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“Paper plate?” Anne asked. “Pizza cutter?”
Penny pointed to a cupboard for the plates, then unearthed a knife and gave a wry smile. “Pizza cutter.”
Anne grinned and grabbed plates along with some sodas they’d also grabbed on their walk. They carried their plates to the middle of the apartment and plopped back onto the couch, crossing their legs and gossiping as they munched through soft dough and greasy pepperoni.
Hours later, Anne stood at the door. She felt a genuine burst of regret that she had to leave, and to stall, she cast a glance around the room as if there were one surface she’d missed in her polishing, one table she’d forgotten to dust.
When it all came back squeaky clean, Anne sighed. Her cheeks hurt from smiling, and her abs were sore from laughing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a wonderful day.
“I had a really nice time.” The simplicity of Anne’s words felt empty against the bloom of emotion in her chest. “Thanks for adopting my babies’ stuff.”
“I appreciate it more than you know.”
Both women studied each other. An understanding floated between them, and Anne was grateful she didn’t have to rely on the flimsiness of the English language to express her true sentiment. Gratitude, hope, friendship. Such little words for such big feelings.
Anne reached out a hand and gently rested it on the light bulge of Penny’s stomach. “Thank you, little guy.”
Before Penny could respond, Anne’s phone burst to life with her ringtone.
“It’s probably Mark,” Anne mumbled. “I’m sure he’s trying to figure out what to feed the kids or something. I told him I’d be gone all day, but…you know…” Anne’s face turned red as she realized that maybe Penny didn’t know all about husbands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”
“It’s fine,” Penny said. “You don’t have to watch what you say around me.”
Anne didn’t hear Penny’s response, however, because she was too busy staring at a name on her phone. A name that sent fear arcing through her stomach. A name she’d hoped to never see again.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered to Penny. “I have to get going.”
“Is everything okay?”
Anne waved a hand and forced a smile over her shoulder as she launched herself down the stairs two at a time. “I’ll be fine.”
“Wait—your laundry baskets!”
Anne had already reached the landing. “I’ll grab them later.”
“Wait a second, Anne!”
Something about Penny’s tone stopped Anne in her tracks. She turned and looked back, expecting to find a fresh, youthful smile. To see eyes that were bright and shining, focused on the joy that so often accompanied new motherhood.
Instead, Anne found a stare from eyes that burned cold and hard. A smile tinged with grit and determination. Anne’s breath caught in her throat as she wondered if behind the lip gloss and easy topknot, Penny was not the innocent girl she’d suspected but a woman not to be underestimated.
“If you need anything,” Penny said, her voice slicing the air like a knife, “anything at all, don’t hesitate to call.”
“I won’t.”
“Anne,” she repeated firmly. “Anything.”
Anne nodded, then ducked out the front door. As she made her way to the waiting van, a message blinking on her phone, she wondered how she could have pegged Penny so incorrectly. Despite their giddy day spent together, Anne wondered how much she didn’t know about her newest friend.
But even curious thoughts about the peculiar Penny Sands were pushed to the back of Anne’s mind as she redialed the number without listening to the message. Her hand shook as she held the phone to her ear.
“What do you want?” she rasped into the phone. “I thought we were done.”
“Oh, Anne,” Roman said quietly. “You’ve got one month.”
TRANSCRIPT
Defense: Detective Wilkes, how long have you been a cop?
