Sully took him from his thoughts by saying in his ear, “It came out later when Denny suggested they try things.”

Sully stopped talking and Colt’s body grew tight. “What things?”

“Marie didn’t get it, not at the time, since they were livin’ in Chicago. She wouldn’t get it until about two years ago.”

The warm feeling at his chest evaporated and that weight in his gut got heavier.

“What was it?”

“Role play, Colt. Prepare, my man…” Sully paused, giving Colt time, “he made her call him Alec and he called her February.”

“Holy f**k,” Colt whispered, forgetting the weight in his gut as he felt a shiver creep along his skin.

“Gets worse, man,” Sully said quietly.

“Give it to me.”

“Role play changed, got kinky, rough. Marie didn’t like it but she did it because she loved him. Role play leaked out into life. There was a reason no one knows Marie Lowe and her best friend is her neighbor. He got to the point where he barely let her go out, not without him. Thinkin’ about it, man, I’d see them around, but I never saw her by herself. Not even at the store.”

Colt hadn’t either.

“The neighbor, name’s Carly,” Sully went on, “said that Marie finally figured it out. Marie came over one day, an absolute mess, cryin’ and carryin’ on. Carly calmed her down and Marie said she had an appointment at the hair dresser but popped into Meems’s to get a coffee. It was morning, Feb was there. You came in and before you left, you said something like, ‘Hey February, tell Morrie so and so,’ and Feb said, ‘Sure, Alec.’ It freaked Carly out so much, because it freaked Marie out so much, she remembered what Marie told her, word for word.”

“That’s because it’s freaky, Sully,” Colt spoke the truth.

“Well, yeah,” Sully agreed, “this is where it gets scary, though these two couldn’t have known it would.”

“Go on.”

“They decided to find out what the deal was with Denny, Feb and you. Carly said Marie was allowed to go out, get her hair done, manicures, stuff like that, shit Denny wouldn’t want to do with her. Marie asked questions, so did Carly, they found out a lot about you two.”

Colt wasn’t surprised. Townsfolk talked, Colt knew that and no matter how many years slid by, Feb and Colt were always a favorite topic of conversation.

Sully continued. “They never understood it, or at least not what it had to do with Denny. Marie got fed up playing sleuth and told Carly she was gonna confront Denny with it. Find out. She was getting ready to leave. She was done with the rough sex, the games, him only gettin’ hard if she called him your name. Him never saying hers when he was doin’ her.”

“So she confronted him and he went into a rage.”

“That’s what I figure.”

“You find anything in the house?”

“Big house, lots to go through. No shrines to Feb, no pictures of her, nothin’ that would link him to her, though they’re still at it. And we don’t know why he was withdrawing money which started awhile ago, before he killed Marie. Andy thinks Marie’s been dead over a week. We found out their cleaner was in Texas last week, visiting family. Denny must’ve forgot about her Monday visits.”

“Denny probably didn’t hire her or think about the house gettin’ cleaned,” Colt noted.

“Yeah,” Sully said.

“That all you got?”

“Bit more, nothin’ big. Marie was liked in the ‘hood. Neighbors were upset, said she was sweet. Made good cookies. Always remembered their kids’ birthdays and would get them cards and generous gift certificates. She went visiting a lot, considerin’ her whole world was mostly that street. Denny, not so much. He’d attend a dinner party but mostly they said he was quiet and he wasn’t popular, always choppin’ wood.”

Colt could imagine.

“Anything else?” Colt asked.

“Her parents are comin’ down, spendin’ the night at the Holiday Inn by the highway,” Sully answered. “We got an interview set up first thing tomorrow. And Feds are at Denny’s office as we speak. Took the head man away from his dinner table to go open up the offices. I’ll know more tomorrow.”

“What’re they doin’ about findin’ this guy?”

“APB. Got his picture circulating, description, info about his car, had agents all over stop by different places Feb worked, asking questions, flashing his picture, leaving warnings. So far, nothin’. Nowakowski called, said it wouldn’t hurt if Feb made another list.”

Colt clenched his teeth again, not looking forward to asking Feb to do that.

“Got anything else for me tonight?”

“Nope, but I’ll call you when I know more tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“How was Reggie’s, beer and Feb?” Sully asked, his tone deceptively casual, sharing serious information work voice gone, he now sounded nosy.

“You turn into a woman since I last saw you?” Colt asked back.

He heard Sully’s chuckle before he said, “Just curious.”

“Like I said, you’ll know when I know.”

“Shit, Lorraine’s gonna be pissed. She told me to get something meaty.”

“Tell Raine she’s goin’ empty-handed to the coffee klatch tomorrow.”

“Like I said, she’s gonna be pissed.”

Colt didn’t try to stop his smile.

“Later.”

“Later.”

Colt looked to the hall before he dropped his phone on the table and settled back, half expecting to see Feb standing there. But she wasn’t probably because she took one of Doc’s pills.

Therefore it was a surprise when, not a minute later, the door opened and he heard Feb’s soft footfalls on the carpet in the dark.

He expected she was going to the kitchen for a glass of water or coming out to find out about the phone call.

She didn’t do either.

She stopped, he reckoned, at the doorway to the hall and didn’t move further.

He got up on both his elbows. “Feb?”

“Colt.”

He waited. He didn’t intend to share with her any of the shit Sully shared with him. And her new list could wait for the morning.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“No.”

“Trouble sleeping?”

She moved; he saw her silhouette come forward. She stopped by the side of the couch and he felt her eyes as she looked down at him.