Key Lime Pie (34 page)

“Believed him?” Pete asked. “Why the past tense?”

“Oh, well, we were at this park, and he, uh, hit his head and was knocked unconscious, but don’t worry, I called 911.”

“And Mathews knows about this, right?”

“Not yet,” Sadie said, “but he will. I just didn’t want to . . . well, it’s complicated, and you probably don’t have time to hear the whole story.”

The voices in the background were getting louder. “Actually, you’re right, I don’t,” Pete said. “But I want to hear more about it later, okay?”

“Deal.”

“I’ve got to go. You’ll talk to the sergeant as soon as you can, right?”

“Yes,” Sadie said. “Thank you.”

“Be safe,” Pete said.

“I will,” she said, touched by his concern and his willingness to help do something she could never have done on her own. “And thank you, Pete, for calling and for . . . caring.” It sounded cheesy, and she blushed.

“Anytime, Sadie,” Pete said, a husky tone to his voice. “Anytime.”

After ending the phone call, Sadie thought of one more thing, but knowing Pete was going into a meeting, she sent him a quick text.

What’s Liliana’s husband’s name?

She hit send and then sighed. Was she feeling all soft and squishy toward Pete because he was far away? Hard to get? Was Eric less appealing because no glittery thoughts surrounded him anymore? Or did having a fuller view of him and his life give her reasons to wonder if she had been simply attracted to some of him, but not the entire package?

“I don’t know!” she snapped to no one. “And I don’t know how I’m supposed to figure it out.” And why was she even trying to figure out her stupid love life when there were bigger things at stake? That was so ridiculous and self-centered.

She needed to talk to Eric, and then she needed to go to Mathews.

Her phone rang in her hand, and she jumped. She looked at the caller ID and breathed a sigh of relief to see it was Eric—who didn’t have a picture or a speed dial button on her phone.

She pressed talk and put the phone to her ear. “Eric,” she said. “How did it go?”

“She’s gone,” Eric said, his tone hollow.

“What?” Sadie said, her fingers tightening around the phone.

“They’re checking the cameras, and I’ve been talking to security, but apparently there was some kind of distraction, and she slipped out of the hospital.”

“Why would she do that?” Sadie said, her heart sinking. “What about the surgery?”

Eric said nothing. The full weight of Sadie’s actions fell across her shoulders. If she hadn’t gone to see Megan, would she have stayed? She knew Eric was thinking the same thing and closed her eyes. “Eric, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Me too.” The way he said it sounded like an accusation.

“I thought going to see her would help,” Sadie tried to explain. “I didn’t want to call you if it wasn’t her. I was just going off of some papers in the car; I had no way of knowing—”

“I know you were only trying to help,” he said. “But . . . well, I don’t know.”

Sadie felt as though she’d been slapped. Although she felt the defensiveness rising, she kept from reacting to the feelings. Eric was in a horrendously stressful situation, and now he was worried about Megan more than ever. Of course he would be angry with anyone who got in the way of that.

They sat through a few seconds of uncomfortable silence while Sadie tried to think of the words that would diffuse his anger, defend her intentions, and help them move past this. Nothing came to mind.

Eric broke the silence. “The Miami police have an APB, or whatever it’s called, out for her, so hopefully they’ll find her.” They were pretty words, but he didn’t seem to feel them, and therefore Sadie didn’t really either. “Anyway, I better go. I got a call from Larry a while back and ought to—”

“Larry!” Sadie said loudly, instantly reminded of what she needed to say to Eric. “Sorry,” she said, realizing she’d taken Eric by surprise. “I’ve learned some things about Larry that might be important.”

Eric was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Like what?” He didn’t seem to have high hopes.

“Did you know he worked in vital records when he was employed with the state?”

“Yes,” Eric said. “So?”

“And did you notice that he drives an awfully nice car for someone supporting three households and having a new job?”

“Three households?” Eric said.

“Layla, Tia and Max, and his own.”

“He doesn’t support Tia,” Eric said. “He gives her a couple hundred a month to keep an eye on Layla.”

“Nope,” Sadie said, shaking her head. “Tia works part-time, and I’d wager she cooks for Layla every day. Not that she’s not compassionate and wouldn’t help anyway, but she came to Homestead six years ago
specifically
to take care of Layla—that was the whole reason.”

“Where are you going with this, Sadie?”

She took a breath. “I think Larry is dealing in illegal documents, and I think he asked Max—that’s Tia’s brother, he’s disabled or something—to burn the box of Megan’s things.”

Eric was quiet again. “Larry?” he finally said.

“Yes,” Sadie said, and she proceeded to relate to Eric the details of everything she’d seen and overheard at Max’s house. “Remember when I said we needed suspects, and that suspects have secrets? Well, Larry has a secret, and it’s too much of a coincidence to imagine that his secret has nothing to do with Megan’s original disappearance.”

He took a deep breath, and when he spoke, Sadie was disappointed to hear him sounding almost patronizing. “So what do you want to do about this little theory of yours?”

“Oh, well, I hadn’t thought all that out just yet,” Sadie said. “But maybe we should talk to Mathews about it and let him take it from there.”

“Mathews.” Eric said it as though it were a dirty word. “I’m in enough trouble with Mathews right now; I’m not going to give him some unsubstantiated tip.”

Sadie remained silent, letting Eric work things through in his mind.

“Where are you right now?” he asked.

“Parked in front of a school around the corner from Layla’s house,” Sadie said.

“Meet me at Layla’s then,” he said. “I’m about five minutes away.”

“You didn’t stay in Miami?”

“I was stuck talking to the Miami cops for over an hour, then I bailed. It’s not like Meg’s going to go back there.”

Sadie cringed all over again. Why would Megan leave? Where would she go?

Eric continued. “I think we should go to Larry’s and see what he has to say.”

“Then we can go to Mathews with the whole story,” Sadie suggested, though confronting Larry didn’t sound like fun.

“Okay. Meet me at Layla’s.”

Sadie shifted into drive and hoped this would give her a chance to redeem herself with Eric a little, show him she was as determined to get to the bottom of this as he was. “I’m on my way.”

Twenty minutes later, they crouched beside the gate and waited for Larry to leave. Once they’d arrived, Eric had decided to look around Larry’s condo before they talked to him. Sadie wasn’t entirely comfortable with that, but she felt so badly about Megan leaving the hospital that she wasn’t inclined to argue.

They knew there was an event at the Speedway—Eric was supposed to meet Joe in section C—and while they waited for Larry to leave, Sadie could feel Eric’s breath on her cheek. The evening light created shadows among the trees across the street from the condo Eric said was Larry’s. Eric’s arm around her waist, and the warmth of him pressed against her back, was nice, and yet strangely uncomfortable.

Turning her head slightly, she found her face inches from his. His eyes glittered with the glow from the streetlight to the left of them. She couldn’t deny that he was a good-looking man, and she dug deep for the sparks that, in part, had brought her here.

“What?” he whispered.

Sadie continued to look at him, remembering their exchange on the courthouse lawn two days ago and the complicated feelings she’d been having ever since. There were things she’d learned about him in the last forty-eight hours that just didn’t sit right. Yet, her eyes traveled to his lips, and his words came back to her:
Mark my words, Sadie Hoffmiller, the first time our lips meet, it will be
you
kissing
me.

Did she even want to kiss him now?

She turned away, embarrassed by the direction her thoughts were taking at a time like this. No sooner had she turned away, however, when she felt Eric’s hand on her chin, turning her back to face him. She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead he leaned toward her. It wasn’t until their faces were close enough to touch that she realized what he was doing.

He’s going to kiss me!
she said in her mind, feeling herself pulling back. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. He’d given her the lead on this!

And then his lips met hers, and his hand on her chin moved to the back of her head, preventing her from pulling away.

Sadie froze, waiting for the euphoric rush of heat and adrenaline despite being unprepared for it. A tiny part of her wondered if this was what she needed to make sense of the feelings battling themselves out within her. Maybe this kiss was the answer.

His lips pressed against her own and she waited for the fireworks that would fix all the confusing thoughts in her mind.

She felt nothing.

Was she doing something wrong? Was the fact that he’d turned this moment over to her and then yanked it away preventing her from fully enjoying the kiss? Regardless of all the emotional baggage, this
was
their first kiss, it was important, and she needed to get over herself. She moved her hands into Eric’s hair, really putting herself into the kiss as she sought for . . . something, anything, to capture what this moment was supposed to be.

Nothing.

How was that possible? She’d felt the tingle when she first met him; felt the giddy nervousness when he was close to her since then. Even Pete had said she lit up when he was around.

Pete.
Where did that thought come from?

But had she felt that giddiness since coming to Florida? Instead of the passion and connection she’d imagined this moment should have, she noticed that Eric’s beard felt scruffy against her skin and that he needed ChapStick . . . and gum or something. Sadie could count on one hand—okay, maybe two—the number of men she’d kissed in her life. Not one of those exchanges had been as disappointing as this one, and as Eric took over, deepening the kiss even more, Sadie found herself completely turned off.

After a few more seconds, she pulled away and cleared her throat, not sure what to do as embarrassment crept up her neck. Casually lifting her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, she used the movement as an excuse to move away from him.

“Gosh, what’s that in your hair?” Eric said, and she looked back at him to see him wiping his hand on his jeans.

She was even more embarrassed and wished he hadn’t kissed her at all. Would it have been different if they weren’t in the bushes waiting to see what Larry was up to? Somehow, she didn’t think so. In fact, as the moments ticked by, she couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter how that first kiss had happened, she’d be feeling just like this.

An instant later, Eric stiffened slightly and whispered in her ear, “There he is.”

Sadie nodded, grateful for the distraction even if she wasn’t looking forward to what came next. Eric moved around her, gently pushing her behind him. She didn’t fight him, simply relieved that he wasn’t trying to kiss her again.

“I’ll wait for him to pull out before I go up,” Eric whispered. “You stay here.”

Not on your life,
Sadie said in her mind, taking a quick glance at the bushes on either side. Surely they were teeming with spiders, maybe even cockroaches—she knew what kind of creepy crawlies lived in tropical climates—but telling Eric she had no intention of obeying his orders would only waste time.

Meanwhile Larry headed to his car, talking on his phone again. Sadie wondered who was on the other end. His latest customer, maybe?

Eric hunched slightly, like a lion ready to pounce, and Sadie felt the air electrify with tension. They watched silently as Larry got into his car and pulled out of his parking space. Only when his car was gone and the complex silent did Eric move forward, crouching as he looked around. It wasn’t until he was on the porch and reaching for his tools in his back pocket that he realized Sadie was right behind him.