Page 15 of Stay Away from Him

“Of course. Who would I tell?” Melissa was surprised at Amelia’s transformation, seemingly brought on by the turn in the conversation. One minute she’d been confident, cultivating an air of superiority, as though she was above it all—above Melissa. But now Amelia had turned nervous, jittery, her hands darting to the plate on the table and ripping the remainder of the pastry into pieces, seemingly just to give her hands something to do. And she was no longer meeting Melissa’s gaze for more than a fraction of a second at a time before darting her eyes away again. There must have been more to it than a past breach of professional ethics, but Melissa couldn’t possibly guess what. And she had a thousand questions she wanted to ask, but no idea where to start.

“Were you ever—” Melissa began, then cut herself off.

“What?”

Melissa hesitated before finishing the sentence. “Together?”

Amelia laughed. Some measure of her confidence, her aloof calm, seemed to return to her. “You mean romantically? Is that what you’re asking?”

“Yes,” Melissa said softly.

She smiled, and now she was fully back—aloof Amelia, superior Amelia, distant and dispassionate Amelia. “Oh, whatever was between Thomas and me is ancient history. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Melissa wanted to believe her, but Amelia’s smile hinted at the opposite of her words—hinted that Amelia would have liked there to be something between them, maybe. That Melissadidhave to worry about her, if it was a relationship with Thomas she wanted.

“Although…” Amelia began.

“What?”

Amelia pressed her lips together, sighed through her nose. “Just that you might want to be careful there. Starting anything with Thomas too quickly.”

“Why?” Melissa asked, her stomach suddenly churning. Was this it? Was Amelia about to tell her—or hint, at least—that she thought Thomas really was a murderer? “Is it about…the case? What he was accused of?”

Amelia shook her head—though again, there was something strange and complicated in her eyes. Some hesitation. Some lingering doubt. Not the reflexive dismissal of the accusations that Melissa had expected and hoped to see.

“No,” she said carefully. “No, I don’t think so.”

“You don’tthinkso?”

Amelia looked off to the side. “There was a moment. A moment when I believed it might be true. Thomas was acting so strangely, after the accusation. He wasn’t himself. And I thought…” She blinked, and some trance seemed to break. “But no. Then everything came out, about the police mishandling the case. And I immediately regretted it. Regretted doubting him. No, I don’t think Thomas killed his wife.”

“Why, then?” Melissa asked. “Why should I be careful?”

Amelia squinted. “Well,somethinghappened there, didn’t it? Roseisstill missing, three years later. And her killer—if she really was killed—is still out there.”

The skin on the back of Melissa’s neck tingled. She was sure she was imagining it, but she felt for a second as though she was being watched. Followed. Spied on. She glanced around the coffee shop, but nobody seemed to be looking at her. She turned back to Amelia, leaned across the table, spoke low.

“You think Thomas’s family is being targeted? That I’d be in danger if I decided to see him?”

“I can’t say that,” Amelia said. “Butsomeoneis responsible for whatever happened to Rose. So, who? And why haven’t the police found them yet? There’s also the fact that Thomas is justdamagedby what happened. It was a trauma. He’s still recovering. The girls too.”

“Of course. It must have been terrible.”

“And by the sounds of it, you’re recovering as well. Your divorce.”

Something stabbed in Melissa’s chest, and it took her a moment to realize it was anger. She had mentioned her divorce to Amelia, but that didn’t mean Amelia could throw it back in her face as a reason she shouldn’t see Thomas. They barely knew each other. Amelia hadn’t earned the right.

“I care about Thomas,” Amelia continued. “And the girls. I’m their godmother, you know. I want the best for them. I want them to heal. And I’m not sure if this is that opportunity.” She gestured vaguely toward Melissa.

For a moment, Melissa was speechless. She couldn’t be certain she’d actually heard what she heard. Couldn’t believe it. Had Amelia just insulted her?

“I’m confused,” Melissa said, finally. “Are you trying to protect me? Or him?”

Amelia looked her in the eye, and it was impossible for Melissa to read what she saw there.

“Just be careful.”

***

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