 of If We Never Met

"No way. We still have to research Mandy and Langley. I'll go to the living room. I can get started while you deal with the stove."

"Okay." She grabbed her computer off the counter and handed it to him. "You can use this if you want. I bookmarked the article about the fire, too, if you're interested." She related her password as they headed toward the front door. She was happy Dante was staying. It didn't even matter if they found out anything; she just didn't want to say goodbye to him yet.

Chapter Sixteen

While Keira watchedover the installation of the stove in the kitchen, Dante went on her computer and read the news article she'd saved. Then he moved on to Amanda Yates, or Mandy Yates, as she might be known. Her face popped up on a social media profile, and his heart skipped a beat. It was her—the woman with the dark-red hair who he'd seen in the parking garage with Langley. Keira had been right. Mandy was Amanda, Gretchen's sister.

He spent several minutes reading through Amanda's profiles on several sites. She had apparently been a teacher in Los Angeles at some point. But that ended several years ago. Her status was single, but there was mention of a divorce in some of her posts. He didn't see any children. Her birthdate wasn't public, but from the very few photos she had posted, she appeared to be in her late forties, early fifties.

She wasn't a particularly active poster. Months passed in between her posts, but as he read through the feed, it felt like she had an incredibly morbid fascination with her dead sister. There were mentions of Gretchen on her birthday, the anniversary of her death, in relation to a dog they'd once had. Mandy also posted photos of herself and her sister, saying that a piece of her heart had died with her. She said she'd gotten a divorce because her husband just couldn't stand how sad she was. There were hints of darkness in additional cryptic quotes about justice and revenge. She wrote in one post how unfair life was, how guilty people went free, while innocent people died.

Was she referring to Langley? Was it possible that Mark had something to do with that fire?

Frowning, he turned away from Mandy to search for additional information on the fire. Finally, he found one article that had slightly different information than the one that Keira had discovered. It said that the origin of the fire was believed to be a cigarette that had fallen between the cushions of the sofa. The only person who had been in the house at that time was the nanny, Gretchen Yates, who had perished. The assumption was that she'd been smoking and had dropped the cigarette. The Langley family had been vacationing in Malibu that weekend and were devastated by the news. There was a statement from Mark Langley: "We are beyond sad at the loss of Gretchen Yates, a trusted and loved member of the family."

If the fire was an accident, and Gretchen was to blame, where was Mandy's rage and desire for justice and revenge coming from?

He focused on Valerie Langley next, wondering about Mark's wife. But there was absolutely nothing on her. He couldn't find her on social media or in an online search. She had absolutely no online presence. Her son, Richard, didn't, either.

He looked up from the computer as Keira walked the installers to the door. Once they were gone, she came into the living room. "Sorry that took so long."

He realized it was dark outside now. "I didn't even realize. I was caught up in research."

She sat down next to him on the couch. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes. Mandy is Amanda, Gretchen's sister, and she's also the woman I saw in the parking garage."

Keira sucked in a breath. "That's interesting."

"Mandy is also obsessed with her sister's death." He flipped back through the pages online, bringing up Mandy's social media feed. "You can read through it, but she talks about someone needing to pay for her sister losing her life."

"Do you think she's talking about Mark?"

"She never mentions his name."

"I never found out how the fire started."

"I did. It was believed that the nanny was smoking before she went to bed, and that the lit cigarette slipped into the couch cushions and that's where the fire started. Mark and his family were away on vacation that weekend."

"That sounds like an accident."

"Maybe Mandy can't accept that."

"Maybe." She gave him a troubled look. "What do you think, Dante? You've been looking through all this for an hour. What does your gut say? Am I being paranoid? Is there something about Mark, Mandy, the fire, that I should be concerned about?"

He thought about the question. "If I hadn't witnessed the argument between them, I probably wouldn't be concerned, but there was real anger there. Now that we know the woman in the garage is Mandy, then I think this fire and Mark's relationship with Mandy is something your mother needs to know about."

"I just wish we had more to go on. My mom is crazy about him. She has dismissed my concerns as being ridiculous."

"Well, you can wait and see how their relationship goes, whether it gets serious or not. Are they having sex?"

She groaned with dismay at his question. "I don't know. I don't want to think about my mom having sex with anyone, much less this guy."

He smiled. "I get that. I try to avoid that subject with my father as well."

"You haven't told me much about your dad. Does he date? Is he involved with anyone? Do you have a stepmother?"

"I had one once, but their marriage only lasted five years. He seems to be very popular at the Italian Social Club. He's always going to parties there. But I don't see him that much, and I don't ask personal questions about his dating life, so who knows? In some ways, the man is a stranger to me."

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