“Were you at the Saracen house that night? Where did you go?” Emma asked.
Juliette let out a breath between her teeth. “It’s ancient history. It doesn’t matter.”
The front door opened. “Why are you so worried about people asking questions, Juliette?” Emma asked.
Nathan stepped into the doorway. He was carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder that Emma hadn’t seen before. He looked between the two of them, clearly taken aback. “Oh. Hey, JJ,” he said.
“She brought the carriage house keys. Like you asked,” Emma said, words clipped.
Nathan smiled. “Great! Thanks for that. It’s been driving me crazy, not being able to see what’s out there.”
“Probably just Dad’s tools and a good way to get tetanus,” JJ said with a shrug. She glanced at Emma. “There wouldn’t be anything interesting out there.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Emma said. Not in the carriage house.
“Still. Could be buried treasure,” Nathan said cheerfully.
“Have at it.” JJ tossed Nathan the keys.
He caught them deftly in the air and stepped aside to let her pass. As her footsteps moved off down the hall, he brandished the key at Emma. “Now we don’t have to break down the door.”
“You called JJ about the key?” Emma said quietly.
His affable expression darkened. “Yes. Gabriel—your good friend Gabriel, remember him?—did say she might have one, so yes, I called her.”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to, that’s all,” Emma said.
“I didn’t think it was important.”
“You didn’t think it was worth mentioning that you were in touch with my estranged sister? My estranged sister who I just told you I was having trouble with,” Emma said calmly, teeth clenched.
“It’s not like we were conspiring against you,” Nathan said. “I just want to get into the fucking carriage house.”
“It’s not a big deal, except that you didn’t tell me you were doing it.”
“Because I thought you’d be pissed,” Nathan said.
“Yeah. I would. I am,” Emma said. “Jesus, Nathan, come on. I pour out my heart to you about how horrible things have been since she took off and you, what, go onto my phone to find her number?”
“You’re acting like I was sneaking around on you,” Nathan said, rolling his eyes, “when you’re making secret visits to your ex.”
“Gabriel is not my ex, and it wasn’t a secret, I just—”
“Just didn’t happen to mention it,” Nathan said.
“I’m not the only one with secrets,” Emma said quietly.
“You can’t hold the mortgage thing over me forever,” he said. “I screwed up. I haven’t kept lying to you about it.”
“I wasn’t talking about the mortgage,” she replied, voice barely audible. He went quiet. His hand tightened at his side, knuckles flexing.
Only then did she hear the front door shut and realize that JJ hadn’t left yet.
Nathan looked over his shoulder, realizing the same thing, and looked back at her with anger in his eyes. “You couldn’t have waited two minutes to lay into me?” he asked.
“I didn’t think I was laying into you,” Emma said. His anger was like a pressure in the air, making it hard to breathe.
“I’m trying to do what’s best for us. Trying to deal with this shitty hand you’ve left us with,” Nathan said. “This fucking house, this fucking town.” He took the satchel off his shoulder and slammed it down on the kitchen table.
“What is that?” Emma asked.
“Protection. Since a couple of dinky little cameras aren’t going to do shit,” Nathan said. He opened the satchel and pulled out a small zippered pouch. He unzipped it to reveal a handgun, black and angular—a Glock, her memory supplied.
“Where did you get that?” Emma asked, not moving or taking her eyes off the gun, feeling like an eel was sliding around in her guts.
“I found the bill for a storage place the trust has been paying for. It turns out that’s where they stored your dad’s guns. Plus some other stuff that could be valuable,” Nathan said. “I’ve got the rest out in the car.”
“You—” She took a breath. Tried to stay calm. “What exactly are you planning to do? Shoot at the next couple of kids to throw rocks at the windows?” Emma asked, thinking of Abraham and Travis, of shadowy forms in the dark and a trigger pulled in haste and panic.