Page 67 of Little Shattered Dreams

“Because her mother wasn’t handling it well, and she was tired of talking to her about it. At first, I thought her mother must have been calling her all the time, bugging Faith when she was trying to get some time to herself.”

“Any idea who she was talking to on the phone?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I felt weird standing there, hearing what I did. I’m no eavesdropper. As soon as I realized the conversation was personal in nature, I kept on walking.”

“And you didn’t hear her say anything else?”

Abby glanced back out the window and then leaned closer to me, lowering her voice as she said, “As I was walking away, I overheard her say she wanted to go home. She regretted coming here and thought it was a huge mistake.”

CHAPTER35

“But she didn’t go home.” Simone said. “She showed up on her mother’s doorstep the next morning, ready to go for a walk.”

It was three in the afternoon, and Simone and I were alone in the dining hall, catching up after a private lunch for two. Since we were the only guests left at the retreat, the usual dining times had been scrapped, and we were able to eat when it suited us.

“You’re right, she didn’t,” I said. “It means she either calmed down after the phone call and decided to stay, or …”

“Or she just moved up on our suspect list.”

“Right.”

I wanted to believe she had nothing to do with Quinn’s death. That when I saw her that morning, she hadn’t staged the whole thing to make herself look innocent.

“She couldn’t have staged the spotting, right?” I asked. “The blood, it was real. I’m sure of it.”

“I’m thinking it was real. But hey, she could have started spotting because of how stressed she became after learning who you were and everything you knew about the murder. I bet she had a key to her mother’s place.”

“Maybe. We don’t know where she’s been or what she’s been doing since she left here. We only know what we’ve been told.”

“So, now what?”

“Now I talk to her myself, look her in the eye, see if I can get a feel for whether she’s lying or telling the truth,” I said.

Simone made a face. It wasn’t a good one either.

“We need to think about the baby,” she said. “Faith is still in her first trimester. She’s going through a lot of hormonal changes. Any additional stress won’t help.”

“You’re right. The last thing I want to do is upset her again.”

Simone reached over, squeezed my hand. “You know I love you, right?”

I knew.

I also knew what she was getting at.

“You don’t think I should talk to her, do you?” I asked.

“If she wasn’t in the early stages of pregnancy, I’d say have at it. Given she is, maybe it would be best if I talk to her. What do you think?”

Delegating wasn’t my strong suit, and it never would be, but Simone was right. If something happened to Faith because of a conversation I had with her, and she lost the baby, I couldn’t forgive myself.

“I think you’re right,” I said. “Go talk to her.”

Simone nodded, then added, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I spoke to Hunter while you were gone. She tried to call you, but you didn’t pick up. She has news.”

I took my phone out of my pocket. Simone was right. I had a missed call from her about an hour before.

“What news?” I asked.

---