Acts of Malice Read Online Free

pulled from the pocket of his jeans a pink Post-it note that stuck to his fingers as he unfolded it with shaky hands. He handed it to Nina.
    Heidi Strong’s handwriting slanted right, the sign of an extrovert, Nina remembered vaguely. Strong’s wife had pressed hard and written the first line in capitals. ‘‘ I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ALEX. ’’ Below that spooky lead followed some short lines. Nina read it all in a glance.
    I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO
ALEX.
I’m leaving.
I never want to see you again. I mean it,
Jim.
Don’t even think about trying to find me.
    That was it. No signature, no date, just a few words, sharp and direct, incised into the paper.
    ‘‘Wow,’’ Nina said. No other word seemed adequate. She turned it over and looked for something more but there was nothing.
    ‘‘I found it stuck on the toilet lid that morning. Here I was, taking a whiz, just waking up, thinking about Alex, not even knowing anything’s going on with her, and I see this note. I thought, I’m dreaming. But I wasn’t. I searched the house. She was gone, all right. She’d taken our big suitcase and the roller one that fits under an airplane seat and her electronic keyboard. Her clothes, some books, CD’s, her ski gear—everything she really cared about. She even took Freaky.’’
    ‘‘Freaky?’’
    ‘‘Our cat. She drove off in the camper, a Tioga. Just big enough for the two of us and maybe a kid, if we ever had one . . .’’ He chewed on his thumbnail. ‘‘At first I thought she’d cool off, and, you know, realize she had totally overreacted. I waited for her to come home, or at least, to call. But it’s been seven days and I haven’t heard from her. I’ve called everyone I could think of. Marianne—’’
    ‘‘Who is that?’’
    ‘‘Alex’s wife. She swears she doesn’t know anything. I had to tell my father, too, but he doesn’t have a clue. Then I talked to Heidi’s friends on the Ski Patrol. She’s a supervisor at Paradise. Nobody knows anything, or at least no one will tell me anything. She just took off without a word.’’
    ‘‘Well, she left these words, Jim. What do you think she means?’’ Nina held up the note.
    ‘‘Obviously, she blames me for Alex’s death. When she got to Boulder Hospital that night, they were operating on Alex, trying to save him. I knew he wouldn’t make it—’’ Strong exhaled in a short gust. ‘‘Just a minute,’’ he said. Jumping out of the chair, he went to Nina’s window, the one that looked toward Mount Tallac, one of the high mountains that ringed Tahoe.
    The snow had cleared quickly, leaving a sparkling, already melting inch of white on the pane. Strong leaned close to the window, and from the side, through the slashing sunlight that forced its way between the dark layers of cloud hanging over the town, Nina could see the deep brown of his lashes and the glistening of his eyes as he stared out. She looked down at the Post-it. A ray of early-afternoon sun lit up the note like a laser. It looked like it might burst into flame at any second.
    In the next room, Botelho sang,
    Joy is green like a forest

It burns and turns to ash, then grows again
    ‘‘I don’t know what to do. I love Heidi,’’ Jim said to the window. ‘‘She’s—everything, you know? Who put this insane idea into her head?’’
    ‘‘The idea that—’’
    ‘‘I don’t even want to say it. It’s too bizarre for words. I keep thinking I’m gonna lose her for good. I couldn’t stand that. I have to find her.’’
    He came back to her desk, on her side, and leaned over it, putting his hands flat on the desk. ‘‘One of our employees, a woman named Jessica Sweet, told me to come and see you. She said you did a great job in an invasion of privacy case. She said you were unusual. That I could trust you.’’
    ‘‘I remember Mrs. Sweet.’’ Nina shifted in her seat. He was too close to her but seemed oblivious to the encroachment into her space. He had the