Page 52 of Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbi 3)

Sunday

"Noah!" I called as Snuggle Muffins and I made our way back inside. "You just missed Santa coming by!"

I wasn't surprised by the lack of response. I placed Snuggle Muffins down and he followed me into the kitchen.

"I'm making you brownies! Your favorite!"

Silence.

"They'll be done in ten minutes, so plan accordingly!" I popped open the oven to check on them. They were looking perfect. I'd always been great at winging it with recipes. Baking was a science and not an art and all that jazz? Psh. Call me a scientist then. I started humming again

, this time actually feeling it.

I was going to be the opposite of the Grinch. I was going to bring the Christmas spirit back to this dead home. To please Detective Torres. To trick Noah. And maybe a little to go out in style.

"Let's decorate for Christmas!" I yelled. "Come on out and help!"

Noah had never been one to help decorate, so I was extra not surprised when he didn't respond. More fun for me, grumpy pants McGee.

"Baby." I lifted up Snuggle Muffins. "It's." I twirled in a circle. "Cold." I shimmied my hips. "Outside."

I was vaguely aware of the fact that I might be high from the weed fumes and the taste testing as I danced us over to the box Detective Torres had so graciously brought up from the basement. Honestly I wasn't even sure what I was doing drooling over shirtless Noah. Detective Torres was fine with a capital F. Seducing him would put me in a much better position for getting away with kidnapping and holding someone hostage.

I laughed out loud. Getting in bed with a detective was seriously the last thing on my mind. That was almost the downfall of Adeline and Violet's otherwise perfect crimes. Falling in love was so not an option for me. Besides, even though I was trying to be the opposite of the Grinch tonight, I was pretty sure my heart was in fact two sizes too small. There was no use in lusting over Noah or Detective Torres. They were both out of the question. I'd already made my choice. A life of hiding was my future now. I was going to be wanted for...well, I wasn't exactly sure what I'd be wanted for in the end. If Noah kept being a little bitch then murder was still on the table.

"I almost forgot!" I yelled. "We're gonna be on the news, Noah!" Usually I listened to Christmas music while I trimmed the tree. Or if there was an especially exciting Hallmark Christmas movie, I'd turn that on. But watching the story about Noah and me unfold on the nightly news would be a perfect backdrop to decorating for Christmas this year.

I grabbed the remote and turned to ABC. The news was just starting. We were close enough to Philly that the news usually pertained to things in the city. But every now and then someone in little old Wilmington did something naughty enough to be on channel 6. Right now they were just talking about a Toys for Tots donation. Great cause, but nothing to do with me. I lowered the volume and started dancing around again to the Christmas carols in my head.

Detective Torres said the vultures were swarming. I glanced at the screen again but there was no word of Noah’s disappearance. I knew it was only a possibility that we'd be on. But I was still smiling for some reason. How many times had I sat on the couch eating dinner alone watching the news about my murderous neighbors? I'd been a little obsessed.

I lifted up a stuffed panda bear with a Santa hat that I'd had since I was a kid. I’d held on to it for all these years, hoping to give it to my kid one day. Detective Torres said that Adeline had lost a child. And I couldn't help but wonder if she'd lost it in a similar way to me. She had killed her husband, after all.

The little hairs on the back of my neck rose and I turned around. But no one was there. "Noah?"

Snuggle Muffins barked.

"Stop it," I whispered. I just wasn’t sure if I was scolding Snuggle Muffins or begging Noah to stop creeping around.

Stop it. Maybe I was just saying it to myself. I was done thinking about the past. As soon as I got my money back from Noah I could move on. I could at least move. No more thinking about failed relationships or kids. All this time waiting for answers? Wasted. I knew what Noah had done. At least, I knew enough to be sure that I wanted no part in his life.

I lifted my chef's knife and sliced the Santa hat off the panda bear. The stuffing poured out of the top of his head. For just a second I saw the blood again. Pouring out of his missing scalp. Dripping down into his button eyes. I blinked and the blood was gone. It was just stuffing overflowing from the top of his head.

I didn't need to hold on to stupid stuffed animals anymore. There would be no children in my future to hand them down to. Besides, Snuggle Muffins needed a proper Christmas outfit. I pulled the rest of the stuffing out of the hat and plopped it onto Snuggle Muffins' head.

I swear he frowned at me.

"You look adorable."

He sighed.

"I need a picture of this." I reached into my back pocket, but my cell phone wasn't there. Where had I last put it? I wandered into the kitchen. The smell of brownies was everywhere. But my phone was not. I glanced down the empty hallway. I could have dropped it anywhere while I was searching for Noah. Shit. When was the last time I had it? I debated tracing my steps, but quickly decided it wasn't worth it. There'd be plenty of time to do that once Noah was securely tied up again.

I heard a noise behind me and twirled around.

Nothing.

"Noah?" I waited a beat, but of course no response came. "Noah, come out right this second and help me with the Christmas decorations or I'll...punish you!" For some reason I started laughing. Threatening to punish him wasn't exactly the best idea. I'd been punishing him for days. "Just kidding!" I yelled. "If you come out I'll have sex with you!" I slapped my hand over my mouth. Where the hell had that come from?

---