Max was about to leave her vehicle, but a car turned down the street, driving slowly. She lay down across the front seats—the last thing she needed was a nosy neighbor calling the police on her. She looked up as the car passed—a dark sedan rolled by, couldn’t be going more than twenty miles an hour. Not a police car. Cautiously, she watched as the car turned right on the next street. She waited a beat, then got out of her rental car.

Max had parked two houses down from Marie Richards, across the street, where she could see the house but wouldn’t look like she was spying. She walked down Marie’s long driveway, which led to a detached two-car garage. Max listened for any noise, maybe a dog, something to tell her someone was home. She didn’t see signs of a security system, but she wasn’t planning on breaking in.

The garage had a door. She tried the knob. Locked. She knew how to pick a lock but hesitated. She didn’t really have a good reason to go inside, she just wanted to see if there was a car.

An unlocked gate connected the corner of the garage to the house. She opened it and walked around to the side and peered in the solitary window.

No car. In fact, the garage was so packed with boxes, tools, bikes, and toys that Max didn’t think any vehicle would fit.

Max walked toward the house. Instead of going back through the gate, she looked in the closest window. A door led to a laundry room. The blinds were only partly closed. A faint light was coming from above the kitchen stove on the other side of the laundry room, but she couldn’t make out much of anything in the near-dark.

She needed to get inside. If Marie Richards really was in danger, she could have left in a hurry—or left against her will.

Her car is gone. Would anyone who might do her harm take her car?

If they didn’t want anyone to know she was in trouble. Or grabbed her on the road.

Max slipped on thin leather gloves and was about to pick the lock when she stopped. Considered.

Max rarely hesitated when entering an empty house. She’d done her fair share of sneaking around, and misdemeanors didn’t much bother her. She could generally talk her way out of it on the rare occasions she was caught. But ever since she’d started seeing Ryan, she thought twice about intentionally breaking the law. It seemed odd to her, because she’d dated cops and FBI agents before and not once had her relationship stopped her from pursuing the truth, even when she had to commit a small crime.