“Is it normal for him to harass you?”
“No. He doesn’t harass me, really, he just—”
“He was harassing you.”
“Okay, he was. But no, it’s not normal. Although after I moved away, I went a long time without seeing him, so I guess if he wanted to harass me, he didn’t have the chance. He was a little weird at my dad’s funeral, but that was two years ago, and it could have been because it was a funeral and everything.”
“Do you always make excuses for people?”
I crossed my arms again, feeling suddenly defensive. “I don’t make excuses for people.”
“You’re doing it right now.”
I was not making excuses for Colin. “Are you asking about him because you think he might have killed a squirrel and left it on my doorstep?”
“The thought did occur to me.”
“That seems – I don’t know, crazy.”
“Yeah, you think?”
I made myself look at the squirrel. “I can’t imagine Colin doing something like that.”
“How well do you actually know him?”
“True, I don’t know him very well now. I don’t know how well I knew him back then, either. Then again, how well can you know a guy in his late teens and early twenties? Their brains are still developing until what, twenty-five?”
“Audrey.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re rambling.”
“Sorry.” I took a deep breath. “I’m just very grossed out by the squirrel corpse and I’m starting to freak out a little bit that someone might have left it there on purpose.”
“Someone being Colin.”
“I guess. It still seems odd for him. What would he be trying to accomplish?”
That seemed to crack a hole in Josiah’s theory.
“I don’t know. If he wants you back, or at least to get in your pants, leaving a dead animal at your door isn’t a smart move.”
“He’s married, he doesn’t want me back. Or in my pants.”
His eyes lifted to meet mine. “He definitely wants to get in your pants.”
“No, he doesn’t. I told you, he’s married. He got married right after we broke up.”
“Sounds healthy.”
“Half the time I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. You have the ability to deadpan everything.”
“Assume sarcasm.”
“Okay. Then you’re right, it doesn’t seem healthy, but it wasn’t my business anymore. And it still isn’t.”
“Whether or not he did that,” he said, nodding toward the squirrel, “don’t be surprised if he tries to get in your pants.”
I hated the idea that Colin could do that to his wife but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Josiah was probably right. “Well, he’s out of luck there. I wouldn’t even if he wasn’t married, but I’d never, ever sleep with a married man.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, sending a tingle down my spine.
“Who lived here last?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “Maybe they had an enemy who wanted to terrorize them with dead animals. Or they had a cat and it came back, thinking this is home.”
“I’d have to ask Annika.”
“I’ll keep my eye out for a cat. I like that explanation the best.”
He grunted again and took out his phone, then crouched to take a few pictures.
“Gross, why are you taking pictures?”
Ignoring my question, he made a phone call. “Hey. There’s a dead squirrel outside one of my tenant’s houses.” He paused. “No, it’s not roadkill. It’s right outside her front door. Something slashed it open but there’s not a lot of blood on the ground, so it looks like they did it elsewhere and left it here.”
He paused again, listening. I wanted to ask who he was talking to, but he didn’t make eye contact.
“How the hell would I know? I’m asking you because what if someone did it on purpose?” Another pause. “Okay. Bye.”
“Who was that?”
“My brother, Garrett. He’s a cop.”
My eyebrows drew in. “I don’t think this warrants calling the cops.”
“I didn’t call the cops, I called my brother to see what he thinks.”
“And what does he think?”
“That it’s probably just a dead animal a predator left behind and I should get rid of it for you.”
“Okay, then.”