Page 83 of Reckless Love

“That seems safe to you?” I ask.

“Yes, Stephen,” she says as though I’m being paranoid. “We’ve got nothing worth stealing anyway.”

“Some memory patients can get violent, or so I’ve heard.”

“They’re in a separate wing. Our wing is for people who play cards and just need a bit of physical assistance. We’ve made some friends. Not too bad all around.” She pats my arm before inching into her room. “I need you to worry about your sister, not about us.”

“Got it,” I say as I follow behind her. That’s two people who’ve put Vanessa firmly back on my radar.

In my driveway, once I’m back home, I make the call I’ve been dreading. Since I don’t know exactly which parking company she’s working for, my best bet is to use my own contacts to determine if she’s lying. At the station switchboard, I plug in the extension from memory, and when Rafael’s deep baritone answers, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Raf,” I say, “it’s Stephen Foster.”

“Stephen Foster,” he says with fondness. “What are you up to, you old cat?”

We make small talk for a few minutes, and I remember to ask about his wife and kids. Realizing his kids are all grown up makes me feel old.

“I’m sure you didn’t call for a catch-up,” Rafael says, “as nice as this is. What can I do for you?”

“Can you pull camera footage along any routes from Rockdown to Tucker’s Town?”

“Quite a few routes to pull,” he says. “Might take me a few days. Which date are you looking for?”

I check my watch and then rattle off the evening and time frame. “Lots of routes,” I agree, “but a narrow band of time.”

“What am I looking for?”

I give him the make, model, and license plate for Vanessa’s car, and then I send up a silent prayer that it appears when and where it should.

“That’s your sister’s car,” he says and lets out a low whistle. “I heard some rumblings.”

“I know,” I say. “She tells me she has an alibi. Just verifying.”

“Suppose it’ll save me some work if they ask me to do this later,” he says.

“Obviously, if this can stay between us…”

“Yeah, yeah. No worries. I’d be doing the same if my sister was mixed up in all this.”

“Hopefully she’s not,” I say. “You’ll call me if you find out anything?”

“I will. Soon as I’m sure what I’m seeing.”

“Thanks, Rafael. I appreciate it.”

“You helped me out of a scrape or two back in the day. Happy to return the favor.”

After I hang up, I sit in the car, flexing my hands on the steering wheel. She wouldn’t lie to me. She wouldn’t.

Even though I tell myself that over and over as I climb out of the car and walk toward the house, I can’t quite make myself believe it.

I enter the house, and Landon and Ava’s voices drift into the front foyer. Slowly, I toe off my shoes, letting the warmth of their presence soothe my tattered nerves. Ava chose here over everywhere else, and that’s not something I take lightly.

At the entrance to the living room, I lean against the doorway, and Ava glances up, a smile on her beautiful face. Her blue eyes are sparkling and alive, and I thank fucking god that she’s come out of all this okay.

“What are you playing?” I ask.

“Chess,” Landon says. “But I’m not very good. Do you have any other games? Mom said we couldn’t snoop.”