Ding-dong.
“Danielle’s here.” Emerson rose. “I want her to hear about Lyle from me.”
Emerson answered her front door. After a long hug, Emerson brought Danielle into the kitchen. She didn’t want to stare at her bestie, but Danielle looked different. Besides having dropped a few pounds, there was a hardness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before Claire-Marie had been murdered.
She wished she could change the past, bring Claire-Marie back. Bring all three victims back. But she couldn’t, and her heart felt heavy.
Stryker pushed out of his chair and hugged Danielle. “I know I said this on the phone, but I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“How are you doing?” Stryker asked.
“Still fighting mad,” Danielle replied.
“I’ll give you two some time,” he said.
“You don’t have to leave,” Danielle said.
He smiled. “It’s fine.” Then, he slid his gaze to Emerson. “Babe, can I use your office?”
“Of course.”
After Stryker left the room, Danielle put her hand over her heart. “I love that he called you babe.”
“Me, too.” Emerson poured two small glasses of orange juice. “You look like you’ve lost weight, Danny. Have breakfast with me.”
“I haven’t felt like eating lately.” After Danielle filled her plate with two pancakes and some scrambled eggs, the two friends sat at the table.
After a few bites, Emerson said, “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Are you doing any better?”
“Not really.”
“I wanted to let you know…the Wedding Gown Killer is dead.”
“Good.” Danielle didn’t smile.
“I thought you’d be happy to hear that.”
“Happy? No. Relieved? Yes. What happened?”
Emerson explained about Lyle and Casey and how he ambushed her.
When Emerson finished, Danielle shook her head. “It’s bad enough that I lost my sister, but I would have completely fallen apart without you. I know that sounds—”
“I get it. I would feel the same way if something happened to you.”
Danielle drank down the orange juice. “I’ve been a rule follower my entire life. Since Claire-Marie died, I’ve been going on the dark web to find bad guys. All I want to do is stop them before they hurt someone else.”
“You want to talk to someone about how you’re feeling?”
“I am talking to someone. My mouth is moving. You appear to be listening to me.”
Emerson smiled. “I mean, like, a therapist.”