Page 65 of The Banned Books Club

Something was wrong. Gia hadn’t heard from Margot at all on Saturday, even though she’d said she’d call after Sheldon went hunting. And she wasn’t returning Gia’s many calls and texts Sunday morning. Given their mother’s situation, Gia would’ve expected Margot to call her back regardless of what she was doing.

So, after breakfast—and at her mother’s urging—Gia went back over to Margot’s house only to find both cars were still gone. And the view in the window hadn’t changed one bit. If Margot had been home since Gia last stopped by, the boys would’ve left out a toy or their shoes orsomething. Although Margot kept a clean house, children were children. They made messes.

But if Margot had been gone since yesterday, where was she now? She wouldn’t take the kids and go hunting with Sheldon, would she?

Gia got out her phone, searched for her brother-in-law’s contact information and nearly called him. She wanted Sheldon to allay her fears. But the memory of her last conversation with Margot gave her pause. Margot had asked hernotto call Sheldon. Gia had assumed she was just trying to protect him from the dressing-down he deserved—she was all about keeping the peace—but...what if there was more to it?

Because of the possible affair, Gia decided to hold off to see what she could learn on her own and walked around to the backyard.

The back door was locked, too. So were the windows. If she wanted to get in, she was going to have to break some glass. She hated to go that far, but she was feeling enough panic that she decided it’d be worth paying for any damage she caused—just in case.

After removing the screen, she used a rock from Margot’s backyard and smashed the laundry room window. Then she took off her sweatshirt and wrapped it around her arm to keep from getting cut as she reached through and opened the latch so she could climb through.

“Margot?” she yelled as soon as she’d managed to get down off the dryer.

With the Subaru gone, she wasn’t likely to get an answer, but she kept trying. “Margot? Matthew? Greydon?” she called.

Silence greeted her. The house was eerily quiet as she walked toward the bedrooms. Surely, Margot hadn’t confronted Sheldon about the affair and—

She wouldn’t even think it. There was no way he’d physically harm his wife.

Except, under the right circumstances—and if he thought he could get away with it—maybe he would. He was a controlling bastard. A self-absorbed one, too.

“I swear to God I’ll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life,” Gia whispered, and held her breath as she reached her sister’s bedroom to find the door standing halfway closed.

As she gave it a push and it swung inward, the first thing she noticed was that the bed wasn’t made. That was unusual. Margot prided herself on her homemaking skills; that was the only thing she had to feel good about since Sheldon wouldn’t let her do anything else.

“Margot?” After poking her head in, Gia moved on to the boys’ room. She was moving fast. She could take the time to look closer on her second pass, if a second pass proved necessary.

The boys’ beds weren’t made, either. And their drawers were hanging open.

Gia moved closer. Not only were they open, they were empty. What was going on?

Adrenaline pumped through her system as she hurried back to the master bedroom to check her sister’s dresser. Those drawers were closed, but when she opened them, she found the same thing. Margot’s closet was empty, too. And all of her makeup and toiletries were gone.

The strange thing was... Sheldon’s stuff was still there. His side of the closet was so full Gia couldn’t even tell that he’d taken anything with him when he went hunting.

Needing answers faster than they seemed to be coming, she lifted her phone to call him—and once again forced herself to hold off.

Instead, she tried to reach her sister. If Margot didn’t pick up this time, Gia would leave a message stating that she needed to hear from her or she was going to call Sheldon.

“You have fifteen minutes,” she said aloud as she waited for the call to go through. But once it did, she could hear the jingle of her sister’s peculiar ringtone in the house with her.

Closing her eyes, she listened carefully. It was coming from the kitchen.

18

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Ida sat at the kitchen dinette with Leo at the other end, looking absolutely bewildered as Gia paced.

“I mean she’s gone,” Gia said. “Her car’s not there. The kids aren’t around. Everyone’s clothes—except Sheldon’s—are gone. And Margot’s purse was nowhere to be found, so I’m guessing she took that, too.” She held up her sister’s phone, which she’d brought back with her. “And yet her cell was right there in the kitchen in plain sight.”

Ida’s eyes rounded in her gaunt face. Covering her mouth, she spoke through her fingers. “Why would she go anywhere without her phone?”

“I’d say she forgot it, except...except I think if she’d meant to take it, she would’ve gone back for it. We rely on these little computers too much these days. It’s not something you’d be happy to leave behind.”

“That makes sense,” Ida agreed.

“Not to mention that everything seemed so...purposeful,” Gia added after searching for the right word.

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