A door opened in the upstairs hall. I braced myself, expecting Mrs. Haggerty, but it was Vero who came down the stairs. She paused in the entry to the kitchen and frowned at me, her heavy eyelids blinking slowly as I handed her a mug from the cabinet.
“When did you get home?” I asked as she shuffled to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup.
“Couple hours ago.”
“Why didn’t you spend the night with Javi? Trouble in paradise?”
“Far from it.” Her mascara-streaked eyes took on a faraway look as she pulled a carton of milk from the fridge. “We had one of those amazing nights, if you must know. The kind when you stay up for hours and talk about everything. All the things we dream about and the stuff we’re afraid of. All the little things we never told each other before.”
My mouth went dry. I plucked the carton from her hand. “What do you mean, you told him everything? Likeeverythingeverything?”
Vero pulled a face. “Of course not! I’m not an idiot. Don’t worry,” she said at my dubious look. “I left all your personal shit out of it.” I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant since all of her personal shit had been tangled with my personal shit since the night we buried Harris Mickler together. She waved away my unease. “Relax. I didn’t tell him about any ofthat,” she whispered.
I released a held breath as I sat down at the table and poured myself some cereal. “If it was such a perfect night, then why’d you come home?”
“Apparently, my husband snores. Why’d you sleep on the couch? I told you to use my room.”
“Nick came by after work and we fell asleep before we made it upstairs. Is Mrs. Haggerty awake yet?” I asked quietly between bites.
“Don’t think so. Your bedroom door is still closed.”
“Figures,” I muttered. “The woman was up half the night.”
“That makes two of us.” Vero blew steam from her mug, swallowing her first sip of caffeine with a rapturous expression. “Your boyfriend is a saint.”
I was struck by a sharp stab of guilt as I glanced at the sticky note he’d left beside the coffeepot. Vero was right. Nick was a saint. Andafter putting up with Mrs. Haggerty’s nonsense and sleeping on my couch last night, he had only asked one thing from me.
Today. No excuses.
I took the card with Brendan’s number from the counter and reached for my phone.
“What are you doing?” Vero asked.
“I’m calling Brendan to pick up his grandmother.”
“You told him she could stay until her heat was back on.”
“She pulled a gun on Nick last night—”
Coffee shot out of Vero’s nose.
I patted her back as she choked and handed her a napkin. “She thought he was a home invader when he let himself in, so she came downstairs waving her late husband’s pistol around, threatening to shoot.” A laugh bubbled out of Vero. It turned into a full-blown cackle as I tried to shush her. “Would you be quiet! You’re going to wake her up!”
She waved me off. “Mrs. Haggerty’s hearing is as bad as her eyesight, Finn. I’m surprised she even heard Nick come in last night.”
“I doubt she would have if she hadn’t been on her way out of the house. Apparently, she takes her neighborhood watch duties very seriously. She insisted on patrolling the neighborhood last night.”
Vero frowned. “That’s weird. According to the whisper network at the playground, Mrs. Haggerty got voted out of the neighborhood watch right after she was arrested. Stacey’s been acting as interim president since.”
I covered the receiver in case Brendan picked up. “Stacey? The same Stacey who sells sex toys out of her hatchback?”
“Among other things. She’s running a special on edibles this month, and not just the panties. The moms at the playground say her brownies are pretty good. I’m saving mine for a special occasion.”
I gasped. “That’s what Stacey brought you the other night?”
“Don’t look at me like that. They’re hidden in the freezer. The kids don’t even know they’re there.”
I hadn’t had enough coffee for this conversation.
