He takes my hand. “You’re really all right?”

I nod. “As well as can be expected.”

“Don’t worry about the store. You come back whenever you’re ready.”

Alice frowns. “Sharon is more than happy to work your hours, Molly.”

That makes me smile. Alice and Sharon have an uneasy, slightly adversarial relationship. Sharon, sixty-two years old and a self-proclaimed expert on all things child-rearing, thinks that Alice needs to get out of the bookstore, go to the mall with a gaggle of squealing preteens, and ogle boys. Alice finds the idea immature and beneath her.

“Well, I was thinking of coming in on Friday, actually,” I say, although up until this moment I hadn’t decided on a definite return date. “I could use the distraction.” I get up from the table, retrieve my laptop, which I’d left on the foyer table.

“Have the police found anything?” Hayes asks when I return.

“Not yet, but they have video of a man walking toward the house Saturday night, and”—I swallow—“I saw a man in Jay’s office last night. He ran toward the street, and I called 911.”

“Oh my God, Molly. You should’ve called me. I would’ve come right over.”

“It’s okay. The cops came and stayed with me until morning. Then I went to the police station and gave them a statement.”

“You must’ve been so scared!” Alice says. “What’s that?” She points to the images on my screen, which I’ve pulled up and am clicking through like a kid with a new toy.

“My security system. Now I can see if anyone’s near the house. Inside too.”

Hayes sighs. “That’s good.” He runs his hand through his hair, which only serves to dishevel it further.

“It makes me feel better. But I’m thinking of getting a dog too.”

“Yes,” Alice says. “A dog would be even better.”

“Hayes.” I clear my throat. “The police showed me Jay’s calendar, and he had lunch with you noted last Thursday. What was that about?”

He colors slightly, adjusts his dark-framed glasses. “Jay wanted to talk to me about your anniversary.”

“Oh. Right. It’s coming up,” I say, and that thought has my heart sinking.

Jay and I got married on Valentine’s Day. Kind of hokey, I know, but we decided quickly, didn’t want a big wedding that involved months of planning, so we decided to have our friends and family up to the mountain house for the ceremony and reception. I wasn’t crazy about getting married up there, but Jay’s townhouse and my apartment were definitely not going to work, and we didn’t want to go to the trouble of finding a venue at the last minute. Jay thought the mountain house was a great idea, and I was trying so hard to be like everyone else. A house, no matter its original purpose, shouldn’t faze the me I was trying to be, someone for whom old structures and dark basements held no power, so I readily agreed to the plan.

“Why did he want to talk to you?” I ask, my voice hoarse.