The hot blood in her face was quickly overtaken by a flood of icy fear. Amber? This was about Amber?
Her abusive husband had reported her missing, which shouldn’t have surprised Lily. Of course he would go to the police if his wife didn’t come home, even if he was a violent bastard.
But Amber wasn’t missing. She’d left. Lily couldn’t be guilty of covering up a crime if there had been no crime.
“Her husband says there may have been drug use involved and that her friends were an . . . unsavory sort. I spoke to every business owner in the park and knocked on every front door. As I said, you’re the only one who reacted like you had something to hide.”
Yes, she had. Lily took a shallow breath, then another, trying to disguise that she was composing herself before she turned back to him. “So what does this have to do with my ex?”
“I have no idea. I’m just asking questions.”
Unfortunately, Detective Mendelson’s instincts were spot on. Lily had been hiding something. Now she had to throw him off the scent if she could. But how?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But now that you know about Jones, you know why talking to you upset me. There were a lot of interviews after he ran. Years of them. I’m just . . .” She shook her head and paced back toward him to hide that she wanted to run the other way. “I get scared by police now. If I was nervous the first time you came by, it was because talking to a detective brings back a lot of terrible memories of the worst time of my life. That’s all.” A little truth to sweeten the lie.
He watched silently as she crossed her arms over her chest to hide her shaking hands. “It’s just me and my little boy out here, and this is a fairly quiet business. If anything weird happened or anyone was hurt on my property, I’d certainly notice it. I’m always on guard, that’s part of my job.” When he didn’t respond right away, she added, “We’re not even open after dark. The gate can’t be accessed. That’s it. I can’t tell you anything more than that.”
“And you checked the surveillance?”
“I did. There’s nothing there.” Another truth, but only because she’d erased a few minutes. “She was seen nearby?” Lily knew she shouldn’t have asked, but she felt alarmed at that. What did that mean? Someone had seen her dropped off at Lily’s front door? “I don’t even know where anyone would go out here.”
Detective Mendelson ignored her, his head now cocked to peer at her expression. “When was the last time you saw Jones Arthur?”
“I just told you. Almost seven years ago.”
“Surely he’s been in touch. A pretty wife. A big, strong son.”
“Ex-wife,” she growled, hoping he would assume the shake in her voice was just anger. “And no.”
“Very strange,” he murmured, “considering.”
Lily told herself not to ask. She ground her teeth together. Squeezed her fists. Still, a tight, hoarse “Why?” escaped her control.
“Because five days ago, someone saw a prowler in their backyard in the middle of the night. Can you guess where?”
She held up her hands in an impatient shrug.
“Your old house, Ms. Brown.”
She had no idea what he was implying, but he kept talking, and each word was a pinprick of ice against her skin.
“The neighbor’s dog wouldn’t stop barking, and when the owner of your old house turned on the porch light, he saw someone crouched down near the backyard shed. Digging.”
Digging? She frowned hard, her pulse pattering faster, though she wasn’t sure why. “Okay, that is strange.”
“Isn’t it? The officer who responded found a big ol’ hole dug in the ground, twelve inches wide, six inches deep. Why would a prowler dig a hole in a stranger’s backyard?”
She started to shake her head, but it hit her then. What it must mean. The cops had found a bundle of ten thousand in cash hidden in their home. Jones must have buried more in the yard. And he’d come back for it. He’d come back here.
“Yeah,” Mendelson drawled. “I think you can probably take a guess. After I met you, and I looked you up, I started putting the pieces together, and . . . Well, you can see why I was a little curious what might be making you so nervous out here.”
She nodded again. And again. The memory of her ex-husband’s voice scraped through her brain, telling her he wanted his son. Calling and hoping to reach him. Why now? He’d called before too, even a month ago, but not like this. Was it truly possible he was in Herriman?