Alice Sharpe - Multiples Mystery

“I’m a little anxious,” she said without taking her eyes from the road.

“You also have four kids. They need you. Slow down.”

She slowed but it really had little to do with him and more to do with turning off the main highway onto a dirt road. It meandered through the trees for half a mile before stopping in a clearing.

Perched on the edge of the point with what he assumed would be close to a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree view of Puget Sound when the fog cleared, stood a huge house made of wood and glass, surrounded with covered tiered decks disappearing into the gloom.

The land itself had yet to be groomed and looked like a construction site before the crew cleans up after itself. Remnants of roofing material, siding and concrete blocks littered the ground that would someday be sweeping lawns.

“This is some mansion,” Zac said, and maybe for the first time, the scope of Anthony Capri’s wealth hit him full-on. The house looked more like a resort. It had to be at least six or seven thousand square feet.

“Out in the middle of nowhere,” Olivia said as she turned off the engine. “Anthony says there’s a natural inlet right around the point. Not that you can see it with this fog.”

“I just can’t get over how gigantic it is.”

“He’d started on it well before we got together,” she said. “Well, at least it doesn’t look as though he lied to me about the house being finished. I mean the yard is a mess but we can…” her voice trailed off as though she didn’t know how to end that sentence. Given the events of the past few days, Zac couldn’t blame her.

She slid out of the car, digging in her bag for her keys again. “I’m surprised there’s no security system,” he said as they walked up broad wooden stairs.

“Anthony said there was some kind of factory delay. It’s supposed to be installed next week.”

She opened the door, walked inside and he followed. They both stopped almost at once.

It was like walking into a wooden beast, the inside simply a skeleton supporting the outside layer of siding and roof. Standing in what would someday be the spacious front room, they could see through the gaps between the hundreds of vertical two-by-fours to the shimmer of glass in the back.

“He lied to me,” she said. “Again.”

“He told you it was ready for occupancy?”

“Yes.”

Zac gestured toward a far corner. “I think I see something dense back that way.”

“That’s the nursery wing,” she mumbled. He took her arm as they passed a massive stone fireplace and walked through the structure, treating the framing like real walls. Zac could see no sign of plumbing or electricity. The place was a long way from finished and he thought back to the only other home Olivia had—the one that had been torn apart and spattered with blood.

They turned a corner into a series of rooms that opened off a central area. “This will be the play area,” she said softly. “The rooms open off of it. The master suite is through there to the south.”

Windows showcased only the fog outside, but she seemed driven to walk toward the feeble light. Meanwhile, Zac made his way toward a pile of unopened boxes fresh from the shipper. They formed the solid mass he’d seen from the front and all but blocked the double single-pane glass French doors behind them. He could make out a few of the labels. Cribs, changing tables, car seats, bassinets, even clothing and diapers and four rocking chairs.

She came to stand beside him. “That’s the stuff I ordered off the Internet while I was stuck in the hospital. I had it shipped directly here.” She ran a hand over one of the boxes and added, “Anthony told me last week that he’d assembled the bassinets. Surprise, he lied.”

She turned away, burying her face in her hands. Zac stood there watching her shoulders shake and didn’t know what to say or do. He longed to comfort her but he didn’t trust himself.

How long had he loved her like this?

Loved her to the point it was torture being around her?

She turned slowly, dropping her hands, and their eyes met. Hers were like dark holes in the universe, sucking him in, her pain and need more than he could bear. He told himself to act like the friend he was supposed to be and opened his arms. She slowly stepped into his embrace and rested her head against his shoulder. He closed his eyes, way too aware of the silky ambrosia of her hair against his cheek, her breasts pressed against his chest, her warmth and softness. He’d touched her a thousand times over the years but never once like this and the fact it was all one-sided, the fact her tears were on another’s man’s behalf made him ashamed of his feelings.

“I’m not a crier,” she snuffled after a few moments, gazing up at him.

“You could have fooled me,” he said with a dismal attempt at humor. He ran a couple of fingers across her tear-stained cheek as they looked into each other’s eyes. The moment seemed to linger, dragging its feet like a lover reluctant to depart. “It’s not a crime to break down,” he added.

She heaved a sigh and stepped away. “Anthony is in some kind of trouble, isn’t he?”

“It appears so,” Zac said, watching as she dug in her handbag for tissues. The little package was empty. He took a clean folded handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

“I know I should be worried about him, but frankly, I’m more worried about my babies and what all this means to them.”

“I don’t blame you. Just remember you’re not alone.”

When she raised her eyebrows, he mumbled, “The whole town will stand behind you, Olivia. And you know you can depend on Faith.”

“I know,” she said softly.

“The search for Anthony will take on a new dimension now there’s the potential of a crime being committed.”

“To him or by him?”

“I don’t know, Olivia.”

“I just don’t understand why he did all this,” she whispered, wiping her eyes. “I don’t understand why he pursued me and married me and then why he stuck around until the babies were born but never bothered to come see them. Did he steal money, is that it, Zac? Or did he do something worse?”

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