Page 70 of The Wife Stalker

Angela tilted her head. “It’s true, the two of them were very close. But you have to give her a chance to get used to you, that’s all.”

But Piper knew she was right. The woman couldn’t abide her, and she proved it when they all sat down to dinner.

Evangelia looked over at Stelli. “Stelios, my boy. Come to Yiayia.”

Stelli obliged, and Evangelia put her hand under his chin, turning his face from side to side. “You don’t look so good. You’re pale. You feeling okay?”

Stelli shrugged and looked at his feet.

“You’re embarrassing him, Ma,” Leo said. “He’s fine.”

Evangelia raised her eyebrows and put her hand on his forehead. “He’s not hot. But still keep an eye on him,” she replied. Then she turned to her granddaughter. “Evie, mykoukla. That is a beautiful dress you are wearing.”

“Thank you, Yiayia. Mommy bought it for me last year. It was too big then.”

“Your mama, she had wonderful taste. She buy for me this shawl I am wearing today. One of my favorites.”

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Evangelia went on, looking at Evie. “You remember, you and me and your mama, when we would make baklava together? She was good cook.”

“Ma,” Gus said, “maybe we should change the subject.”

“What? The children can’t talk about their mother?”

Piper felt her face get hot. “Of course they can. But maybe we should talk about the things we’re grateful fortoday.That’swhat Thanksgiving is all about. It’s tradition. And since we’re in America, we’ll follow American traditions.”

All eyes were on her, and she feared she’d spoken too rashly, but what the hell. How much was she supposed to take from this woman? How dare Evangelia come into Piper’s home and insult her? Piper raised her glass and looked around defiantly. “Here’s to family,” she said, “old and new.Bothold and new.”

Leo raised his glass with a smile and looked across the room at her, but his eyes were cold.

46

Joanna

I’ve begun to follow her. She left the house at eleven and drove to the mall in Stamford, a half hour away. She parked near the entrance, and I found a space two rows over, watching as she and Evie got out of the car. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her take Evie’s hand and watched as they swung their clasped hands back and forth while they walked toward the mall entrance. I rested my head on the steering wheel and closed my eyes.

Did this mean Evie was getting close to her and forgetting me? With a feeling of alarm, I opened the car door, grabbed my handbag, and marched to the mall, trying to talk myself out of the fear I felt. It took a bit of walking around before I caught sight of them sitting in the food court. They seemed to be deep in conversation, which meant they didn’t see me, but I was heartbroken that they seemed to be bonding. Evie looked so grown up sitting there, with her shiny brown hair past her shoulders and parted in the middle. She wore a white sweater that I hadn’t seen before, black leggings, and a pair of pink Uggs that I’d picked out for her last year.

She looked like she was enjoying herself, laughing and gesturing with her hands as they talked. Piper, too, looked like she was having a good time, but an image popped into my mind of a smiling Mia in that photograph, and then a deadly spider spinning its web, a web that looks so inviting and enticing until its victim is trapped and fighting for its life. Beside myself, Istood there, trying to decide if I should ignore the court order, run over, and grab Evie away from her. But before I could take a step, I saw Leo and Stelli, hand in hand, heading toward the food court. With a shaking hand, I pulled my sunglasses out of my bag and put them on, kicking myself for not having brought a baseball cap.

I needn’t have worried, though. They only had eyes for each other as Leo walked briskly to the table and leaned over to kiss Evie and Piper before sitting down. Anyone else looking at them would think them the perfect family. Even Stelli was smiling. Had she won him over as well? A crushing jealousy choked me, taking my breath away. I thought my heart would break. But then I realized—Piper wasn’t being sweet to the children because she wanted a mother-daughter or mother-son relationship. She was lulling everyone into complacency. How much easier to put whatever her plan was into action if the children felt safe with her? I fought the feeling of helplessness that was making me light-headed and unsteady and ran to the parking lot.

By the time I reached my car, I was sobbing hysterically, and I leaned my head against the steering wheel and cried and cried. When I was finally able to stop, I took a deep breath and started the car. The clock on the dash said one thirty. My appointment with Celeste was at two, which gave me plenty of time to get there. I arrived with five minutes to spare and took a seat in the small waiting room. I felt so alone. I needed desperately for someone to hear me, someone to tell me I could protect my family.

Celeste opened the door to her office. “Hello, Joanna. Come in.”

She sat down in the familiar red chair and waited for me to seat myself before she began. “You look like you’ve been crying. Has something happened?” she asked gently.

I tried to control my breathing. “Yes . . . I mean no, not really, but something is going to happen. Something bad. I went to see Piper’s mother. And even her own mother didn’t really defend her when I voiced my suspicions about the two dead husbands.”

“Did her mother indicate she’d ever been violent?”

“Not in so many words, but... And now Evie seems to be trusting her.”

She crossed her legs and looked at me intently. “What do you mean?”

“Piper took Evie out to lunch. At the mall. Leo left work early and met them there. He had Stelli with him.”

“And you know this how?”

---