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“You live in the middle of nowhere, could you have gotten here faster than the police?”
“You know what I mean.”
“How did you hear?”
“I used to work same shift as Vince Gorel, who was the responding officer. He called me. But you should have.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
Jack checked my house, inspected the window.
“The police drove through the neighborhood,” I said. “Whoever did this hit two parked cars when they were going around the corner. They’re going to process the paint, collect evidence. Plus, some of my neighbors have security cameras and they might get a license plate or something else identifiable on video. They were stupid to come after me here.”
“I’m staying.”
“The guest bed isn’t comfortable.”
“I know,” he grumbled and I laughed. Jack had stayed over a couple times when we were working on a house project. He was a good brother.
He hugged me. “I know you can take care of yourself, Margo, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you.”
“Okay, Dad,” I said sarcastically.
He pinched my arm like he used to do when we were kids, and I slapped his arm.
“I’m going to try to sleep,” I said. I walked down the short hall as Jack headed to the den where I had a hide-a-bed for guests. “Jack?”
He looked over at me. “Hmm?”
“Thanks.”
Twenty-One
I woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. I didn’t even know I had bacon in the house.
I got up, slipped into sweatpants, and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Jack was dressed and cooking. It was nine in the morning. He’d already secured the window. I’d have to call for repairs on Monday.
“Where’d you find the bacon? Are you sure it’s good?”
“Yep. I just bought it. You have nothing here, except a couple of things in Mom’s Tupperware, most of which is moldy. You can clean them out.”
“I’ve been busy.” I poured coffee.
“Talk to me.”
I told him everything over bacon and eggs, except that Andy Flannigan hired me. I had only told my mom about Andy because I knew she’d keep it confidential. But Jack was a detective, and I didn’t want him thinking that Andy was going to start questioning every case brought to him.
When I was done, Jack said, “Villines is a good cop. He’ll figure this out. You should back off.”
I didn’t say anything. Jack knew me better than that.
Fortunately, he didn’t call me on it.
After he left, I locked up and headed to Lyle’s Diner to warn Julia face-to-face that she needed to be careful for the next few days. I told her about the threat against me, and that if Javier was involved, he might do the same to her or anyone else who identified them.
I drove to check on Sophia. She was still sleeping—Evelyn said she didn’t go to sleep until dawn.
“What about the other girls living here?”
