Part 13 (1/2)
”Don't call me honey! That works on Abby, but not on me. Put her on, now.”
”I swear to you, Abby's not here.” Jill's thoughts s.h.i.+fted from Victoria to Abby, and she started to worry. ”When did you see her last?”
”None of your business. She's probably at work, but they don't pick up the phone.”
”She's not at work. She quit her job.”
”She quit? How do you know?”
”She told me. Could she be on a date? She might have been last night. She was drinking when she came over.”
”There's a shocker,” Victoria said, dryly.
”Do you know who that was? Was it Santos? Could they be back together?”
”Again, how do you know about Santos? Boy, you don't waste a minute, do you?” Victoria snorted. ”My father just died, Jill. Can't you hold your horses before you try to worm your way back into my family?”
Jill didn't want to fight. It was bad enough that she and Victoria were so far apart. ”Do you have Santos's phone number?”
”No, he moved back to Brazil. She could have picked somebody up at random. She does that, you know. She goes out a lot, she likes to party.”
Jill cringed. ”On the night of her father's memorial service? She didn't seem like she was up for a party when I left her. Did you call any of her friends?”
”I don't even know her friends. They didn't even care enough to show up at the memorial service.”
”Are you going to the house to check on her?”
”No, Jill. I'm not her mother, and here's a news flash, neither are you. Good-bye.”
”Wait, please call me if you hear from her, or ask her to call me.”
”Like you care?”
”I do, Victoria. I care about you both. Please, call me or-”
Victoria hung up, leaving Jill holding the phone, and she pressed END. She scrolled back to her phone log, found Abby's phone number, and pressed CALL. It rang and rang, then the voicemail came on, with Abby saying, ”I'm having too much fun to take your call! Leave a message!” The beep sounded, and Jill said, ”Abby, I'm worried about you. Please call me and let me know how you are. Victoria called, looking for you, too. Call me anytime, no matter how late. Love you.”
Jill hung up, worrying. It seemed odd that Abby wasn't home tonight. Abby would have no reason to go out, and she didn't seem strong or stable enough to party. Jill thought of the padiddle. The man in the ballcap. The surveillance video. The sanitized laptop.
Suddenly, Jill didn't think it was completely outlandish that William had been murdered, then something else dawned on her, with a shock. If William had been murdered, Abby could be in danger, too. Abby lived in the same house as William. Maybe she had seen the killer and didn't know it, or overheard something or saw something else, or maybe the killer merely thought she did. Whatever William was up to could destroy Abby, as well.
I love you, Jill.
Jill felt a bolt of fear at the notion. She couldn't bear it if anything happened to Abby. She jumped up like a shot and went running to the family room.
”Sam!” she called out, stricken.
Chapter Seventeen.
Jill sat in the chair across from Sam, having told him about the surveillance tape, the forged script, and the black SUV, at warp speed. Beef slept on the rug, his back legs twitching in a doggie dream, and the TV was playing a late-night talk show, on mute. Sam had calmed her down, listening carefully to her, looking over the top of his gla.s.ses, sitting forward on the couch, resting his arms on his thighs, his concern etched into every line on his face.
Jill asked, ”So what do you think, honey?”
”I think a lot of things.” Sam raked a hand through his hair. A gla.s.s of soda with melted ice sat next to him on the oak end table. ”I must admit, it does seem strange, especially that the prescribing doctor was dead.”
”I know, right?” Jill felt a rush of validation, but an equal measure of worry for Abby.
”It's what William did to you, stealing the pads, so it suggests it was him filling the script.”
”Why would he disguise himself?”
”In case someone found out it was a phony script. To avoid prosecution.”
”Right. I didn't think of that.” Jill rubbed her face. ”My brain must not be working, I keep thinking about Abby. Where could she be?”
”Anywhere.” Sam's expression cooled, and he slid off his gla.s.ses.
”What if she's in danger? Or trouble?”
”I doubt that she is.” Sam checked his watch. ”It's one o'clock in the morning, and we know she likes to have a good time.”
”She wasn't having a good time last night, Sam. She was in pain.”
”Okay, fair point.”
”I wish she lived close, I could go check on her.” Jill tried to suppress her fears, but failed. ”Anything could have happened to her, even in the house. She could have had too much to drink and fallen down the stairs. She's so alone. She has no one looking out for her.”
”She has a sister.”
”Who's in disapproval frenzy.”
Sam lifted an eyebrow. ”Maybe she deserves it.”
”n.o.body deserves it, Sam.”
”People who drink and drive do.”
”Don't judge her, help her.”
”Stop.” Sam put up both hands. ”We are. I am. Could we change the subject and talk about you, instead of her? The black SUV following you, that concerns me. It might be nothing, but I'd prefer it if we played it safe.”
”And did what?”
”Stay out of this. Who knows what William got himself into?” Sam frowned, deeply. ”I don't think you should get further involved.”