The Perfect Couple by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online

origin, worse things that mono, worse things than living with a potential stepdad she didn't like. At least she and Zoe had always had each other, no matter how many times they'd had to relocate, or bail Grandpa out of jail, or go down to the soup kitchen just to stop their stomachs from growling.
    Now, even though her mother lived right next door, Samantha had the terrible feeling she'd never see her again.
    Colin was expecting the knock when it came. He knew the neighbor girl couldn't go missing without a search. The police would canvas the whole area.
    "They're here," he murmured when Tiffany emerged from the kitchen to stand behind him.
    Putting the TV remote on the coffee table, he got up and turned to survey the room. Everything was in order. He'd made his wife get dressed and repair her makeup. Then he'd gone back upstairs to drug his new pet.
    He'd hired a contractor to do some soundproofing in "the pen," as he called it. He'd claimed he was planning to buy a drum set and didn't want the neighbors to be bothered by the noise. But it wasn't as soundproof as he'd hoped. Fortunately, the sleeping pills he'd given Samantha in a glass of juice must've worked because she'd stopped yelling. He hadn't heard from her in more than thirty minutes.
    One day soon, she wouldn't dare yell at all....
    37

    "What if they want to see me?" Tiffany asked as he started for the door.
    Her lip was swollen. But accidents happened. It wasn't as if she'd ever been seen with bumps or bruises, not since he broke her cheekbone with that mug. And she'd had her elective surgeries right after that, so they'd had a good excuse for all the bandages. "Tell them our heads collided."
    The knock came again, and her eyes flicked to the door.
    "Now go into the kitchen and finish the dishes," he said. "Don't come out unless I call you."
    He waited until the water went on in the sink, then he answered the door. But it wasn't the police. It was Sam's mother and the guy she was living with. Which meant the police would be by later. Great...The next few days wouldn't be easy, but Colin could be patient when he needed to be. All he had to do was lie low.
    "Hi, there." He arranged his expression in a sympathetic frown, feigning surprise at the tear streaks on Zoe Duncan's lovely face. The physical opposite of Tiffany, she was tall and slender with breasts that were barely a C cup. But they were real; he could tell. He could also tell Zoe had been beautiful her whole life because she was so stuck on herself. He'd tried flirting with her once, but she kept talking about his wife as if he might forget he had one, and he resented it. It wasn't up to her to remind him of his wedding vows.
    "What's wrong?" he asked. "You seem...upset."
    Most of the makeup had been wiped from her eyes. "Have you seen my daughter, Samantha?"
    He scratched his head. "No. Why?"
    "She--" Her voice broke, and the man beside her--Anton Lucassi, if Colin remembered correctly--touched her elbow. Years older than Zoe, than all of them, he pretended to have a lot more class than he really did. Lucassi was basically a pretentious bastard. Colin didn't like him, either.
    "She was gone when we got home from work," he explained. "We can't find her."
    "Have you called the police?"
    Zoe spoke again. "Yes, we've been on the phone with them for over an hour."
    "But it's not time to panic yet. She's only been gone since this afternoon," Anton chimed in. "They figure maybe she ran away."
    "She didn't run away," Zoe said.
    "Sam recently told her grandfather she was thinking about running away, so we can't rule it out," Anton insisted.
    38

    Despite a visible effort to avoid an argument, Zoe succumbed. "Where would she go?"
    Anton scowled. "Runaways usually don't have a plan. That's how they end up on the streets."
    Lifting her chin, Zoe addressed Colin. "The police are on their way.
    They plan to look into it. But...we thought we'd ask around ourselves, see if we can develop...some idea as to where she might