Page 59 of Insidious Threats

“Dad!” Finn called from the kitchen. “It’s Mommy.”

Leo was gathering the recycling to take it out to the curb. He turned to Jordana, who’d stayed to eat with them. “Would you mind?”

“No problem.”

She jogged out to the kitchen, and he heard her accept the video call and greet Sasha, explaining that she’d picked the kids up from school and had, of course, not been able to pass up homemade pizza. He hurried to get the rest of the bins and bags and ran down the porch stairs to leave them for pickup in the morning.

By the time he came back into the house, Jordana was sitting on the couch with the tablet on her lap, Fiona on her left, and Finn snuggled into her right side. Mocha was curled up on the rug at her feet, and Java was sprawled along the back of the couch.

“Isn’t this the picture of cozy domesticity?” he teased her while he unlaced his boots and removed his winter coat.

“Domesticity?” Finn parroted, his eyebrows coming together in wonder.

“Daddy’s showing his age,” Sasha explained from the square on the screen. “It’s an archaic word for ‘hominess.’”

Before he could retort, Fiona sprang into action to defend him. “And ‘archaic’ is an archaic word for old,Mom.”

Sasha laughed, and Jordana stage-whispered, “Fiona’s almost perfected her eye roll. You two better look out.”

Leo leaned into the camera’s frame. “How’s the Hudson River Valley?”

“Cold,” she told him.

“Any luck finding Cinco?”

She bobbed her head from side to side. “Yes, and no. Hewashere. Half the town seems to know him. But they said he left before Christmas.”

He frowned. “Nobody knows where he went?”

“There was a rumor he headed to Canada, but we’re pretty sure that’s not right. We’re headed over to the art colony when I hang up. I hope we’ll get some answers there.” She changed the subject. “So I heard the pizza was perfect tonight. Crispy, but not burnt, and Finn got a slice with a bubble in the crust just the way he likes it.”

“You weren’t here, so it wasn’t completely perfect. Pretty close, though.” He winked at her.

Fiona launched into a story about an albino squirrel they’d seen on the walk home from school, which Jordana confirmed as fact. While Sasha was marveling over the sighting of the rare squirrel, the doorbell rang.

Sasha stopped mid-oooh. “Who’s there at this hour?”

Leo shrugged. “No idea.”

Jordana lifted the tablet from her lap. “Here, you sit and talk. I’ll deal with whoever it is. It’s too late to be going door to door selling stuff.”

Before he could object, she was halfway to the door. “She’s the best babysitter,” he told Sasha.

“Agreed.”

“Agreed!” Finn chimed in.

“She’s pretty good,” Fiona said. High marks from Fiona.

“Did you and Maisy find anything new in Landon’s boxes?” Sasha asked out of the blue.

Leo pressed his lips together. He needed to tell her about the package Landon had sent. The conversation was way overdue. But breaking the news over a video chat with a pair of eight-year olds interrupting every thirty-seven seconds wasn’t ideal.

He hemmed. “Sort of. I have a lot to fill you in on. Do you think you’ll be home tomorrow?”

“Maybe. Probably. If Cinco’s not here, and it looks like he’s not, Ellie and I will come back and regroup.”

“Then why don’t I see if Jordana can babysit again tomorrow? I’ll make a reservation at Hearth, and we can catch up.”