Page 95 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

Silence.

“I said, won’t she, girls?”

An edge came into his voice, and a quiet chorus of “Yes, Peter” echoed back at us.

He looked me up and down. “I thought you were more of a pastels girl, so that’s what I bought you. What’s with the black dress? Did somebody die?”

I wished. “I just felt like a change.”

“It’s too harsh on you. Now, would you like any more books? Magazines? Specific foods? Hailee here’s a vegan, which makes dinner times a bit awkward. Doesn’t it, girls?”

“Yes, Peter.”

“Noelle?”

No, I didn’t want books, not unless it was a copy ofWar and PeaceI could hit him over the head with. I just wanted to get out of there.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m fine,thank you. We do insist on manners down here. The world upstairs is going to hell in a handbasket with all that fighting in Africa and the Middle East. Back in the days of the British Empire, things were so much more civilised.”

“Apart from the Boer wars and the Amritsar massacre and the famines in India,” I pointed out. “Oh, and slavery. Don’t forget slavery.”

“You’re a history buff? How fascinating.”

No, that had been Alan. “I just listened at school.”

“But you’ve only heard one side of the story, no? Britain also promoted trade, improved infrastructure, and taught people to play cricket. And introduced tea to the world. You can’t beat a good cup of tea. We’ll have tea together when you’ve settled in.”

He walked off whistling, and I slumped back on the bed.

Reed, where are you?

This guy was even more of a fruitcake than we thought.

CHAPTER 28 - REED

“WYATT! GET IN here.”

I caught him just before he reversed out of Kim’s driveway and right after I found her gold necklace lying on the living room floor, the delicate chain broken. She’d never have taken it off voluntarily. She even wore it in the damn shower. How did I know that? Okay, so she might have left her bedroom door open by accident yesterday. And I might have gotten a quick look before I pulled it closed.

“What’s happened?”

“Kim’s gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Missing. She’s supposed to be here, and she’s not.”

Yes, there were a thousand and one reasons why the house could be empty. Kim could have gone to a movie, stayed out for dinner, stopped off at the office. But she said she’d be there, and after Emma, my mind went straight from “there could be an innocent explanation for this” all the way to “something bad’s happened” without pausing for logic to get in the way.

I already had my gun drawn, and Wyatt reached for his too, but a search of the house revealed no sign of her. I forced myself to look on the bright side. At least we hadn’t tripped over a body.

On my second walk-through, more slowly this time, I spotted a purse that didn’t belong to Kim, and I realised the situation was even worse than we’d first thought.

“Wyatt, I think Annie’s disappeared too. Kim’s assistant from work.”

“What makes you say that?”

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