Page 34 of Call Back

“That much is obvious. Why? I know this isn’t just because you worried how I’d take the news.”

His eyes held mine. I could feel the weight of the unspoken words between us.

Brady broke first. “You said you would check in with me, and you didn’t. And then you didn’t answer your phone. I knew you were supposed to be working for Ava, so I came to see if you were here, and when I didn’t see your car, I panicked.”

I bristled at being watched so closely. “I parked my car behind Momma’s catering business. Now tell me why you’re worried.”

“A lot of people around you have died within a very short period of time.”

“And you think I’m next? Why?” A light bulb flickered on in my head. Did Emily have the same mark on her leg? Brady wasn’t a stupid man. He would have noticed a detail like that. But he had no idea how I’d gotten that scar, let alone that I had a stalker.

“I care about you,” he said in frustration. “I’m not sure how to make that any clearer.”

I tried to picture Emily in her apartment, facing the same man I’d encountered ten years ago, and nausea roiled in my gut. I closed my eyes and took several breaths through my nose, praying it would pass. Oh, the terror she must have faced . . .

Had he told her that he’d chosen her because of me?

Then another wave of guilt and horror hit me. How would my mother react to this news?

“Maggie.” I felt Brady reach for me, but I jerked out of his grasp as I opened my eyes again.

“Sorry,” I said, brushing the back of my hand across my clammy forehead. “I just need a moment alone.”

“You should take off the rest of the day and go home.”

Home. Where was home? The apartment behind this house? My mother’s? New York City? It sure didn’t feel like Brady’s apartment, even though I’d sought refuge there.

And now I needed refuge more than ever.

Part of me wanted to ask Brady about the mark. I was desperate to tell someone, especially someone who could possibly help, but Brady was holding something back. Was it really official police business, or was it something else? I wasn’t willing to take a risk, so until I knew more, I needed to distance myself from Brady to protect the people I loved.

I put a hand on my hip and gave him a bit of attitude. “We both know Max Goodwin’s murder had nothing to do with me. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And sure, I was supposed to meet Walter Frey the night of his death, but Dr. Lopez killed him to keep him from talking to me—and Dr. Lopez is no longer a threat. I have no idea who killed Emily, but why would it have something to do with me?”

Some sick part of me was proud for carrying off my speech when all I wanted to do was burst into tears, but I had a façade to maintain. Too bad I’d never get the theatrical recognition this performance deserved.

“Maggie,” he pleaded. “Please.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

We had a staring match that lasted for several seconds before I flung out my hands in frustration. “I need to get back to work.” I opened the door and started to walk back inside, but Brady grabbed my arm and gently tugged me back.

“I don’t want us parting like this,” he said. He reached for my necklace, softly brushing the pendant before dropping his hand.

My irritation softened. Brady’s reasons for holding back information might be more legitimate than mine. “I really do have to go back to work,” I said, resting my hands on his chest.

“I’ll say,” Ava said in a short tone from just inside the open front door. “You’ve broken your bad news, Detective Bennett, and now my house needs to be cleaned. While you’re worried for Magnolia’s safety for some unknown reason, I can assure you that she is safe while under my roof. No miscreant will get over my threshold.”

Her promise seemed unlikely given the fact that she had to have barely weighed one hundred twenty pounds soaking wet, but she looked fierce enough to win a round of hand-to-hand combat with anyone stupid enough to try to take her on.

“See?” I said with a forced smile. “Safe as can be. I promise to call you when I leave.”

“Okay,” he said reluctantly.

“Good day, Detective Bennett,” Ava said as she marched over and shoved him out the front door, which she then locked behind him. She turned her scrutinizing gaze on me. “Why was he really here?”

I was barely holding myself together. I wasn’t sure I could endure an interrogation from Ava Milton. “He’s worried about me.”

“Why?” she asked in a tone that suggested she didn’t think worrying about me was worth anyone’s time.

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