With a salute, Vicki giggled. "My bro is protective now."
John stood taller and all the laughter stopped. "Will you? There was another threat against Alice."
Vicki strolled past him. "Of course."
John came back to her, and took her hand. "Thanks. Alice, I'll be gone for less than hour."
Without thinking, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him goodbye. The brush of his lips on hers sent energy through her. As she lowered herself back to the ground, John nodded. "See you soon."
As soon as the front door locked, Vicki twirled, "That looked serious. What's going on?"
Her mother's lesson that it's better to not kiss and tell played in her head. This seemed more logical than her earlier fears. She'd almost lost everything by heeding that advice. Instead she turned toward Jennifer who was dressed like she was ready for the runway. "Why are you both here? It's early."
Vicki practically exploded as she paced with her hands in the air. "Jennifer is planning a huge scene at our house in a few hours. I need help talking her out of it."
Jennifer's loud sigh echoed in the air.
The woman had taken a video of the man who almost grabbed her the other day, and then sent the clip into the police. Not totally evil. Alice chewed her lip. "Why?"
Vicki turned to Jennifer and shook her head. "She thinks Peter is sleeping with someone else."
Wow. Alice flinched. "I thought they were friends with benefits. That's not exclusive."
Jennifer studied her nails. "Don't be rude."
Alice settled her attention on Vicki. "I'm not trying to be rude at all. Where is Peter?"
Vicki bit her lip. "At work or at home."
A scoff came from between Jennifer's lips. "Victoria is trying to talk me out of going, but I'm planning the stage perfectly."
This sounded sketchy. Alice crossed her hands. "What are you talking about?"
With a toss of her hair, Jennifer was the epitome of a soap star. "I'm setting him up to admit everything."
Alice's eyes widened as she saw how Vicki's face lost color. "Admit what?"
The laugh that Jennifer uttered sounded bitter. "Some woman was in his bedroom last night."
Vicki rubbed the back of her neck, almost exactly like her brother, as she said, "How do you know?"
With a click of her heels, all attention went to Jennifer. "It wasn't my perfume I smelled."
In defense Vicki argued, "What if it was mine? I'm his sister and I could have spilt something on him."
Jennifer crossed her arms but stood with one leg to the side like she was modeling her shoes. "No, it was too floral. I'm not stupid and it was more than that. I could tell Peter had sex and it wasn't with me."
Alice piped into the conversation. "So don't call him and find someone else."
Jennifer's mouth opened as she studied Alice. For a split second, Alice repeated high school and felt that small. "That's too easy."
No, she'd not turn back into a quivering mess of a teenager. She was an adult now. She lifted her chin as Vicki suggested, "Let him see you with another guy and walk away."
With a sad spark in her eyes, Jennifer leaned closer to Alice. "You're both missing the point. It's fun to smoke a man's entire world. He thinks he can lie? I'll show him he's the one being a fool."
Alice's stomach clenched as she asked, "How?"
Jennifer tossed her hair to the side. "I already asked Rafe to find out who the girl is."
Alice and Vicki both asked in unison, "What?"
The police should be working on finding her would-be killer, not exploring Jennifer's sorry excuse for a love life. Alice kept a tight grip on her thoughts and didn't say anything else.
Jennifer shrugged. "He'll find her."
If he did, then he wasn't spending enough time on her case. Alice squared her shoulders. "Did you have proof to give him?"
Jennifer smiled. "I'm sure there is DNA on the sheets."
Vicki's voice shook. "You took his sheets?"
Jennifer turned her focus to Vicki. "He'll never know."
Alice blinked. Rafe Soliz was her friend, but he had mentioned Jennifer in high school too. Her breaths were shallow. He wouldn't put Jennifer's nonsense case first when she had a real case, would he?
Vicki's jaw clicked. "How?"
Jennifer went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of iced tea. Then she returned. "He has maids and Caro told me everything."
Alice shook her head. "You're crazy."
Jennifer turned to her with a pout on her lips. "So are you, if you don't shore up whatever is going on with you and John."
Alice went and found herself a cold drink. The delay mixed with iced helped her focus her thoughts. She returned and nodded. "You might be right. Would you like iced tea?"
Vicki then bounced to her feet and Alice glanced at her as she excitedly asked, "What?"
"Iced tea?"
"No thanks."
The lump in her throat formed and she had to cough to get it out. "I had my mother in my head and I was so scared of falling apart that I was willing to run away. Once whatever the threat is goes away, I'm going to see if there is a future and if John wants one, with me."
Vicki hugged her. "Good for you."
Alice shook her head and gazed back at the window. "Someone was spying on us last night."
Jennifer laughed. "Don't tell me you're worried someone videotaped you to put it online."
"Eww." Alice clutched her stomach. "No. Does that happen?"
The answer was an obvious yes, but not something that had ever crossed her mind. Jennifer said, "Yeah, but don't worry about it. I'm sure John will find out who was there."
Not once had Jennifer ever talked badly about John. It was strange. Perhaps that was the closest Jennifer came to an approval of any relationship. Alice turned back to the window and shook her head. "I'm so sick of waiting. Scared. There has to be a faster way."
Smiling, happy Vicki said, "Patience is a virtue."
The beat of her heart was steady at the moment and if she thought about this morning's message, she'd drive herself crazy. "Wait, let's change the topic."
Jennifer narrowed her gaze. "To what?"
Alice crossed her arms. "To where you have been, Vicki. You never explained."
Vicki took a step backwards, like she'd leave if that was an option. "I was in Europe."
Alice shrugged her shoulders. "You let us all think you died."
With her eyes closed, Vicki took deep breaths. "Part of me did die. I couldn't live in my own skin."
Jennifer stayed absolutely still and her voice became quieter. "What does that mean?"
Vicki clutched her stomach and Alice wondered if there was a baby involved. The will reading replayed in her mind as Vicki said, "My father stole something more precious to me than my own life and there is nothing I can do to get it back."
If her best friend had been pregnant, she'd have known about it. Alice let the thought go, dropped her hands to her sides, and spoke in a soft voice. "That sounds horrible. What was it?"