“Then a dog attacked me. You were the one who suggested it might have been trained to pull away when a special whistle was blown. That thought wouldn’t even have occurred to me, yet it did to you. Why?”
“It’s common knowledge—”
“And then my garage door crashed down.” Despite the warmth of the night, her hands were freezing. She tucked them more deeply in the folds of her shirt. “You’re a builder. You seemed familiar enough with the workings of that door to be able to rig, and unrig, a malfunction.”
“This is absurd, Lauren! Do you know what you’re saying?”
“I’m not done,” she declared. “Let me finish.”
He was on his feet, prowling the room. “I can’t wait to hear the rest.”
She ignored his sarcasm, knowing only that the time for silence had passed. “There was the matter of an intruder in my house. You found the problem immediately. A lock on one of the windows was broken. In fact, you used that very window to get into the house, supposedly to scout around. How can I be sure it was the first time you’d entered the house that way?” When Matt took a sharp breath to defend himself, she rushed on. “The car that followed me all the way home from Boston was compatible in both size and shade to your rental. And the timing was perfect. You could have left me at my garage, picked up your own car—even on another floor of the same garage—and tailed me out. Then there was the night when I heard strange noises. You said you were in Leominster. It was a convenient alibi, but I have no proof, do I?”
“I’ll give you names and numbers—”
“My car battery went dead; you were the last one to drive the car. Someone followed me late at night in Boston; you conveniently arrived here within minutes after I did.”
“I was inLeominster—but I told you that once before, didn’t I? I thought we agreed on it.”
“That was what you wanted, for me to agree on it.”
“I wanted you to trust me.”
“So you told me. Many times. And I’ve been completely taken in, because I thought you were one of the most sincere, straightforward men I’ve ever met. Maybe I was wrong, Matt. Maybe I’ve been playing into your hands all along.”
He stood before her then, hands on his hips, his face a mask of steel. The oblique light from the hall did nothing to blunt his obvious irritation. “What brought all this on? That’s what I’d like to know. You did trust me. At least, I thought you did. Where did I go wrong?”
Lauren’s composure was beginning to slip. If Matt was innocent—and his reaction was far from conclusive on that score—she was going to hate herself for the accusations she’d made. On the other hand, if he was guilty as charged, she was in a lot of trouble.
“You went wrong,” she began with a shaky breath, “when you took off for California on Saturday morning.”
“Youwereangry.”
“No. But I was puzzled and maybe a little hurt, because the trip was so sudden and you were so tight-lipped about it. And that got me to thinking, and suddenly there were more questions than ever. I’m an intelligent person, Matt. ‘Together,’ to quote you. You could have told me anything and I’d have understood. Okay, what happens with your work is your business. But you’ve shared other things with me, which I realize in hindsight you’ve been very selective about. Why discuss some things and not others? Unless you’re hiding something. Unless there’s something you don’t want me to know.”
He threw a hand in the air. “It’s Beth. You’ve been listening to Beth. This sounds like one of her harebrained plots.”
Lauren stared him out. “Days ago I wanted to go to the police. Any person in his right mind would do that in a situation like mine. But I didn’t go to the police, because you told me not to. You’ve been adamant about it!Why?”
“You want to know why?” Matt raged suddenly. His eyes were narrowed, his head thrust forward. “I’ll tell you why! Because your brother, Brad, was up to no good during the last few years of his life, and if I’d gone to the police when I suspected that Brad’s boss was behind what was happening to you, it would have all come out.You’dhave been hurt. I was trying to protectyou!”
Lauren sat in stunned silence as the warm summer night crowded in on her. One minute she felt smothered, the next chilled. In the third, she was stifling again and began to sweat. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she pressed a finger to her moist upper lip, frowned, then looked back at Matt. “What did you say about Brad?’ she asked in a timid whisper.
Matt stood with his feet braced apart, one hand massaging the taut muscles at the back of his neck. At her question, he lowered his head, put two fingers to his forehead and rubbed. “Brad was in trouble.” His voice held a blend of sadness and defeat. Lauren knew he’d have to be a consummate actor to produce such a heart-wrenching tone on cue.
“What kind of trouble?” Her stomach had begun to jump. She pressed a hand to it.
“Please. Lauren, you don’t want—”
“What kind of trouble?” When he didn’t answer, she repeated the question a third time. “What kind of trouble?”
Matt sighed in resignation. “He’d been padding invoices and expense vouchers, then pocketing the difference.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Maybe that’s just as well. Brad’s dead. Nothing will ever be proved one way or another. Just rumors. Lousy rumors.”
“You believe them.”
