“Always and forever.”

He kissed me, then broke off the hug. “I’ve got to go. You be good.”

“You be careful, Christopher. Whatever happens, I want you to be safe.”

“I’ll do my best.” He kissed the top of my head. To my bodyguard, he said, “You keep your eyes on her at all times.”

“Certainly, sir.” He opened the door to the rear passenger seat. Chris climbed in and the bodyguard shut the door. The windows were tinted, so once he closed the door, I couldn’t see him. He rolled down the window and waved.

I waved back and watched the car drive off.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled with a whoosh. The uncertainty of the next week or two was so anxiety provoking that I knew that the only way I could cope was to bury any outcome deep within the recesses of my brain. I just couldn’t deal with it. And when that happened, the safest thing for me was to ignore it until it was right in front of my face. Sanjay was now in Chris’s hands, not mine.

“Ready to go back, Doc?”

I turned to my protector. Ben was on duty. “In a minute. Go get yourself some coffee. I’ll meet you upstairs.”

“I’ll wait for you, Doctor.”

“Ben, I know you’re doing your job. But right now, I’m the boss. I won’t be more than a minute or two. Get some breakfast. You’ll work better with food in your stomach. I promise, I’ll be there by the time you get back.”

He didn’t move. A Mexican standoff.

I smiled sweetly and winked. “Our little secret, okay?”

He shuffled his feet. “Just this once.”

“Thank you.”

I watched him head for the cafeteria. He was a soft touch. Within a day, I’d be able to do whatever I wanted.

I felt numb.

I felt alone.

But strangely enough, I breathed easier.

For the time being, I was free.

CHAPTER 30

IT TOOK UNTOLD man-hours, hunting for someone who had never been missing, but it was a happy ending. Three weeks after Elsie Schulung and Brock Baer were arrested and charged with second-degree murder of Pauline Corbett, Decker received an invitation to the wedding of Bertram Lanz and Kathrine Taylor.

“You should go,” Rina told him. “It would be a lovely way to end the case and end your time here in Greenbury.”

“I don’t think so,” Decker answered.

“Why not?”

“The wedding is in Germany, for one thing.”

“But there’s a reception in the Berkshires,” Rina countered.

Decker said, “When I close the case, I close the case.”