“But you did see her on occasion,” Falco countered.

“Of course.” He shook his head, as if the continued line of questioning was immensely annoying. “But she never spoke of another daughter.”

“She watched us.”

All eyes turned to Mrs. Abbott.

Her head moved up and down. “She did.” She turned to her husband. “She watched you most of all.”

Mr. Abbott patted her hand and offered a smile to Kerri. “You’ll have to forgive my wife. She is, as you’ve probably guessed, heavily medicated. No matter, she insisted on sitting in on this meeting.”

Kerri smiled, but the older woman quickly looked away. “I can understand why.” She turned her attention to Mr. Abbott once more. “I’m surprised you don’t remember her sister. She worked with Mr. T. R. Thompson. The two of you attended college together. You’re close friends, are you not?”

Both the surprise and the confusion made an appearance then before he quickly banished the outward reactions. “We are friends, yes. There was a time when we were closer, when we were young and determined to take over the world. If there was a sister and she worked for T. R., it’s possible I met her at some point during her employment. However, you might not be aware, but T. R. had and still has a huge staff. I know very few of his employees. What did you say her name was?”

“Janelle Stevens.”

He shook his head. “The name isn’t familiar at all.” He frowned then. “You know, there was, as we told you before, that time a few months ago just before Ben and Sela learned about the baby that there seemed to be some tension between them. I suspected it was related to Sela or her past, but Ben explained it away with the idea that they had discussed waiting a few years before beginning a family.” Abbott shrugged. “But that odd tension was over very quickly. I wish I could tell you more, but honestly there is nothing negative to say. They were very happy. Devoted to each other.”

Funny how that same theme kept repeating itself.

Except the wife had bought a car for some purpose she wanted to keep from her husband, and it was possible she’d planted the evidence that made it appear she had been injured the night of the murders.

26

1:30 p.m.

Swanner Residence

Twenty-Third Avenue South

Robby hadn’t come home for lunch today.

Diana popped a load of bath towels in the washing machine. She added detergent and fabric softener in the appropriate slots, then closed the lid and hit the start button. She leaned against the machine as it filled with water. He rarely dropped in on weekdays but almost always on the weekends.

He worked too hard.

Today she was feeling particularly lonely. With the boys at summer camp and Amelia at a friend’s, it was too quiet around here.

But Diana had her laundry.

She sighed. Five more piles of clothes lay in the hall next to their small laundry room. She would be doing laundry the rest of the day, and tomorrow it would start all over again.

It was an endless cycle.

Like making the beds in the mornings and loading and unloading the dishwasher. Figuring out meals for a family of five two and three times a day. Keeping the studio going, the dancers and their mothers happy.

It was too much some days.

But it was her life, and she loved it. A smile tugged at her lips. Every frantic, crazy minute of it.

What if she hadn’t met Robby and she’d gone on to Juilliard the way she’d dreamed from the first time she slipped on a pair of toe shoes?

She closed her eyes and thought of the hours and hours of intense discipline. The music and the dancing . . . the hard work. It had been like the very air she breathed.

But if she’d gone to Juilliard, she wouldn’t have had her kids.

And she wouldn’t have Robby.

Memories of their young bodies entwined. Of the way he’d stared at her so reverently. The awe on his face when he’d laid eyes on Amelia when she was born. The way he had beamed when the boys were born, even though they had both been terrified they couldn’t afford three kids.

And somehow they’d always managed to get by.

She wanted better for her kids, and Amelia was on the right path. She smiled and sent her sweet girl a text.

Hope to see you tonight!

Definitely!<3

A sense of happiness flooding through her, Diana decided to surprise Robby at the shop. She hurried downstairs. After a quick survey of the options in the fridge, she made him a ham-and-cheese sandwich and grabbed a bag of chips and two bottles of water. She packed it all in a neat little basket and found her keys.

She’d stopped being spontaneous two kids ago. It was time she infused some of that back into their marriage. Starting right now.

She’d reached for the door, when the bell rang. Kerri and Jen were both working today. Who in the world? She checked the security viewfinder and abruptly drew back.

Lewis York?

She pressed a hand to her throat and reached for calm. He’d visited her plenty of times at the studio. At least once a week when he’d dropped off or picked up his daughter. Sometimes an assistant dropped her off or picked her up, but Lewis always did one of the two. Still, he had never been to Diana’s home.

The idea that there could be some sort of issue with Amelia had her clutching at the doorknob. She drew the door open. “Lewis? Is everything okay?”

He smiled. “Everything is great. I had to drop off some papers to a client in the neighborhood, and I thought I’d stop by and tell you again how much we love having Amelia at the firm. I’m not sure I’ve passed that along to you since she started.”

Diana’s smile stretched so wide she was certain she looked a bit goofy. “Please come in.” She set the basket aside. “I was on my way out, but I have some time.”

He held up a hand. “I don’t want to keep you.”

“Don’t be silly. Come in.”

When he stepped inside, she closed the door behind him. He surveyed her home. She had only seen the outside of his when she’d dropped off his daughter once, but she hadn’t gone inside. The man lived in a megamansion. This house likely wasn’t even as nice as his garage, but it was home.

His gaze landed on the framed photos gracing the top of the table next to the door. “You have a beautiful family and a lovely home.”

“Thank you.” She felt herself blush, and she crossed her arms over her chest, as if that would somehow conceal how nervous she suddenly felt.

He looked around again. “Is Amelia here?”

“Oh no.” Diana tucked her hair behind her ear. “She’s spending every minute she’s not working with friends. I can give her a message.” She frowned. “I’m sure you have her cell number.”

“I do.” He leveled his gaze on hers. “But I don’t actually need to speak with her. It’s you I wanted to talk to, but I didn’t want Amelia to overhear.”

Her pulse jumped. “Me? Okay. Would you like to sit down?”

He glanced at the basket she’d set aside. “No, that’s not necessary. I just wanted you to know that we’re planning to make a sizable donation to Amelia for whatever she might need when she leaves in August.”

Diana pressed a hand to her throat. “Oh my goodness, that’s so generous.” She shook her head. “You really shouldn’t. You’ve done so much already.”

He touched her arm, gave it a squeeze. “You and Amelia are like family to me. I want to do this.”

Diana did something then that she had not done in all the years she had known this kind man. She gave him a hug as she thanked him profusely.

He smiled and gave her a nod. “Enjoy your afternoon. I’ll see Amelia at the office tomorrow.”

Diana watched him drive away, and she wondered how she could have been so lucky to have such a good friend. Jen was right; it was too bad Lewis wasn’t her type.

The drive to Robby’s shop took only ten minutes. The shop he’d inherited from his father was on the south end of the boulevard. The clientele had dropped off, and the place had fallen into disrepair just before Robby had taken over and turned it around. Diana had been terrified, but he’d managed. He’d worked seven days a week, like he did now, but he’d never missed an important event at the kids’ schools. He’d never failed to be the great dad they all three adored.

And he was a great husband too.

Diana tightened her fingers on the steering wheel as she pulled into the shop parking lot. She didn’t have to see him to know he would be hunkered over his desk, doing the accounting. Trying to keep everything in balance. He always did that on Sundays.

She used her key and let herself in, locking the door behind her. As she had known, he was at his desk. The calculator buzzed under his quick fingers. He grabbed his pencil and made a few notes, then rubbed at his chin. He looked tired and old, like her, but he also looked strong and loving. He looked like home.

“I missed you at lunch,” she said, announcing her presence before she reached the open door to his office.

His head snapped up in surprise, and those wide lips slid into a smile. “You snuck up on me.”