“We’re going to check, just in case. We’re going to do all we can,” he promised. His radio crackled again, and he started to leave the room but Claire stopped him. “Myles?”

Letting the radio summons wait, he shifted his attention to her.

“Have you ever come across anything concerning April Cox while pursuing this investigation?”

His eyebrows came together. “Like what?”

“She claims she found some emails on Roni’s computer that prove Roni was having an affair with Tug before my mother went missing.”

“I’ve never seen or heard anything like that.”

“So her interview or testimony or whatever wasn’t in your copy of the case files, either.”

“No. But I can call Sheriff Meade to see if he remembers her being involved. Far as I know, he’s still alive and enjoying his retirement in Big Fork.”

“But if he purposely dropped that information from the file as a favor to my parents, he probably wouldn’t admit it,” she said.

Myles ran a hand through his hair. “You think Tug or Roni might be behind this?”

“Can you rule them out?”

“No,” he said. “I can’t.”

19

Claire had never dreamed she’d be moving in with Isaac. They’d gone from not speaking to renewing their torrid affair to living together in only a week’s time. She was bowled over by this sudden reversal and wondered if he felt the same. If so, he didn’t show it. He was the one who’d insisted she pack some of the clothes that hadn’t been destroyed and stay with him. He didn’t think she’d be safe anywhere else.

Myles had overheard them discussing her temporary relocation and interrupted to say that his home was available to her, too. Claire knew he wasn’t pleased about her relationship with a known heartbreaker. No doubt he thought Laurel would be upset about it. But Myles and Laurel had each other and a family to care for. She couldn’t see herself crowding in with them, interrupting their lives. She’d tried to argue that she could stay right where she was, or with Leanne, but Isaac wouldn’t hear of it. Leanne hadn’t returned, which hardly made her seem sympathetic.

After putting her bags in the back of his truck, they’d spent several hours cleaning up the mess, which included wiping away the fingerprint dust the police had used in hopes of figuring out who might’ve broken in. They’d lifted so many prints, most of which probably belonged to her or Leanne or maybe even Isaac, it was going to take a couple of weeks to sort through them all.

“You okay?”

Claire glanced up to see Isaac watching her from across the table at Hank’s Burger Joint. They’d spent so much time trying to put her house back together and make a list for the insurance company that it was now late afternoon.

“You haven’t said a word since we got here.”

She stared at her plate as she sighed. “It wasn’t easy seeing things I’ve worked hard to accumulate swept into a dustpan and thrown in the trash, but…I’m okay.” For the most part. Her life with David was slowly being dismantled and carted off; even the memories were beginning to feel distant. Coping with that, and the disloyalty she felt, complicated an already complicated situation. So did how much she cared about Isaac, because she worried that allowing herself to depend on him would turn out to be her biggest mistake yet.

On the other hand, she had things to be grateful for. She had insurance, which would cover some of it. And she could’ve been home, and hurt, when whoever it was broke in and trashed her place.

“You’re not eating much. Again,” he said. “You’re just picking at that burger.”

His pointed frown encouraged her to take another big bite. “I’m making progress.”

Rocking back, he rested his elbows on top of the booth. “Hard to believe Leanne didn’t see or hear anything last night, don’t you think? She lives so close.”

Two teenage girls came in, spotted Isaac and began to whisper and giggle. As a local celebrity, he drew stares wherever he went. She wondered if he hated that as much as she thought he would but she was too dejected to bring it up. He seemed to ignore the attention.

“It probably happened while she was asleep,” she said. “And once she’s asleep…I don’t think anything disturbs her. There’s a strong possibility that she was drunk.”

“Your sister drinks that much?”

She squirted ketchup on her fries. “I don’t know if she passes out. I’m just saying she’s been drinking more than I want to admit.”

“Why is she so opposed to reopening your mother’s case?”

Claire knew where he was going with this. He didn’t care for Leanne. That had become apparent at the house. He guessed she had a secret to hide, and he was right. Loyalty made it impossible for Claire to reveal exactly what that fifteen-year-old secret was. She wasn’t willing to talk about a pornographic video starring her baby sister. But she had to give him some reason his instincts were on alert, so he’d know that she understood why Leanne was acting so strange about the past.

“She did something she regrets, but it’s got nothing to do with my mother’s disappearance.” Here she was, echoing her father’s opinion—ironic, since she’d blasted him for saying the same thing.

But she didn’t know how else to approach this and still be loyal to her sister.

“Something she regrets…” he repeated.

“Yes.”

“You’re not going to tell me what?”

She couldn’t get any more food down. Pushing her plate away, she reached for her water instead. “I can’t. It’s…very personal and embarrassing. Nothing I’d ever want to become public.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone. I hope you realize that.”

“I do.” She knew he could be discreet. It was more than that. “She wouldn’t want you to hear about this. But you’re right in believing she’s withholding some information, because she is.”

“What’s the nature of this information?”

“I can’t even tell you that much. Really. I’d be mortified if I’d done what she did.”

“It doesn’t have to do with your mother?”

“Not…directly,” she hedged.

“Is it something you wouldn’t want a private investigator digging up?”

“Excuse me?”

Leaning forward again, he helped himself to her fries. “I’ve hired someone, Claire.”

She blinked at him. “For what?”

“To pursue your mother’s case.”

“But… When did you do that? I’ve been with you all day.”

“I made the decision yesterday.”

Before her house was trashed? “But…I can’t let you do that. Private investigators are expensive. And we tried that route.”

“Some are better than others. And you don’t have to pay.”

“I don’t even know when I’d be able to reimburse you.”

“That’s not a problem. I’m only telling you because she’s going to be digging to find everything she can. If your sister has a deep dark secret, it might not be a secret much longer. Will that be a problem?”

Claire squirmed at the thought of Leanne’s indiscretion going public, which would happen if the P.I. found something, or there’d be no point in having her search in the first place. She’d have to report any evidence to the police. Could she allow such a no-holds-barred investigation? If she did, Leanne might not be the only casualty. What if it came out that her mother was on birth control without Tug’s knowledge? Or that Tug and Roni were indeed having an affair?

What if Isaac’s P.I. learned just enough to make everyone look terrible but came up with nothing more?