I pulled my truck down Eric’s driveway, happy to see that Kat was home. I needed some advice, and not the kind of advice that my brothers would give. They would see right through me.
I ran up the steps to the porch and headed inside, calling out to her as I took off my coat. When she walked around the corner, she looked tired and I immediately switched gears.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just tired.”
“But why are you tired? Is something wrong?”
“You mean other than the fact that I’m growing a person inside me?”
I frowned, not liking this at all. “I should call Eric.”
“Because I didn’t sleep well? I’m fine. The baby just kept me up all night.”
“The baby is only about 5 months along. You’re barely showing yet,” I argued. “What’s really going on?”
She sighed and walked into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. “I’m just worried. When I was five months pregnant before, everything was fine, you know?” I nodded. “I only have three months.”
I frowned, not really understanding what she was saying. “You have longer than that.”
“I mean, I have three months before…”
It dawned on me what she was trying to say. “Quiche-girl, you can’t assume that the same thing is going to happen with this baby.”
“Really? Because you guys are all treating me like porcelain, and it makes my anxiety spike. Like, I’m completely calm about everything until one of you starts treating me like my whole world is about to implode. It makes me focus on things that I shouldn’t be focusing on.”
“Well…you should stop that,” I said stupidly.
She stared at me like I was an idiot, and maybe I was, but I didn’t know how to comfort her. “What I need is for all of you to back off and just pretend this is any other pregnancy. I need to feel like it’s not going to fall apart.”
I snorted at that. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. Did you know that Eric had Corduroy program your number into his phone?”
“For what reason?”
“So that if he saw your number, he knew it was an emergency and he could get to you.”
“That’s ridiculous. I could call any number of people, including 9-1-1, if it was an emergency.”
“Hey, I’m just saying, you’re not going to get Eric to back down on this one. He’s scared too and he needs to control this in any way he can.”
She sighed and rubbed at the table.
“What can I do?”
She shrugged like a petulant child. “I guess I could go for a pizza.”
I grinned and pulled out my phone. “I’ll order it and have Eric pick it up for you.”
“He won’t let me have it.”
“Why not?”
“He says it’s not healthy for me. He’s been reading up the last week on all sorts of stuff and he’s all freaked out that spicy food will cause early labor.”
“Cheese pizza isn’t exactly spicy.”
“No, but they put spices in the pizza,” she whispered. “And we have no control over what they put in there.”
“Alright, then I’ll have Joe bring it over and I’ll pretend that it’s for me.”
She glanced at the clock and then back to me. “Fine, but you’d better hurry. He’ll be home in an hour and I need my pizza fix.”
I quickly dialed it in and sent Joe a message to pick it up.
“So, what did you really come out here for?”
I couldn’t tell her anything about Lorelei. That would make her worry about Eric. As of right now, I was pretty sure that she didn’t look at Eric in any way other than her contractor. It was me she was interested in.
“I met someone.”
She beamed at me and sank back in her chair. “Tell me all about her.”
“Well, she’s beautiful. I mean, I think she’s beautiful. Actually, that doesn’t really cover it. She’s like…this siren that is hiding in plain sight, but I know she’s there. And the more I see her, the more I know that…”
“That what?”
“Well, that’s the thing. I’m not sure.”
“You know that you’re not sure?” she asked in confusion.
“It’s complicated.”
“So, uncomplicate it for me.”
I sighed and tried to figure out what I could tell her. “She’s recently widowed.”
“Okay.”
“And I don’t think she actually liked her husband. I think she married him for money.”
“Oh, here we go again,” she rolled her eyes.
“She doesn’t seem to be grieving him at all.”
“Well, maybe it was a marriage of convenience. Those still happen.”
“Right, but then how do I know that I’m not just a convenience for her too?”
Kat frowned. “Is this the woman Eric’s doing all that work for?”
“Maybe.”
“Meaning yes.”
“Alright, fine. It’s the same woman.”
“The same woman that almost dropped a tub on your head.”
I sighed and looked away. It was so hard to talk about with her without telling the details. Maybe I should just say something. Maybe Kat could guide me on this.
“Can you keep a secret?”
She leaned forward, practically giddy. “Oh God, I long for a secret.”
“I think she might have killed her husband.”
Kat gasped and sat back in her chair. “No.”
I nodded. “And I don’t think he’s the only one. I think she might have killed two other people.”
“Then why are you lusting over her?”
“Because she’s hot and she’s different.”
“Yeah, she’s different in that she kills the people she’s with.”
“Look, I don’t have proof yet, but she may have tried to kill me at least two times, maybe closer to four.”
“How?”
“Well, the first time, she threw a wrench at my head. I swear to God, it was this close,” I said, holding my thumb and forefinger just a centimeter apart. “And then that same day, there was the whole tub incident. She literally told me where to stand and told me not to move. It was like she was setting the scene for my murder.”
“But why would she want
