Page 54 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

“She’s ignored every message I’ve sent asking if she’s okay, whether she needs anything, how she’s coping… Our great aunt died, and she didn’t even send a damn card. And now this?”

“You sound angry.”

“I guess I am. She’s my sister and I’ll always love her, but sometimes she can be so damn selfish.”

“When she left, was it on bad terms?”

“It was…difficult. But I’ve never blamed her for anything she did. I’ve told her that a thousand times. Voicemails, emails, text messages. And this is all I get back.Happy Birthday, Reed. Enjoy being thirty! Love, Emma.”

Put that way, Emma’s actions did seem a little thoughtless. “What are you going to do?”

Reed sighed, pain leaching out on his breath. “What I always do; go and look for her. I’m sorry, but I need to take a few days.”

“It’s okay. There were three months between Jacqueline and me, so Tim will probably stay quiet for a while. Don’t you think?”

“I hope so. He didn’t get the ending he wanted with you, though. Remember?”

An icy chill washed through me. “You don’t mean…?”

But Reed had already turned away with the phone pressed to his ear.

“It’s Cullen. I need another location trace.” He read out a number. “Same price as last time? … Yeah, I’ll wire the money … Thanks.”

“You’re bribing somebody for information?” I asked once he’d hung up. “At the phone company?”

“A necessary evil now I don’t carry a badge anymore. Why? Does that bother you?”

“Not really. How long does it take?”

“Usually a half hour, give or take.”

“Is it expensive?”

“Two hundred bucks. I used to have a cheaper guy, but he went to work at HBO. Kim, can you do one thing for me?”

“Is it legal?”

“Sweetheart, I’d never ask you to do anything illegal. You gave me a bundle of cash last night, but could you transfer the money electronically instead? I don’t have time to go to the bank right now.”

“Of course. How much do you need? All of it?”

“You only owed me six thousand, and you gave me ten.”

“Consider the rest an advance. Give me two minutes, and I’ll transfer it from my phone.”

“I meant what I said last night—you shouldn’t be keeping that much cash in your kitchen. Statistically, that’s the first place a burglar will look.”

“I’ve got an alarm, and my next-door neighbour’s an insomniac so he’s always looking out the windows at odd times of night.”

“A surprising number of break-ins happen during the day when everyone’s at work. Bet you’ve got a lot of commuters in a neighbourhood like this, and you never know who’s around when you’re not in.”

“Yes, I do. Margaret tells me.”

“Who’s Margaret?”

“The ghost in the living room. She stands near the window.”

The look on Reed’s face said he wished he hadn’t asked. “What does she do? Scare them away?”

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