The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Author:Shari Lapena [Lapena, Shari]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: 2016-07-20T16:50:50+00:00

• • •

Marco is still sitting in the dirt, slumped against one of the Audi’s front tires, when the police cruiser pulls up. He doesn’t even lift his head. It’s all over now. Cora must be dead. He has been double-crossed. Whoever has her has the money; there’s no reason to keep her alive now.

How could he have been so stupid? Why had he trusted Bruce Neeland? He can’t remember now why he had trusted him—his mind has shut down in his grief and fear. There’s nothing to do now but confess. Anne will hate him. He is so sorry. For Cora, for Anne, what he’s done to them. The two people he most loves in the world.

He had been greedy. He’d persuaded himself that it wasn’t stealing if it was Anne’s parents’ money—Anne would inherit it all eventually anyway, but they needed some of it now. No one was supposed to get hurt. When he and Bruce had planned it, it had never occurred to Marco that Cora would be in any actual danger. It was supposed to be a victimless crime.

But now Cora is gone. He doesn’t know what Bruce has done with her. And he doesn’t know how to find her.

Two uniformed officers get slowly out of the police car. They walk over to where Marco is slumped against the Audi.

“Marco Conti?” one of the officers asks.

Marco doesn’t respond.

“Are you alone?”

Marco ignores him. The officer pulls his radio to his mouth as his partner squats beside Marco. He asks, “Are you hurt?”

But Marco has gone into shock. He says nothing. He has obviously been weeping. The officer standing beside him puts his radio away, draws his weapon, and goes into the garage, fearing the worst. He sees the infant car seat, the white blanket thrown on the dirt floor in front of it, but no baby. He comes back out quickly.

But Marco still isn’t speaking.

Soon other police cars converge, lights flashing. An ambulance arrives on the scene, and the medics treat Marco for shock.

A short time later, Detective Rasbach’s car pulls up the long drive. He gets out in a rush and speaks to the officer in charge. “What happened?”

“We don’t know for sure. He isn’t talking. But there’s an infant car seat in the garage and no sign of a baby. The trunk is open, empty.”

Rasbach takes in the scene and mutters, “Jesus Christ.” He follows the other officer into the garage and sees the car seat, the little blanket on the floor. His immediate reaction is to feel terribly sorry for the man sitting on the ground outside, guilty or not. He clearly expected to get his child back. If the man is a criminal, he’s an amateur. Rasbach goes outside into the sunlight, squats down, and tries to look Marco in the face. But Marco won’t raise his eyes.

“Marco,” Rasbach says urgently. “What happened?”

But Marco won’t even look at him.

Rasbach has a pretty good idea what happened anyway. It looks like Marco got out

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