Free The Way You Look Tonight by Carlene Thompson Page A

and into her chest. Barbara rushed into the kitchen. ‘Deborah, are you all right?’
    â€˜She will be,’ Evan said.
    â€˜I’ll bet Steve walks through that door in the next ten minutes,’ Barbara told her.
    Deborah looked at her through a haze of tears. ‘No, he won’t. I knew it when we came back from shopping. Deep down I knew it.’
    â€˜You did not,’ Evan said as if he were speaking to a child. ‘You’re just scared. Anything could have happened. Steve might be stuck someplace with a flat tire.’
    â€˜He knows how to change a tire, Evan.’
    â€˜Well, some kind of car trouble.’
    â€˜You don’t believe that or you wouldn’t have told me about Artie Lieber.’
    â€˜Maybe I jumped the gun. I should have kept my mouth shut about Lieber.’
    â€˜Lieber?’ Deborah looked up to see Pete Griffin standing in the door, his face red from the cold, his thinning hair mussed. ‘Sorry to burst in on you like this, but Adam said you were worried about Steve, and every time I’ve called your phone’s been busy, so I decided I’d come and check on things for myself. I thought I was going to have to present identification to that guy who opened the front door. Now what the hell’s going on and what’s this about Lieber?’
    â€˜Artie Lieber is in town. I’m afraid he’s gotten to Steve.’
    Pete’s face sagged. ‘How? When?’
    â€˜This afternoon. And I don’t know how.’
    â€˜Deborah, it could easily be something else,’ Evan said. ‘You mentioned that he had an appointment this afternoon. But you don’t know who it was with, do you?’
    â€˜No. I’m not even sure there was an appointment. He didn’t sound like he was telling the truth. I think maybe he was just trying to get me off his back about going to the mall Christmas shopping.’
    â€˜You two didn’t have a fight, did you?’
    â€˜No. We’ve had about five fights since we’ve been married. Over stupid stuff. And today we had words because he was acting so mysterious about this so-called appointment.’
    Evan’s expression stiffened. ‘So you two had a bad argument today?’
    â€˜No. We were irritated with each other, that’s all. We’ve never had a real argument. Just a few infrequent spats.’
    Her eyes filled with fresh tears. Barbara took her shoulders in her firm hands with their short nails. ‘We shouldn’t have come here and scared you like this over nothing.’
    â€˜I think I needed to know that Lieber is in town and maybe got to Steve,’ Deborah said raggedly. ‘Oh God, now I understand. We had a prowler last night. Someone hiding in the evergreens. Steve acted like a wild man, running out there barefoot. Now I know why. I also know what he was saying as he circled the trees – Lieber. He thought Artie Lieber was out there. And he must have been. He just waited until he got Steve alone. And then he—’
    â€˜Look, Deborah, the police are already in on this,’ Evan said crisply. ‘Normally a person isn’t officially declared missing for twenty-four hours, but Steve’s an assistant prosecuting attorney and under the circumstances…well, they aren’t going to let it slide until tomorrow afternoon.’
    â€˜I’m glad. But I think it’s too late.’
    â€˜Stop saying that,’ Pete ordered. ‘It’s probably nothing. Maybe Steve went to a movie.’
    â€˜Oh, Pete, you know he never goes to movies. He says he can’t stand the sound of people chomping on popcorn and slurping soft drinks while the film is showing.’ Deborah held her glass out to Evan. ‘Another shot, please.’ Evan hesitated, then poured. She sipped this one more slowly and spoke, almost to herself. ‘He was a very serious, reserved man, and sometimes he could be inconsiderate without