She walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the primary bedroom. She walked up to the Cézanne, that constant reminder of where their forty-five-year marriage had started. She pulled the painting away from the wall; it opened on two hidden hinges. Behind it was the safe. It had once had an old-style lock, but that was Edie’s best skill—she knew how to crack safes. She was self-taught and had once been damn good at it. Several years ago, she’d managed to pick that old-style tumbling lock and had almost gotten away with the Pahlavi brooch. But she hadn’t been aware of the safe’s silent alarm and Simon had caught her in the act. “Oh, Edie,” he’d said with a maniacal grin. “You know I can’t let you have that.”
He’d replaced that safe with one that had a digital lock, which Edie had yet been able to crack. But every week, she came with her reading glasses and combination guesses, generated by a computer, and tried. One day, she figured, she would get lucky. Surely.
Every week, Simon changed the code.
They never spoke about their weird game, but they both understood they were playing. Edie wanted that piece of jewelry—it was how he kept her here, doing his bidding. And Simon very much wanted to keep it and hold it over her head and keep herexactly where he wanted her. Theirs was a zero-sum game that would likely never end.
It wasn’t going to end this week, either, as Edie tried all ten of her guesses. Like she did every week, she returned the ridiculously pretentious portrait to the wall, hoisted her bag over her shoulder, went downstairs, said goodbye to Bernie, scratched the dogs behind their ears, got into her sports car, and drove to town.
It was only half past nine, which meant Simon was probably still having his coffee. He’d never been an early riser. Edie parked in front of Linda’s Craftsman-style cottage. If she didn’t hate Linda so much, she might have admired her tidy little house. It had a certain charm to it. She walked up the steps to the door and pounded hard, knowing very well she was startling everyone inside.
A few moments later, the thick wooden door with the charming door lights was yanked open. Linda stared at Edie agog.
“You’ll want to watch for flies,” Edie said, gesturing to her gaping mouth.
Linda immediately snapped it shut and tightened her robe around her. Her hair looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and close up, Edie noted with delight that her skin was as blotchy and age spotted as hers had been until she’d had the latest laser treatment done on her face.
“What are you doing here, Edie?”
“What do you think, Linda? I have a message for my husband.” She pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and held it up. “Would you mind passing this along? This is a list of bills he needs to pay and some calls he needs to make. I will be away for a few days.”
Linda blanched. She stared at the paper, then glowered at Edie, as if she was insulted Edie would insinuate her husband was here. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She lifted her chin slightly.
“No? Why, did you tie one on last night? I heard you couldknock them back,” Edie said breezily. “Did you maybe forget you dragged another woman’s husband home with you?”
“All right, Edie. That’s enough of that. Please go—I don’t have what you’re looking for.”
“Oh, I think you do,” Edie said. “Unless you want to pretend those clown shoes next to the door and the raincoat draped over your couch belong to your other lover?”
Linda’s glower turned darker, but she snatched the paper from Edie’s fingers.
Edie smiled. “Please tell him I am going on a genealogy trip.”
“What? What’s going on?”
Simon abruptly joined the chat, appearing behind Linda in a tank top, boxers, and a plaid robe. The few hairs he had left on top of his head were standing on end. Edie couldn’t help but marvel at how much she’d once loved this man.Adoredhim. Funny how that sort of love died a gruesome death. But then, a different sort of love had cropped up in its place. Fondness. History. Familiarity.
“I am doing a genealogy tour.”
Simon scratched his belly, looking confused. “What’s that?”
“And you need to take care of things while I’m gone.”
“Gone for how long?”
“A couple of weeks.”
Simon frowned. “What are you talking about, Edie? Are you leaving?”
“I just told you, Simon. I’m going to be in New England. Which means you and your side chick here will have the run of the town. But if I find that you have brought her up to Songbird Hill in my absence, I will make a big public stink about it when you are both least expecting it.”
Linda gasped.
“Watch what you say,” Simon said ominously.
“Watch yourself, Don Juan,” Edie returned. She shifted her gaze from Simon’s belly bloat to Linda. “You will never get whatyou want from him. You know that, don’t you? None of the others have, either.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Simon groaned.
