The need for good coffee ached in my veins, but I refused to stop. I drove straight to Tori and Will’s place, pulling into their driveway and storming the path to their front door. I wouldn’t be swayed by Will this time. If Tori didn’t want to see me, she’d have to tell me to my face.
I needed a clear head to think through all the suspects in Jayela’s murder. We were well and truly at the point of desperation, and so every one of them needed to be considered again. Johnson, the asshole cop. My father’s mistress and her family. Or had we missed the mark completely? We needed to go back through all of Jayela’s old cases and rule out anyone she’d ever investigated or put behind bars. Because I wasn’t losing what I had. Heath wasn’t going back to jail. And I couldn’t think straight if I was constantly reciting my apology to Tori over and over in my head and wishing I could just call her and talk the way we always had.
“Tori!” I banged on the door, hoping the baby wasn’t asleep. “I’m not leaving until we’ve talked!”
A neighbor opened her front door and tutted at me, but I ignored her and kept on banging and peering through the window until it became abundantly clear that nobody was home.
Then I realized what day it was, and the time, and that Tori would be at her church meeting. Embarrassment flushed my cheeks as I slunk away, but the determination was still there beneath it. This needed to be sorted and it needed to be sorted today.
Though church wasn’t my thing, I’d been there plenty of times. Not only for Jayela’s funeral, but for Tori’s son’s baptism and the handful of times I’d tagged along with Will and Tori because I wanted to see what they found in the place. There was an appeal in just trusting a higher being, in turning over all your problems to someone else, and trusting that it all happened for a reason.
But at the end of the day, I hadn’t found the comfort there that I was seeking.
I’d found that in the arms of three men instead.
I didn’t imagine my current lifestyle and the nights of wild sex would go over too well with Tori’s priest and the other church leaders.
Tori hadn’t judged me when I’d said it wasn’t for me, though. She’d just nodded and said she understood when I’d told her I wasn’t coming back.
That was one of the best things about us. We didn’t judge each other. We had our own separate interests, and morals and beliefs, but that never interfered with us.
In the church parking lot, I spotted Will’s car instantly and parked beside it. The little white church in the middle of Providence was one of the oldest in the area and beautifully maintained thanks to the affluent churchgoers who gave generously each Sunday. On a weekend, this parking lot would be full of older couples and families in their Sunday best. But this morning it was quiet, only a handful of cars for the weekday morning meeting.
I got out of my car, right as the church doors opened. A small group of people exited, smiling and chatting while they slowly made their way to their vehicles. My gaze bounced over each person who left the building, waiting for Tori’s face to appear. I spotted Will holding Isaac while he chatted with the priest, but the door closed behind the two of them. I leaned back on my car, and when Will met my gaze, I raised an eyebrow at him.
He turned back to the priest who was locking the church doors and bid him farewell before making his way down the stairs, jostling the baby on his hip.
I smiled brightly at Isaac, and he gave me a gummy grin, reaching for me with chubby hands. “Hey, baby boy.” I glanced at Will. “May I?”
“Of course. You’re his godmother. He obviously wants to go to you.”
Will passed Isaac over, and I instinctively put my lips to his head, inhaling his sweet baby scent. He normally smelled of a mixture of baby lotion and Tori’s perfume. But the soft flowery scent of her was missing from him today.
“Where’s your mommy today, sweet boy?”
Will sighed, reaching for his son again. “She’s not here.”
I gave Isaac up without argument even though he squawked at being taken away from my hair. “Where is she then? I tried your house, but she’s not there either, and then I remembered she’s always here on Wednesday mornings.”
“She’s sick.”
I frowned. I was doubtful Tori was sick enough to sleep through the ruckus I’d made at her house earlier. She’d have to have been practically comatose. But if she was unwell, and she’d taken something, it was possible she might have crashed harder than normal. “Poor thing. Is it the flu? I’ll come back to the house with you then. I’ll stop and get some chicken soup at that place she likes, and maybe some flowers. Fresh ones always make her happy.”
Will unlocked his car and leaned in, tucking Isaac into his rear-facing car seat. When he emerged baby free, he avoided looking me in the eye. “You can’t. She can’t have visitors.”
A prickle of unease danced across the back of my neck. “What do you mean she can’t have visitors? Is it something contagious?”
Will shook his head. “No.”
“Then what?” The prickle of unease turned into a full-blown warning siren. “What’s going on?”
He shot me a sharp look and then another at the priest who was standing on the step watching the two of us bicker with interest. I felt like flipping the old busybody the bird, but I knew Tori wouldn’t have appreciated that.
Will yanked my arm. “We’re making a scene. Get in and I’ll tell you.”
I slid into the passenger seat, and Will got behind the steering wheel but made no move to turn the car on.
He stared at me over the center console.
I waited for answers.
“She’s in the hospital.”
I reared back, fear spiking through me in a rush that came out in a tumble of questions. “What for? Is she okay? Which hospital?”
But Will shook his head again. “It’s not a regular hospital. They don’t have visiting hours.”
None of this made any sense. She was fine last week. “What kind of public hospital doesn’t have visiting hours?”