Page 12 of Witness To Murder
Leah loved how the staircase spiraled through the brownstone from the first floor to the top. She could glance over the railing and see all the way to the entry hall. It was so lovely. It really was like taking a vacation without ever leaving the city. Isla would be jealous. They often talked about getaways in some beautiful European city. Isla was likely the one who would eventually be able to afford an international vacation.
But this was pretty close…sort of.
The kitchen appeared to have original cabinetry—or at least something similar. But after opening a few doors and a few drawers, Leah recognized they were new, state of the art. The appliances were as well, but somehow the designer had found a way to bring it all together, as if every aspect was original and belonged exactly where it was, even though the house was more than a century old. There was even a hidden microwave and pantry. An island that looked like an old butcher’s table from a shop that once sold select meats hand-carved right in front of the customer stood in the middle of the generous room. Though the island looked vintage, it was complete with at least one electrical outlet and a beautiful light fixture hanging above it.
“As you can see—” Owen pointed to the interior of the massive fridge “—the menu is quite extensive. We can throw together any number of entrees.”
He was right about that. Someone had stocked the fridge with a wide variety of goodies. She spotted the ready-to-bake pizza from her favorite local artisan shop. The pizzas were prepared fresh every day.
“Someone must have known I love Giovanni’s pizza.” She didn’t even care if it was veggie or meat lovers; the crust was to die for. Everything else was just icing on the cake.
“Pizza it is, then.” He reached for the package.
She scanned the contents of the fridge once more. “I can put together a salad.”
“Perfect.” Another heart-stopping smile flashed at her.
As he headed for the range, another worry poked into her head. This spending 24/7 together might not be as simple as she’d first thought. At least not until she got her mind off his smile and his…other assets. The primary problem was, she’d been dateless for far too long.
Salad, she told herself.Focus on prepping the salad.
She moved the ingredients to the island and then searched for bowls. “There is a variety of dressings. Which would you prefer?” Small talk was good. Kept her from overthinking.
“Surprise me.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Truth is, I like them all.”
Handsome and easy to please. “You got it.”
The next few minutes were filled with sounds of the flames in the gas oven roaring to life and the chopping or tearing of veggies until the two bowls she had selected were brimming with lush salad. She took two plates to the dining table, then the necessary silverware and the bowls of salad.
“Wine?” she asked as she reentered the kitchen.
He pointed to the end of the kitchen where the back door was located. “The wine cabinet and fridge are in those cabinets.”
The doors that she had thought belonged to the pantry actually opened to a sort of wine bar. The overhead crisscross shelves held a wide selection to choose from. Below were two counter-height wine fridges that were also well stocked. Since the pizza had a little bit of everything in the way of toppings, she selected a prosecco. With the bottle tucked under one arm, she claimed a couple of wineglasses and carried everything to the dining table.
By the time she had located the linen napkins and arranged the settings, Owen arrived with the pizza.
They settled around the table, and he served the pizza and poured the wine. For a few minutes they enjoyed the meal. Leah hadn’t realized she was ravenous until she smelled the pizza baking. She had missed lunch entirely. Breakfast had been a protein bar nearing its expiration date.
It was possible she would be embarrassing herself in the next few minutes because she was starving. Just as she had anticipated, the pizza was amazing. She’d done pretty well with the salad too.
After they’d eaten for a while, he said, “Tell me about the boyfriend who disappeared when you were eighteen.”
Leah dabbed her lips with the napkin. She’d expected the subject to come up eventually. “Like I told Detective Lambert—”
He held up a hand. “Don’t tell me what you told Lambert. Tell me how it was for you. The facts are one thing, the impact another.”
Her face flushed a little. She hadn’t expected him to pinpoint the difference so precisely. “All right. I was young. My parents were intensely strict. Religious, but not overly so. Just strict. They wanted their only child—me—to make good choices. Togrow up and do important things. Their way of making sure that happened was keeping me under their thumb.”
“To protect you.” He sipped his wine, his blue eyes watching her intently.
He had the bluest eyes. “Yes.”
A moment passed, and then she went on. “I was at the Stop-N-Go, grabbing a soft drink after school. I was two weeks away from graduating, and I could not wait to get out of Peoria. I was humming with the need to be on my own—to be free! Chris came in to pay for gas, and I was infatuated instantly. The way he talked…the way he walked…everything about him screamedwicked, and he was very handsome. I was a kid, and that was all I saw. He must have noticed me gawking, because he started flirting. The next thing I knew, I was giving him my cell number and that was that. I was hooked.” She shook her head. “I had no idea what he really was. My parents tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen. He was all I thought about. I spent that entire summer hanging on his every word and deed. My poor parents were both horrified and terrified.”
“How did the summer end?”
He asked the question so quietly, but there would be nothing quiet about the answer. The noise and the trauma that answer contained was deeply disturbing. It was the nightmare her parents had worried about.
