Despite myself, I smiled at it. I pressed the note to my nose as if I might smell him on it, but all I smelled was paper.
I braced myself for another day at the Browning house. Not only did I have to take care of two kids all day, but now I also had to figure out how to get into the garage and find out what was in those duffel bags. At least that would serve as distraction from thinking about Wallace and the ghost.
I rewrapped my ankle and stepped into my new running shoes. I took a picture of my feet and sent it to Bray with a little thumbs-up emoji.
I nearly rolled my eyes at myself.
When I left the house, I subtly nodded at the agent in the SUV. I locked the front door and then tried to open it against the lock just to make sure. It didn’t yield.
I took one step off my porch when I heard a friendly voice from the sidewalk.
“Hey, neighbor!” Alisha said. Jeffrey dangled from her chest in his complicated harness. “I’m so sorry to hear about your uncle.”
News travels fast, I thought.
“Thanks,” I said without much else to add.
Luckily, she kept the conversation moving. “Things are working out with the Brownings, I assume?” she asked, and nodded across the street where I was clearly headed.
I cast my gaze in the same direction and tried not to wilt. My eyes dragged over the SUV, and I had a thought. “They sure are!” I cheerily said before changing topic. “Hey, Alisha, have you seen anyone strange around the neighborhood lately?”
Her face fell. She patted Jeffrey’s bottom and bounced. “Strange? What do you mean?”
I tried for a casual shrug. “I thought I saw someone in the street the other night. He didn’t look familiar to me, but I’m so new here, I probably just didn’t recognize him.”
I hadn’t expected Alisha to know anything; she had been gone the night the ghost appeared in the street. My intent in asking was to put her on the lookout. More eyes on the ghost meant more chance of staying safe.
“Huh,” Alisha said. “Well, I doubt it was anything to be concerned about; it’s so safe around here. I’ll keep my eyes peeled though!”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’ve got to get to work. Have a good day!”
“Bye!” Alisha matched the singsong I hadn’t even noticed I’d performed.
Between Bray’s smiley faces and everyone’s friendly greetings, the neighborhood was really getting to me.
I marched across the street with a determined step, ready to face the Browning family and praying Bray hurried the hell upwith whatever he was doing to get me out of here as soon as possible.
The thought of leaving suddenly struck me as sad as I passed through Melanie’s rose border. No one had been anything but nice and welcoming since I’d arrived, despite the mild criminal activity. My apartment was beautiful, the neighborhood was one of the best in the country—literally, according to a ranking. Sure, I’d lied to everyone I’d met from the second I got here, but of all the places I could be, Del Rio seemed perfect, despite my limited tenure.
Not to mention, if I left, what did that mean for Bray? Would he stay my handler? Would our relationship become primarily phone calls, brief rendezvous, and shadowy drops in the middle of the night, as it had been with Wallace?
But if I stayed, was I going to end up in a body bag?
I hadn’t even noticed I’d made it to the Brownings’ front door until it was swinging open in front of me.
“Good morning!” Melanie sang with the pep of someone who hadn’t been up doing illegal things in her driveway at three in the morning. She glowed in welcome, and I wondered if I’d dreamed the whole thing the night before.
“Hi!” I said, trying to match her energy.
She waved me in, and I followed. If she’d seen me and Bray spying on her last night, she didn’t let on. She wore an outfit similar to last night’s, but instead of the sleek spandex being black, it was a shade of rosy pink. It made her look like Workout Barbie. “I’m so glad you’re able to continue today; I have a busy morning.”
“Oh?” I casually asked, hoping she wasn’t about to jump in the car and speed off with the evidence in the trunk.
“Yes. I’ll be out back on the Peloton for the next hour.” She pointed out the back doors at the guesthouse. I must have been right about it being their home gym, especially given her outfit. “And then I’ll be in my office for most of the morningafter. The kids are in their playroom.” She hardly took a breath, and I decided she compensated for her late-night activity with copious amounts of caffeine. “You all set?” she asked me with nothing but sweetness. It set me on edge.
“Yep!” I lied.
“Great. Remember the instruction binder is in the kitchen. Shout if you need anything.” She pivoted and glided off toward the back of the house.
