“I’m just kidding. Mom emergencies always take precedence.”
They crouched side by side in the semidarkness of the Antrims’ backyard. It was now midnight, the other guests had left except for her and Daniel, and the neighborhood had fallen silent. Maura looked down at the hem of her silk skirt, which was now damp and probably stained from the wet grass. Every investigation had its price, but this one was more expensive than most.
Maura rose back to her feet and her thighs ached from crouching so long. “He knows where she lives. He could show up again at any time.”
Jane stood up as well. “Her parents are scared. And pissed as hell.”
“Surely they don’t blame you.”
“Who else are they going to blame? Their daughter’s got a stalker and I can’t seem to catch him.” Jane turned to look at the flashing lights of the police cruiser parked on the street. “You and Daniel didn’t see anyone at all?”
“No. Amy’s the only one who saw him. By the time we got outside, he was gone. With all the guests, there were at least a dozen cars parked on the street, so his car wouldn’t have been noticed. From here, he would have had a clear view into the study.” Maura turned to the window, where the lights were still on inside. “While we were there, looking at the painting, he was right here in the yard. Watching her.”
“Detective Rizzoli?”
They turned to see Julianne emerge from the back door and walk toward them across the lawn. The night was warm but she hugged herself as though chilled as she stood half in darkness, her face eclipsed by the shadow of a lilac bush.
“What should we be doing?” she asked.
“You have a security system. Keep it armed.”
“But it doesn’t feel safe, having her stay at home. Knowing that he could show up here at any time. Mike has to work, so he can’t be here all the time to protect us.”
“The police are ten minutes away, Mrs. Antrim.”
“What if it takes them longer? By the time they get here, he could be inside our house, attacking us. Attacking her.” She hugged herself tighter and looked over her shoulder toward the street, as if someone were watching them even now. “Until you catch this man, I want to get Amy out of here. I know where to take her.”
“Where are you thinking?”
“We have this lake house, out near Douglas State Forest. It’s in the middle of nowhere and he’d never be able to find us there. Mike agrees it’s the perfect place for us to go. He has to stay in the city to work, but he’ll join us on Saturday. Right now, I don’t want Amy here.”
Maura looked at the house, every room so glaringly exposed. How easy it is to peer into a stranger’s house at night, to observe the details of their lives. To watch them cook dinner, sit down at the table. To see what is playing on their televisions, to know what time they go upstairs and turn off their lights. At night, every house invites the gaze of strangers whose interest may or may not be benign.
“If you’re going to take her anywhere,” said Jane, “then go to a hotel or a friend’s house. But your lake house? I can’t protect her.”
“Can you protect her here?”
“I’m just trying to keep her safe, Mrs. Antrim.”
“So am I,” said Julianne. Her face was obscured by shadow, but there was no missing the coldly metallic edge in her voice. “You do your job, Detective. And let me do mine.”
She did not know why it was called Lantern Lake, but the name always made her think of magical nights and fireflies and golden ripples on the water. Every summer since she was ten years old, when the heat in the city became too stifling to bear, this lake was where her family escaped to. Here they’d while away the weekends paddling the canoe or splashing among the reeds. Amy heard there was good fishing here, and her father sometimes took his pole out onto the water, but Amy never understood the attraction of fussing with hooks and line and tackle. No, this was where she could simply be, not do, a place where both she and her mother felt safe. They hadn’t bothered to ask Detective Rizzoli for permission; they’d simply packed up and left, and now that they were here, Amy knew it was the right decision.
She only wished they’d given more thought to what to bring. In the rush to leave the city this morning, her mother had filled grocery bags with random items from the kitchen. Still, the two of them would make do. They always managed to.
The far-off growl of an engine drew Amy’s gaze to a motorboat skimming across the water, a noisy annoyance on the otherwise peaceful lake, but to be expected on a warm afternoon. By tonight, all the boats would be gone and the ducks and loons would reclaim their kingdom.