Page 13 of Three Steps Behind

“I’ll see you Sunday. It’s potluck.”

Harper nodded and, ending the call, turned to find Andi standing behind her. She jumped.

“Sorry,” Andi said, her voice soft. “Riley told me to come out. Said something is wrong.”

“Taylor is dead.” The words left her mouth, her mind still reeling.

“Oh no. What happened?”

Harper blinked.

“You don’t have to tell me now. Just know I’m sorry and I’ll be inside if you want to talk.”

“Thanks.” Harper nodded and slid her phone into her pocket. A chill unrelated to the weather sifted through her, and she linked her arms around her waist.

Taylor was dead.

She couldn’t wrap her head around it. It seemed separate from her mind, separate from everything tactile around her. She feared the floating would return.

“They were such a great couple,” Andi said. “Nick must be a wreck.”

Harper sank into the nearest rocking chair, unable to carry anything more than her sorrow. “I guess it’s okay to share now, but right before my trip Tay confided she thought Nick was cheating, and she was considering divorce if she caught him.”

“Cheating?” Andi frowned. “But they’ve always been the perfect couple.”

“Maybe on the surface, but things are rarely as they seem.” At least that’s what she’d experienced in her forensic botany career with the FBI. She couldn’t count how many times her work proved a body had been moved after death—proving things weren’t how they seemed. So many crime scenes were faked. Faked . . .

“I think Nick is a fake.” Taylor’s last words to her came rushing back in a whoosh.

“Taylor said the whole thing was complicated—even the possibility of divorce, given she’s the one with the money.”

Andi frowned again. “But Nick’s gotta earn a decent living as a lawyer.”

“Decent, but nothing compared to Taylor’s trust fund.”

Her breath shallow, Harper fought to get the words out. “I need to talk to Nick.”

“Talk?” Deck asked, silent up until now.

“You aren’t thinking . . .” Andi narrowed her eyes. “You don’t think there was foul play, do you?”

It seemed like a stretch to even imagine Nick could kill Taylor. He might be a cheater, but a murderer? The thought alone floored her. But the notion had anchored in her gut and was weighing deep. Something felt off, and when she got this feeling, unfortunately, she was usually right.

“Harp,” Andi nudged. “Do you really think there was foul play?”

Harper shrugged a bruised, swollen shoulder. “It’s just . . . her death was sudden. No autopsy. A rather fast cremation. And nearly ninety percent of murdered women are killed by a man close to them.”

Andi took a sharp inhale and released it slowly, like she always did when she was about to say something someone might not like. “I hate to say this, as your instincts are great, but isn’t that a big stretch? Are you sure you aren’t jumping the gun?”

“Yeah. I could be way off. . . .” But there were questions that she needed answered before she’d accept Taylor died of a heart attack when, according to Taylor, her yearly physical had been perfect, less than a month before Harper left on her trip. Something wasn’t adding up. And she wasn’t going to let go until she figured out what.

Seven

MUSIC EMANATED from the TV as they entered Deck’s house and the warmth of the living room. It’s a Wonderful Life. She knew every word. She’d watched it every Christmas season since she’d first seen it in her early teens. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

Tears beaded in her eyes. Where was her guardian angel?

“Do you want to join the rest of the crew?” Deck asked as she stood rooted in the foyer, her brain blanking.