meaning to be, but he was never cruel. Never . Weâve been married seven years. Heâs never disappeared like this. If heâs going to be very late, he calls.â
âAlways?â Evan asked.
âWell, there have been a couple of timesâ¦â
âAnd this could be one of them.â
Deborah shook her head. âThe only times he hasnât called is when heâs caught up in work, but heâs not working today. Mrs Dillman said he left at 2.30.â
âMrs Dillman?â Barbara repeated. âThat crazy old lady next door?â
âSometimes sheâs accurate.â
âAnd most of the time she isnât. Deborah, he could have left right before you got home from the mall. In that case, he would have only been goneâ¦â
âAbout three hours,â Deborah said. âBut if he did leave at 2.30, heâs been gone over seven hours. He might even have left shortly after we did, which would mean heâs been gone eight hours. What about the hospitals?â
âWeâve checked,â Evan said. âNo one matching his description has been brought in.â
Joe came into the kitchen. He was taller and slimmer than Evan although not nearly so classically handsome. His face was weathered, his tanned forehead slashed by a thin two-inch-long scar above the right eyebrow, his smile less easy and dazzling than Evanâs. He was originally from Texas and heâd always reminded Deborah of an old-fashioned cowboy, tough and sinewy, used to riding the range enduring storms, droughts and Indian attacks. He belonged in a Louis LâAmour novel. Like Evan, he was wearing jeans. Unlike Evan, he wore a scuffed leather jacket instead of a well-tailored suede one, with a tee-shirt underneath and cowboy boots. He had a slight beard stubble, and Deborah noticed the lines shooting from the corners of his gray eyes, as if heâd been looking at the sun too long.
âJoe, did Steve say anything to you last night that might explain all this?â Deborah asked.
âNo. Nothing. I just told him Lieber had been spotted in Charleston.â
Deborah rubbed a hand over her forehead. âI donât understand. If he thought Lieber was here and dangerous, why didnât he tell me?â
âHe said he didnât want to worry you.â
â Worry me?â Deborah repeated loudly. âThe children and I were out today and he wouldnât even go with us. How worried could he have been?â
âPlenty,â Joe said firmly. âBut Evan told me youâd gone to the mall this afternoon. Steve probably thought youâd be safe there with all those people. And heâd already asked me to get in touch with a friend of mine at a local PI agency. They were going to provide around-the-clock protection for the three of you starting tomorrow morning. He was more scared for you and the kids than for himself. Lieber already damned near killed his sister. He didnât want him going after his wife and children.â
âSo you knew all about this, too?â
âYeah.â
âAnd you?â Deborah asked Pete.
âI knew Lieber had gotten parole, but not that he was in town or that Steve was worried about anything. He seemed fine at the party.â
âI canât believe Steve didnât tell you about Lieber,â Evan said to Deborah.
Joe threw Evan a sidelong look. âYou know what he said.â His slow, husky voice was so different from the loud, commanding tones of Steve and Evan, who were used to delivering dramatic closing arguments in court. âHe didnât want to scare her. And thatâs exactly what youâre doing.â
âBetter to scare her than keep her in the dark.â Evan brushed his hair back from his forehead. âGod, here we are arguing when Steveâs missing and Deborahâs a basket case. Sorry, Deborah. Lawyers are naturally argumentative.â
âIâm not a