Page 27 of The Perfect Hosts
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Saldano assures her. “And how are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Madeline says automatically. That has always been her go-to response to that question.I’m fine. Everything’s fine.But it isn’t, hasn’t been for a long time.
“Good,” Agent Saldano says. “We’ll figure out what’s going on, and you focus on taking care of yourself and that baby.”
Saldano turns away from Madeline. “Ms. Quaid,” Agent Saldano calls out to Lucy and moves to the far end of the stable where she is grooming Sonnet. Madeline can’t hear what they are saying, but Lucy seems relaxed, unfazed by the questions. But that’s Lucy for you. On the outside she is calm. But inside, that’s a different story.
When they were younger, Lucy always had an underlying current of discontent just below the surface of her skin. At first it would show itself in the most subtle of ways: a backhanded compliment, a stolen trinket, a biting pinch beneath the kitchen table. The anger would fester and boil until it no longer could be contained. The results were Barbie dolls with bald heads, stinging slaps, a loosened billet strap on Madeline’s saddle. And always Lucy denied, denied, denied, looking at her father and Madeline’s mother with her big doe eyes. Madeline’s stepfather and Lucy’s dad, who wasn’t one to interfere in childhood spats, simply told the girls to get along. Madeline’s mother and Lucy’s stepmother tried to get Madeline to understand that Lucy was adjusting to having a new mom and sister, that she would come around. And she had. Despite their epic arguments, Madeline and Lucy became as close as two sisters could, at least until Lucy’s dad died and he put Madeline in charge of the money.
Madeline watches as Lucy hands the grooming brush to Agent Saldano, guiding his hand across a spotted Appaloosa’s flank. The timing is strange. The sisters haven’t talked in a month, and suddenly Lucy appears in the aftermath of a tragedy that has taken the life of Madeline’s best friend. The thought of Johanna pierces Madeline so sharply she nearly doubles. In Johanna, Madeline thought she found another sister, one very different than Lucy. Sisters of the soul—that’s what they called one another.
Agent Saldano is smiling at something Lucy is saying, and she moves close to him. Too close. A cold finger of dread crawls across Madeline’s belly, and she cradles it protectively. Lucy glances over at Madeline to make sure she is watching. Her small smile seems to sayDo you see? Do you see what I can do?
Madeline does see. She feels the sudden urge to flee, to run away from this nightmare. But she knows she can’t. This is her life now. There’s no running. She has to face whatever is coming her way head-on. She has no other choice.
Chapter 11
Jamie
Despite living in horse country for a brief time, Jamie has never actually touched a horse before. Give him a skateboard over one of these creatures any day. The Appaloosa’s coat is silky, the tangled mane rough beneath his fingers. Lucy shows him the proper way to brush him. Jamie isn’t surprised to learn that the two women aren’t biologically related. They look nothing alike. Lucy is shorter than her sister, more angular, but seems to take up more space in a room while Madeline is taller, softer. It’s clear there’s a rift between the two of them, and he wonders if Lucy Quaid may have come to Nightjar for much more nefarious reasons.
Though Jamie doesn’t say anything to the women yet, the second explosion is clearly the result of an IED. While the fire marshal and the crime-scene techs finish up their work, Jamie needs to use this time to try and gather as much information as possible about the Drakes, Johanna and Dalton Monaghan, and the people around them.
“You said something about animal rights activists?” Jamie says, running the curry comb along the Appaloosa’s back.
“Yeah. Madeline told me about the emails last year,” Lucy says, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “Some zealots not happy that the ranch raises and trains horses for competitions.”
“Have there been complaints about how the horses are treated?” Jamie asks. “They look like they’re in good shape to me.”
“Oh, they are. My sister knows how to care for horses. In her mind they are better company than most humans.” Lucy shrugs. “Some activists see it as a moral issue.”
“And this group believes so strongly in this they might commit arson? Murder?” Jamie asks.
“Possibly,” Lucy says. “When I was racing, I’d get threats, had people protesting the competitions.”
“You raced horses?” Jamie asks. “Like the Kentucky Derby?” He eyes Lucy with new interest.
Lucy laughs. “Not quite. I was marathoner. I used to ride in endurance competitions, sometimes up to a hundred miles a day.”
“On a horse?” Jamie asks, impressed. “I’ve never heard of that before. Kind of like the Pony Express.”
“Sort of,” Lucy says. “The horses loved to race. It was when they felt most free. Me too,” she adds.
“Why’d you stop?” Jamie asks.
Lucy gives him a sad smile. “My dad got sick a few years ago. I came home to take care of him. He died last month.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jamie says. He waits, lets the moment pass before going on. “Do you know the name of this particular group that threatened your sister and her husband?” Jamie asks.
“I don’t,” Lucy says. “As you probably noticed, my sister and I are not particularly close. We had a falling-out at our dad’s funeral. I know you have to ask me, but I did not blow up my sister’s barn. As much as Madeline loves horses, I do too. Even if I was angry with my sister, I would never put her animals in danger.” Lucy takes the curry comb from Jamie’s hand and returns it to the hook on the stable wall.
“Good to know,” Jamie says. “But if things are so tense with Madeline, why are you here?”
“I missed her,” Lucy says simply. “My sister and I may have our differences, but I love her. It’s been a hard year. Our dad died. Well, my dad, Madeline’s stepdad. Madeline’s mom died when she was sixteen. We’re all that each other has left, and I was hoping we could get past it.”
“And?” Jamie asks. “Have you gotten past it?”
He watches as hesitation flickers across Lucy’s face. “Not yet. Madeline has made it perfectly clear she wants nothing to do with me.”