Page 64 of In the Bones
“I don’t think so. The home I was cleaning doesn’t have a video doorbell, and the house is on a dead-end road.”
“I just don’t understand,” she said. Nicole could hear the blessed sound of coffee splashing into a cup. “Why would someone want to do this to you?”
In the empty living room, just loud enough for Stacy to hear it, Nicole said, “I think I might know.”
There had been so many moments when Nicole had almost opened up and confessed to Stacy, denuding every facet of her marriage, Mikko, their savings, and the Rivermouth deal. Stacy would find out eventually, wouldn’t she? If it went the way Woody hoped, they’d have more money than they’d know what to do with. Alana would go to a private college, and Blair could transfer to one of her dream schools. Woody would want to upgrade to a newer, bigger boat, and they’d fix up the house. Do all the things they’d been hoping to do if, by some miracle, a bag of money ever fell in their laps. Stacy would surely clue in.
The same was true if things went sideways. If the money they’d invested didn’t start coming back to them soon, then in September, Blair would be working at the pizza place or nannying for a local mom while all her friends experienced their freshman year of college. Nicole and Woody would have to sell the house, for which they’d get very little. She didn’t like to think about what would happen after that.
To share all of this, though, Nicole would first need to reveal that they’d failed to provide the girls with the future they deserved.
Nicole hadn’t known Stacy for very long, but in many ways, she looked up to her. Stacy was several years younger, but she had a good job and a great life with Caleb. Once a year, she took him somewhere warm for a vacation, Myrtle Beach or Orlando or even the Bahamas. Nicole had heard her complain about money, but she seemed to have enough, and she’d gotten it all on her own.
Over the past few days, Nicole had thought a lot about trust.It wasn’t a one-sided affair. She wanted to be in safe hands with Stacy. Make their friendship pure and true. To do that, she needed to be honest.
And so, when Stacy returned with the coffees, Nicole told her everything.
“I’ve heard about that project.” Stacy had been eerily calm while Nicole was talking, drinking in every detail with wide, whetted eyes. “It was in the news last year. You’ve been hiding it all this time? Why didn’t you tell me Woody was involved? You know you can talk to me about anything.”
“I know,” said Nicole with a faint smile. She took a sip of her coffee, which had grown lukewarm in her hands. “Honestly, I was hoping to get out of the deal before anyone found out. It was between me and Woody. At least, it was supposed to be.”
“Well, I’m with you on that,” she said. “You do need to get out. You’re telling me Woody signed the contract in September? That’s ages ago. I drive by the Rivermouth all the time and Nic, it’s a ghost town, no sign of progress at all. That’s not how these projects are supposed to work.”
“Believe me,” she said, “I’ve tried. Woody wouldn’t listen when I told him I didn’t trust Mikko—and cleaning his house? I did that so I could look for evidence that he isn’t legit, like some kind of second-rate spy.”
“I take it you didn’t find anything.”
“Just a woman hiding in his ceiling.”
Stacy choked back a laugh. “And the attack.” She nodded at Nicole’s bloated face. “You think that has something to do with all this?”
“I think it must. Nothing was taken from the house,” Nicole explained. “My purse was sitting in plain view in the kitchen, but my wallet and car keys didn’t get snatched. I know that house well, and I didn’t notice anything missing. Why else would someone follow me in there—now, during this murder investigation? It has to be connected to the business deal somehow.”
“It does feel like a warning,” said Stacy. “You don’t think it could actually be Mikko, do you? Like maybe he found out you’re trying to expose him and he wants you to back off?”
“I thought of that, but I’m sure it wasn’t him.”
“So maybe he hired someone to rough you up. He’s got the money.”
“You’ve never liked him, have you?” said Nicole.
Stacy leaned back against the sofa. “He’s kind of smug, right? Full of himself? I get that he was a famous athlete, but he’s not anymore. There’s no humility there, though. No depth, you know?”
“If that’s how you feel about him,” said Nicole, “then why did you go to his party?”
Since talking to Woody after his interview the previous day, Stacy’s presence at Mikko’s house had been on Nicole’s mind. What she’d seen there had impacted the Durham family’s life in so many ways, and not for the better.
“He invited me,” Stacy said with a shrug. “I’d just sold the guy his house. It felt rude to say no. Got any cookies? I’m craving something sweet.”
From the living room, Nicole watched her friend spring to her feet and return to the kitchen.
“Do you really think Mikko could be behind this?” asked Nicole. “You know him better than I do.”
“I could definitely see him paying someone,” Stacy said as she rummaged through the pantry. “Famous people always hire out their dirty work.”
The comment, delivered to the person who’d done his dirtiest work of all, stung, but if Stacy realized it, she didn’t let on. Nicole was about to tell Stacy the police were interested in her when, on the coffee table, her friend’s phone buzzed.
“You got a tex—” Nicole began, glancing down at the message, but what she saw didn’t compute. “It says,Need to see you babe. It’s urgent.”
