“What? Can you tell me who it is?” I cajoled, hoping the alcohol lubricated her tongue enough to spill confidences she might otherwise keep. I still wasn’t sure I believed the stalker story. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“It was Ian!” Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were flushed. “Can you believe that?”
“Ian, Ian?” I gaped at her. “Seriously? Is that why he’s not here tonight?” We were interrupted by a trio of guests who came to say goodbye. Sara stood and hugged each guest lavishly. “Thank you so, so much for coming.”
Her husband came to her side, chuckling. “Sara is very effusive when she’s had more than two glasses of wine.”
With a wave in my direction, Sara disappeared into her crowd of friends.
On the way home, Nasser was disbelieving when I told him about Lizzie’s supposed stalker. “Ian? I don’t believe it.”
“That’s what Lizzie told Sara.”
“Maybe she’s mistaken.”
“Maybe, but that would partially explain why Ali helped Lizzie conceal the purchase of her house.”
“Why partially?”
“Ali helping Lizzie conceal her purchase of Cozy Glenn to protect her from a stalker is absolutely something Ali would do. But the Ali I knew wouldn’t break my trust by keeping such a big secret. He would have told me about the situation and sworn me to secrecy.”
“You believe in Ali again.” Nasser’s face was in the shadows. “What’s changed? Have you learned something new that I don’t know about?”
“No, I just finally got my head on straight. Once I stopped doubting my memories and started trusting my judgment, I realized that Ididknow the real Ali. And he wasn’t a cheater. Or a liar.”
He was quiet for a moment. “If that’s the case, then what’s your theory regarding Cozy Glenn?”
“I think there’s more to it. Something pretty extreme had to happen for Ali to hide the house from me. I feel like Lizzie and her brother know what it is. They’re still hiding something.”
“Like what?” He glanced over at me before refocusing on the road. “Uh-oh. I don’t like that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“One that suggests you have a plan.”
I did have a plan. But I was keeping it to myself at the moment because Nasser definitely would not approve.
“I don’t want to be a pest, but I worry about you.” He lowered his voice. “I care about you.”
Anxiety arrowed through me. That slight discomfort, the uneasy awareness, still lingered between us. I was afraid of losing Nasser as a friend if he openly confessed to having feelings for me. But he couldn’t be anything more. I might be a widow, but I was still married to Ali’s memory. I couldn’t imagine ever being ready to move on.
“I need to create a little space to make my own decisions,” I told him. It was past time for me to be completely true to myself, for once, even if that meant losing people who were important to me. “I hope you can understand that.”
“I know you want some breathing room,” he said. “But can you blame me for being protective when your house has been broken into twice?”
“What?” I swung my head toward him. “How do you know about the second break-in?”
He paused. “You told me.”
“No, I didn’t. I absolutely did not tell you,” I insisted. “In fact, I made a point of keeping it from both you and Lulu.”
He was quiet, his eyes on the road. Uneasiness twinged through me. Nasser was the one who installed the security system. The intruder came in through the unlocked window in the garage. Nasser would have seen that window was unlocked when he installed the sensors.He could have even unlocked it himself.
“Well?” I pressed, my voice a little shaky. “How did you know about the garage break-in?”
“I have friends on the police force. I asked them to keep me posted if there were any incidents related to your case.”
“But the break-ins happened even before I met Detectives Fox and Lloyd. You were keeping an eye on me before we knew Ali’s death might not have been an accident?”
