Page 82

My thoughts should have made me walk faster, but they had the opposite effect. I found my pace slowing until it seemed as if I was creeping up on them, ready to look in their windows, or try to slip quietly through an unlocked door. It made me feel as if I was the criminal.

I stepped onto the porch and raised my hand to tap on the door. I curled my fingers into a loose fist and knocked with the softest touch. There was no answer. Had she heard my quiet taps? I knocked again with a little more force. Still nothing.

My heart started racing. Linda wouldn’t kill her own daughter. I was sure of it. Even if she feared going to prison. But what if Linda realized she’d lost her forever—that Jordan would leave no matter what. That Jordan was no longer someone she could keep all to herself, because now Jordan hated her with an uncontrollable rage. Or maybe, Jordan had killed her mother.

I had no idea what lay behind that door. Part of me wanted to run, grab Patrick, and bring him back with me. Or maybe now was the time to finally call the sheriff. They could enter the house and make sure it was safe, observe what had happened.

I stilled my racing, wild thoughts. I took a deep breath and knocked again.

The door opened. Linda stood there with a relaxed, confident expression on her face. “Hi, Samantha. Come in.” She opened the door wider and stepped to the side.

SIXTY

SAMANTHA

The thought of stepping inside her house scared me. Jordan had promised she would answer the door. It was her idea. Where was she?

“I…”

“Are you coming inside or not? I’m washing my breakfast dishes. I don’t want the dishwater to get cold.”

My dishes. Was that because the dishes belonged to her? Or did it mean Jordan hadn’t eaten? Where was Jordan? She’d been so definite about waiting at the door for me.

“Is Jordan home?”

“I have no idea,” Linda said. “You need to come in or leave because I’m busy. If you want to talk, you can come into the kitchen. If you’re looking for Jordan, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Did she leave last night?”

“Why would she do that?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “What makes you think…? I need to get back to work. In or out?” She started to close the door.

I stepped inside the house.

Linda reached around me and swung the door closed. She stepped closer to the door and turned the deadbolt. The lock clicking into place made my heart freeze. I felt as if all the air had been sucked out of me. “Do you have any idea where Jordan is?”

“She might be in her room.”

“You haven’t seen her this morning?”

She started walking, turning into the kitchen. “She doesn’t like me to go into her room, or bother her.”

“You can’t knock and check that she’s okay?”

She turned to face me. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

Why had I let those words slip out? It wasn’t my place to confront Linda. My explanation to Jordan had been a theory. What would I say now? As far as Linda was aware, I didn’t even know Todd existed. I was a near-stranger to Jordan. I couldn’t be explaining her life and her relationship with Todd.

I took a few steps backward. Linda’s eyes were still boring into mine, waiting for me to tell her why I thought Jordan might not be okay. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” I said. “I just wondered if you checked why she hasn’t come out of her room.”

“Do you know her schedule enough to say that she should have been up by now?” Linda took a step closer, closing the gap again.

“No. Forget I said it.”

She sighed, wriggling slightly as if she was taking off a heavy overcoat. She leaned against the wall, splaying her hand over her face. “To be honest, she might not be okay. I don’t know what’s wrong with that girl. She’s changed.”

“Changed, how?”

“Rebellious. Disregarding my wisdom.” She sank to the floor, sitting cross-legged, her back against the wall. “I did everything for her! I gave up my whole life for her.”