Focus, Ethan.

He stepped aside and let them in. Ellen was all darting eyes and pinched mouth, as if she expected Sutton’s body to be hanging and twisting in midair from the upstairs banister. Filly entered as if this were her castle, her domain, bumped the stroller over the threshold, marched straight through the foyer, and veered off toward the kitchen. Rachel, though, locked eyes on Ethan and didn’t break the gaze. Was she just stoned, or was she trying to discern something? Probably reading his aura or predicting his demise from the numbers of hairs standing up at the crown of his head or some such nuttiness. He blinked first, and she followed him into the kitchen.

They formed up, half circled him, a scrum prepared to take him down. Filly had been nominated as spokesperson for the group. She was standing slightly in front of the other two, aggressive, even for her. She cleared her throat importantly.

“We’ve talked it over, and we think you should go to the police.”

All three women nodded. The elder baby woke, gurgled, and cooed.

He leaned against the counter. “What would you like me to tell them? My wife left me a note and said she didn’t want me to look for her, then disappeared. There’s $50,000 cash missing from our accounts, by the way. She’s done a runner.”

Ellen—cool, logical Ellen, her hair in a simple ponytail, crisp and clean—spoke at last. “She hasn’t been happy. It’s possible she’d leave. But to not tell us? I don’t know that I buy all of this.”

“Meaning what?” Ethan asked.

She waved a hand. “You expect us to believe she up and left, without a word to any of us, without her things? You say she left a note. Now you tell us she took money, too? It just doesn’t feel right to me. Sutton would confide in us if she decided to do this.” A deep breath, a glance to her friends. “Did you hurt her, Ethan? Now is the time to come clean.”

“Hurt her?” As he said it, he realized all three women were shivering. Rachel was downright shaking. A dawning realization. They were afraid of him. That’s why they’d come in hard and fast together—this was more than a confrontation. They were protecting each other.

“I didn’t do anything to Sutton, and I believe it’s time for you to leave.”

His sharp tone woke the infant, who wailed to life like the squawk of a siren. Filly shot Ethan a nasty glance, reached for her bundle of joy.

“I’m serious. You lot, leave, right now. I can’t believe you’ve come over here to accuse me. I didn’t hurt Sutton. I’m worried sick about her.”

Rachel, her voice quivering but her pointed chin inching up, said, “Sutton is a gentle soul. She’s been badly bruised by everything that’s happened the past year. And you’ve been fighting lately, she told me as much.”

“All couples fight, Rachel. Ours are no worse than anyone else. You fight with Susannah all the time.”