You had to ask.
“It’s a combination of white and yellow gold,” he said, picturing the ring his dad had given Mom for their fortieth wedding anniversary. “There’s one large square diamond on top and several round ones set in the band.” He didn’t know how to describe the intricate design of the band, so he wasn’t even going to try.
Outside, he heard car doors close, and he tightened his hold on her hand and wrist. If the cops were about to walk in, he didn’t want her making a run for the back door when she saw them.
“How many carats?”
The cops walked inside before he came up with a number.
When she spotted them, Lisa bolted out of her chair and lunged at him. “You liar. You were just trying to distract me. I’m going to kill you and then her.”
* * *
Entering the kitchen,Maddie grabbed a cookie from the bakery box still on the table. As expected, the police had wanted detailed statements from both of them and Spike. Although they’d probably only been at the station for about two hours, it had felt like forever.
“Give me a few minutes, and then I’ll start dinner.” Maddie bit into a cookie as she selected a bottle of wine from the fridge. An encounter with a crazy ex-girlfriend didn’t cancel out the need for food.
“You don’t have to cook. I can order takeout. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it.”
Keith’s ex-girlfriend had already ruined much of her day. But she wouldn’t let Lisa ruin her plans for tonight’s meal too. “Not happening. The steak tips have been marinating, and it won’t take me long to get the potatoes ready.” So they could eat sooner, though, she’d skip the twice-baked potatoes and make mashed instead.
“Whatever you want to do is fine with me. Is there anything I can help with?”
She appreciated the offer, but if Keith helped, it would only create more work for her. “Yeah, get us some wineglasses.”
Although they’d spoken to the police at the house and given statements at the station, they hadn’t discussed what had happened today. “How did you know to come home?”
“Lisa made a mistake and used her cell phone to send me a message. Lyle did what he does best and discovered who the number belonged to and where the phone was. When you didn’t answer me, I knew something was wrong.”
She’d gotten the gun away from Lisa, but the situation could have still gone terribly wrong. However, Keith’s arrival helped resolve it in a nonlethal fashion. “I’ll have to thank Lyle later.”
“I’m guessing she was following me and saw us together. But how did you get to be friends with her?” Keith asked.
“We met at the gym. And you know, at least initially, she didn’t want to kill me, just convince me to leave you.” Then, after filling both wineglasses and taking a sip from one, she handed Keith the other. “I don’t know who the woman was, but Lisa was behind the encounter at Murphy’s when I was in New York. She sent me the pictures, hoping I’d believe you were cheating on me and end things.”
“She kept the crazy hidden well when I was with her. So when Spike suggested Lisa was sending the messages, I told him there was no way. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around it.”
“Why did he think it might be her?”
“We’d only been seeing each for a little more than a month, and she wanted to move in with me. And she constantly called me after I told her it wasn’t working. I thought she was just clingy. Then when she stopped, I guessed she was with someone else.”
“More like obsessed. Lisa said the two of you were soul mates.”
Despite the conversation topic, Keith grinned. “Soul mates? That’s funny.”
“Before I find myself stuck in another version ofFatal Attraction, do you have any other crazy ex-girlfriends who consider you their soul mate running around?”
“I think you’re safe. But if anyone comes to mind, I’ll let you know.”
The first glass of wine finished; Maddie refilled it before opening the bag of potatoes. If they were going to eat at a reasonable time, she needed to start cooking. “Maybe you should quit working with me and go into acting. I almost believed everything you said to Lisa.”
“I took drama sophomore year. Guess it paid off.”
She learned new things about him all the time. “You took drama in high school?”
Keith shrugged. “I wanted an easy class. It turned out to be a lot more work than I expected. But I managed an A- for the year. The teacher wanted me to try out for the lead role in the drama club’s play that year.”
“Taking a class because you thought it would be an easy one sounds like something you’d do.”