Kayla pressed her lips together as if trying to be okay with the turn of events. “I’m sad I won’t see you anymore. That’s my only regret in this thing.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wiped them away quickly.
“Hey, we’ll stay in touch. I promise. And I want you to keep wearing the watch I gave you at our first meeting. That way, I can continue to track you, and you’ll have access to the emergency button if you need it.”
“Are you sure that’s okay since services are no longer being paid for?”
“Yes, it’s fine.” I didn’t like the idea of her walking around unguarded, an easy target for some creep who was still on the loose. It was imperative that she wore the watch now that I wouldn’t be there to protect her. I would cover the fee for that on my own but didn’t want to bother her with the details and risk her saying she wouldn’t wear it. “We’ll stay in touch.” I wanted to offer more than that, but I couldn’t until Will understood the situation better. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“And you haven’t received any other weird phone calls, right?” The question was more for my own reassurance than anything else.
“Nope.” She tapped her chin with her forefinger and stared out the front window of the car. “I’ve been thinking a lot about Daniel’s journal entry, and I can’t stop wondering if it had to do with our next-door neighbor at the time.”
“Victor was his name, correct?”
“Yeah, good memory. And Tom was the other neighbor who vouched for his alibi.” She bit down on her bottom lip and appeared to consider that. “I never spoke with Tom after the incident. The mugging had been so traumatic that I’d packed up and left, and my parents hired a moving company to get my things later.” She paused as if an idea had just come to her. “Maybe I should talk to Tom—ask him about what he saw. That might relieve some of my fears about Victor so I can stop thinking about it.”
“But the police already did that.”
“Yes, but it’s haunted me all this time. I’ve always felt like Victor was behind Daniel’s death. I need answers so I finally have closure.”
I shifted, turning to face her. “I don’t want you visiting him alone. If you decide to talk to him, I’m going with you.”
“But I can’t pay—”
“I’m not asking you to pay. I’ll be there as your friend.”
Her eyes softened, and her mouth edged up on one side. “You would do that for me?”
“Of course, I would. There’s a lot I would do for you, Kayla. All you have to do is ask.”
I wanted to reach out and clasp her hand. Stroke the curve of her face. Kiss her soft lips. The urge was so strong it threatened to overpower me, but I resisted, knowing I had to keep a clear head. We had to take this slowly. I would not let Robert’s accusations get the upper hand, but I had to make sure I was above reproach.
“I appreciate that more than you know.” She smiled, but there was sadness there. Disappointment.
I sensed she wanted more of a commitment from me. At least a declaration about my interest. I grit my teeth, frustration filling every muscle in my body. Will and I would be having that discussion very soon.
“Since I’m here with you now, why don’t we see if Tom is home. We can take care of it today.”
She straightened and determination crossed her features. “All right. Let’s do it.”
***
Twenty minutes later we were on the freeway, fighting traffic to get to Kayla’s old neighborhood. “Did you and Daniel know this Tom guy well?”
Kayla stared straight ahead, her hands resting on her legs. “No, not really. He and his wife, Beverly, stayed to themselves mostly, and we rarely saw them together. He worked at home doing something on his computer—not sure what. She was a paramedic and had a crazy schedule. I noticed this one woman coming and going whenever Beverly wasn’t there, but I didn’t want to be a busybody and ask questions.”
“Hmm. You think he was having an affair?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure though. I wanted to bring it up to Bev, but we had opposite schedules and our work hours never coincided. Whenever I was at home, she was at work, so we rarely had the opportunity to talk. Plus, I didn’t want to assume anything bad. For all I knew, the woman could have been his sister. I wasn’t trying to stir up trouble.”
“I get it. No one likes a nosy neighbor.”
“Oh, we need to get off here,” she said, hurriedly. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
The traffic was heavy, but I managed to move over two lanes and get off at the correct exit.
“Make a left at the light and a right on Green Mountain Drive,” she said.
“Got it.”
We were both silent as I followed her directions, and I prayed silently that Tom would be home and that the conversation with him would be helpful. I wanted Kayla to have the closure she needed.
As I drove down the street, I took note of the trees and perfectly manicured lawns. It was a quiet neighborhood, and the houses were well maintained. “Do you miss living here?”
Kayla hesitated for several long moments, and I wondered if I shouldn’t have asked the question. “Sometimes, but I would never consider moving back. There were a lot of good
