It won’t come out. Somehow, the stain has already set in. The pristine white cashmere sweater is ruined.

“Tricia?” Ethan peeks his head into the bathroom. “What are you doing?”

“There’s a stain on this sweater. I’m trying to get it out.”

“Why bother? It’s not like she’s going to be wearing it again.”

Well, he’s right. But I keep scrubbing at the stain, hoping it will come out. After a minute, Ethan comes into the bathroom to join me. He comes up behind me, slipping his arms up around my waist. He drops his head and kisses my neck. Once, twice… then his lips linger there.

“Ethan,” I murmur.

“Come on, Tricia. We both need something to take our minds off of everything that just happened.”

Well.

That’s true.

Chapter 53

I wake up at two in the morning and I’m alone in the bedroom.

For a second, I am completely disoriented. I had forgotten where I was. I forgot that I’m in Adrienne Hale’s house and not my own. That I came here to get rid of Edward Jamison’s body, and not only have I failed to do that, but we have also acquired a man tied up in her office.

What a mess. I seriously need help.

I squint around the bedroom, my eyes adjusting to the dark. Ethan isn’t in the bed and I don’t see him anywhere else in the room. He’s not in the bathroom either. Where did he go?

Maybe he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he got up during the night and decided to do some work on his laptop. It makes sense.

Except I don’t think that’s where he is.

I grab Dr. Hale’s red robe and wrap it around myself. Then I slide my feet into her fuzzy slippers. It’s amazing how easy it’s suddenly become to use her stuff. Good thing her clothes are the same size as mine, although she was thinner than me. The woman was practically a skeleton, although she had a certain austere beauty.

When I get out into the hallway, it’s dark, but my eyes have adjusted so I leave the lights off. I hear movement coming from downstairs, but it doesn’t sound like anything bad is going on. It doesn’t sound like Luke has gotten himself free and has attacked my husband.

I descend the stairwell as quietly as I can. When I get to the bottom, Ethan is crouched down in front of the fireplace. All alone. He’s fiddling with something, and it takes me a moment to realize he’s trying to light a match.