Page 40

CHAPTER 40

IT STARTED WITH A snicker. A snorting, mischievous snicker, the same kind of noise Daisy had made as a teenager in her bedroom, holed up with a bunch of other beautiful blond girls, plotting heartbreak for high-school jocks. Summer Rayburn hadn’t heard that snicker in years, but she heard it again six months ago when Daisy stood in the corner of the kitchen tapping away on her phone and snickering with delight. Troy had been out helping Mark in the yard. Summer asked her daughter what all the secrecy was about, but Daisy came back with some vague stuff about a joke a friend had made. Summer didn’t buy it. And she noticed the phone her daughter was holding wasn’t the same one she’d had when she arrived at the house.

The snickering turned to wistful sighs, and then one afternoon Daisy drove out to Vegas for a visit and wrapped her mother in a big, juicy hug. It was unexpected. Unexplained. But Daisy was happy. Like she was in love.

“Do you know for certain whether Daisy was having an affair?” Mark asked me. He skewered me with a look. “The police won’t tell us anything, and we’ve been advised not to speak to Troy.”

“I can’t confirm anything right now about Daisy’s personal life.” I held my hands up. “I got some new information only a couple of hours ago, before I dropped Troy off at the house. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet.”

“I think she was.” Summer’s voice was thin, breathless. “The lottery win confirmed it for me.”

Daisy had been talking about putting a deck on the back of the Glendale house ever since she and Troy bought it. She’d painted vivid pictures of the two of them sitting out there on Adirondack chairs, watching the sunset. She’d do her morning yoga out there. Film her Instagram reels. Plant fragrant jasmine to run around the handrail.

“I was sick of hearing about this damn deck,” Mark said. “I would have built it for her myself if my back weren’t so bad. Then they get that cash. And suddenly I’m listening to Troy trying to convince Daisy to put the deck in.”

“She blew off every suggestion,” Summer said. “She didn’t want to spend a dime of that money. ‘Just use a little and come to Vegas!’ I told her. ‘Have a big weekend. Don’t go crazy, but celebrate! You’ve won the goddamn lottery!’ ”

“Do you think she was thinking about leaving Troy?” I asked. “And holding on to the money until she had a plan?”

“Maybe.” Summer nodded. Her lip trembled, and she swiped carefully at her eyes. “Or maybe whoever she was with, you know, on the side ... maybe Daisy told him about the money. And he wanted some of it. Or all of it. And got threatening.”

A sharp rap on the office’s glass door behind the Rayburns made us all jump. I stood and opened it to find Dave Summerly standing in the hall. He slapped a sheet of paper into my palm.

“Hello, Rhonda.” He smiled tightly. “Mind if I come in?”

“What is this?” I unfolded the paper. The word WARRANT screamed off the page.

“This is a raid,” Summerly said.