I ring the doorbell, but there’s no answer. I hear children’s voices from the backyard, so Sadie and I trudge through the snow around the side of the house. The twins are dressed in heavy sweatpants and jackets, helmets on their heads as they glide across Cal’s man-made ice rink that runs across the expanse of his yard, hockey sticks in their hands.

Cal is sitting on the top of the picnic table, watching his boys. I call out, and he turns in my direction. Jumps down. “Hey, Molly. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Laken.”

“She’s at the spa. Amanda’s out sick again, so Laken went in.” Wednesdays are usually her day off.

“I left work early so I could pick up the boys from school.” He glances at the twins, who’ve begun to race each other across the ice, hockey sticks forgotten.

“Dad!” Logan, I think, screams. “Can we go inside and get a snack?”

“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.” Cal turns to me. “You want to come in?”

At first, I think no, but change my mind. “Okay.”

The boys take a bag of chips into the family room and turn on the TV. Cal and I sit at the glass-top table with a can of Coke each. The kitchen is big, all stainless-steel appliances, granite counters, and cool colors. Sadie settles on the floor next to me.

“What was going on with Jay?” I blurt out. “Do you know?”

He looks startled. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t he seem a little troubled to you?”

Cal rubs his chin. “I didn’t notice, Molly. Why?”

I shake my head. “Just trying to make sense of it all. Why would anyone want to kill Jay? Do you think someone was threatening him? Did Laken tell you about the necklace? The missing woman?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m trying to figure out how it’s all connected. If it’s connected.”

“That seems like a stretch, don’t you think?” Cal sips his soda. “Sorry, Molly. If something was bothering Jay, I wasn’t aware of it. But I’ve been preoccupied. Things have been rough between me and Laken. Did she say anything to you?”

“No,” I lie.

“Jay was trying to help me out with that. You know how he was, always wanting everyone to be okay. Maybe my problems were weighing him down. I’d been leaning on him a little bit lately.” Anger flits across his face, and he blinks as if to right himself.

“That’s it? You and Laken not getting along?” Maybe trying to help Cal and knowing that Laken and Josh were involved. Maybe that was what Jay was worried about.

“That’s not all,” Cal says, and drops his head in his hands. “Jesus, Molly. I don’t want to get into this.”