If Looks Could Kill by Kate White

took her address book and purse. But there may be other stuff that you’d recognize as significant and they
     wouldn’t. I just want to make sure she wasn’t into anything weird.”
    “Fine. I’ll poke around. There are a few things I need to clarify with you first, though.”
    “Okay, shoot.”
    This wasn’t going to be easy. For all the confidences that Cat had shared with me, she loathed being questioned directly about
     her private life.
    “Was there a reason you were worried about Heidi that you didn’t want to share with me?”
    “What do you mean?” she asked. “I’m not following you.”
    “Well, it’s just that you were so anxious over the simple fact she wasn’t answering the door, and as it turned out your fears
     were totally justifiable. Did you have some concern that you weren’t sharing with me?”
    “Was I holding something back? No, not at all. It was eight in the morning, she was supposed to be home, her lights were on,
     and she wasn’t answering the door. It seemed like reason enough to worry.”
    “On the phone you didn’t mention the lights being on, did you?”
    “I don’t remember
what
I said,” she replied impatiently. “I was alarmed, I called you for help. I think most people would say my gut instincts are
     on the mark.”
    “Point taken. Another thing. You said you wanted to meet with Heidi to talk about Tyler. Was something the matter?”
    “Why do you ask that?” I saw her body tense slightly as she spoke.
    “Well, it just sounds a little odd—you scheduling an appointment with her on her day off.”
    “Okay, there
was
something the matter,” she said, running her hand through her hair. “Lately, Heidi hadn’t been totally into her job. Like
     I said, she’d been distracted. I was worried that she might not be giving Tyler her full attention. I wanted to talk to her
     about it. She gets up early, so there was no reason not to do it then. I didn’t want it hanging over my head the whole day.”
    “But why on Sunday, her day off?”
    “Honestly? Because Jeff wouldn’t be around. He says we’ve had too much nanny turnover, and he thinks I’m partly to blame—that
     I’m overly critical. Since he had to be up in Connecticut and I had to be here, it seemed like a good time to do it.”
    “I didn’t think you and Jeff spent weekends apart.” If asking about Heidi was awkward, drilling her about Jeff was a hundred
     times worse. As she took in my comment, her face remained placid and her eyes held mine, but her butt shifted a millimeter
     in the chair.
    “We don’t usually. But this weekend I finally had a chance to do this film festival meeting and Jeff had to keep an appointment
     with the landscape artist up in Litchfield. It was unavoidable. Why the third degree, Bailey?”
    “I just wanted to make sense of everything.” Her explanations sounded reasonable enough, and I was relieved to be able to
     halt the inquisition.
    “So do you want to look through Heidi’s stuff or not?” she asked, sounding suddenly peevish.
    “Sure, I’ll do it. Though you mentioned food earlier. I’m famished.”
    “Carlotta’s got stuff set out in the kitchen. Do you need me to come down with you?”
    “No, make calls, do what you have to do,” I told her. “I’ll get something to eat and then I’ll go down to the apartment. You’re
     not expecting anyone, are you?”
    “I’m making people come up to the house for a planning meeting—but that’s not for over an hour.”
    As I walked out to the hall, I heard Tyler’s sweet, squeaky voice from the top floor. I glanced up and saw him sitting in
     the doorway of his room, his pale blond hair falling forward as he scooted a toy truck back and forth. I turned back to Cat
     and she answered my question before I had a chance to ask it.
    “Carlotta’s cousin is taking care of him for now—while an agency tries to get me someone else.”
    I went down to the kitchen and helped myself to a Caesar salad and a white