Free The Way You Look Tonight by Carlene Thompson Page B

meaning to be, but he was never cruel. Never . We’ve been married seven years. He’s never disappeared like this. If he’s going to be very late, he calls.’
    â€˜Always?’ Evan asked.
    â€˜Well, there have been a couple of times…’
    â€˜And this could be one of them.’
    Deborah shook her head. ‘The only times he hasn’t called is when he’s caught up in work, but he’s not working today. Mrs Dillman said he left at 2.30.’
    â€˜Mrs Dillman?’ Barbara repeated. ‘That crazy old lady next door?’
    â€˜Sometimes she’s accurate.’
    â€˜And most of the time she isn’t. Deborah, he could have left right before you got home from the mall. In that case, he would have only been gone…’
    â€˜About three hours,’ Deborah said. ‘But if he did leave at 2.30, he’s been gone over seven hours. He might even have left shortly after we did, which would mean he’s been gone eight hours. What about the hospitals?’
    â€˜We’ve checked,’ Evan said. ‘No one matching his description has been brought in.’
    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 Evan’s. He was originally from Texas and he’d 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 L’Amour 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 he’d been looking at the sun too long.
    â€˜Joe, did Steve say anything to you last night that might explain all this?’ Deborah asked.
    â€˜No. Nothing. I just told him Lieber had been spotted in Charleston.’
    Deborah rubbed a hand over her forehead. ‘I don’t understand. If he thought Lieber was here and dangerous, why didn’t he tell me?’
    â€˜He said he didn’t want to worry you.’
    â€˜ Worry me?’ Deborah repeated loudly. ‘The children and I were out today and he wouldn’t even go with us. How worried could he have been?’
    â€˜Plenty,’ Joe said firmly. ‘But Evan told me you’d gone to the mall this afternoon. Steve probably thought you’d be safe there with all those people. And he’d 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 didn’t want him going after his wife and children.’
    â€˜So you knew all about this, too?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜And you?’ Deborah asked Pete.
    â€˜I 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€˜I can’t believe Steve didn’t tell you about Lieber,’ Evan said to Deborah.
    Joe threw Evan a sidelong look. ‘You know what he said.’ 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. ‘He didn’t want to scare her. And that’s exactly what you’re doing.’
    â€˜Better to scare her than keep her in the dark.’ Evan brushed his hair back from his forehead. ‘God, here we are arguing when Steve’s missing and Deborah’s a basket case. Sorry, Deborah. Lawyers are naturally argumentative.’
    â€˜I’m not a