I read the message with a swell of pride. 

Any more brilliant ideas and the force will have to start paying you. 

Vincent seemed to give compliments out more freely as of late. I wondered if it meant I had successfully won his respect and admiration or if it meant I was making him look really good in front of his boss. 

I’d be happy to send over my Paypal, I jokingly sent back. 

The weekend had rolled in just in time for the unexpected road trip. I found myself preparing to drive over the next day. We were going to have to take Vincent’s car since using any of my family’s would spark more questions about what I was doing then there would be already. I planned on telling them that I was going into New York City to see a Broadway show with Kimberly. She and I had often made many last minute trips into the city. I could tell them a friend of hers gave us tickets and I hadn’t found out up until recently. 

Fearing that I’d get into a fight with my family every time I left the house was getting exhausting. Luckily, Kimberly and I were already trying to figure out a date of when I could make the move to her place. I had been hoping that things would have cooled down by the time I finally moved but that was beginning to seem unlikely. I wondered if my relationship with my family was repairable, if maybe things had always been this bad and there was no hope in changing them. 

The next afternoon, I walked downstairs with a backpack around my shoulder. There was no one in the living room or the kitchen so I figured they must have been in their rooms or in the backyard. This was the best possible scenario so I took advantage of my family’s absence and sent a text about where I was going to everyone in a group chat. I had pressed send and shut the door behind me, ready to meet Vincent where he said he had parked at the corner of my block, when I startled at the figure seated on my porch. 

I dropped my phone and jumped backwards, nearly tripping over a potted plant that had seen better days. 

“What are you doing out here?” 

“This is my house,” my aunt said, clasping her hands together dramatically. Her nails were painted a bright red. “Can’t I sit on my own porch?” 

I was incredibly grateful that Vincent was waiting for me out of sight. Tìa knew Kimberly’s jeep and would have called me out on my lie faster than I could have escaped. 

As casual as Tìa had tried to sound, I didn’t understand why she would be outside in such chilly weather. It was around fifty degrees and Tìa was an island girl. Every time the temperature dropped lower than seventy, she complained about the cold. She frequently complained that they had made a mistake settling down in Pennsylvania. Florida would have been better because of the nice weather. 

As I picked my phone off the ground, Tìa pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket. She squinted at it.

“You’re going into the city with Kimberly. How nice.” 

Her tone was anything but nice. I did nothing but shrug and tighten the strap of my bag. 

“See you later tonight,” I said and began to descend the three creaky steps. My shoe had just brushed the grass that was overdo for a good mowing, when my aunt spoke. It was quiet but menacing nonetheless. She used the voice she had used on ten year old Julio when he was making a scene in public, angry but desperate to keep up appearances. 

“Cuidado.” 

Be careful. 

I turned around, strands of hair blowing into my eyes. 

“Why?"

She raised her shoulders slowly and offered me nothing more. 

When I spotted Vincent’s car, I broke out into a full sprint. Beneath my jacket, my arms were covered in goosebumps. I felt safer hidden by the hedges of my neighbors houses. I pulled the door open and slipped in. 

“Hey,” Vincent said. He placed his phone in a clip that held it still on the dashboard, presumably so he could use it as a GPS. He gritted his teeth together into one of the most awkward smiles I had ever seen. “So, a tiny change of plans.”

Vincent’s gaze flickered to the backseat and I realized we weren’t alone. Kyra and Mac were seated together, dressed casually and giving me polite smiles. I felt embarrassed all of a sudden. 

“I promised I’d give them a ride to the airport last week. It’s in the same direction as Stephanie's house. It’ll be quick.” 

Mac held out a bag of miniature chocolate chip cookies to me from the backseat. He had a mouth full of them and between crunches, he asked, “Want some?” 

He wiggled the bag and I got the distinct feeling that he would make a fuss about it if I didn't take one. I took a cookie from the bag. 

"I hear you're driving up to see a mysterious and wealthy aunt," Kyra said as the car started down the street. "On a foggy day like today, you're set to make a shocking discovery." 

Kyra wasn't wrong. Fog weaved through the spaces in between parked cars and lampposts. It was so thick that it appeared like a misty sea, like a flood had swept the streets. 

"I sure hope so." 

"You know, I've been thinking about this case a little bit." Mac took a break to finish chewing. "I wonder what tipped Adonis off to something being wrong. It had to have been something at the wedding reception. Why else would he wait so long to slip you the note? And it had to be something only mildly intimidating or else he would have called the cops." 

"Or he didn't want to get them involved unless it was absolutely necessary because he worried it would get someone he cared about in trouble," Kyra added. She had a compact out and was checking her eye makeup in the mirror. 

I hugged myself. 

Adonis had been on his own before the ceremony. He was getting ready on the opposite side of the hotel from Nancy and the bridesmaids. I thought Darren had checked in with him at some point but if he had noticed anything strange with Adonis he would have mentioned it to the police. 

Julio had briefly visited Adonis while he was getting ready too. He had stared at Adonis with an unreadable expression when he took his place in the altar. I had assumed it was reality dawning on Julio. He was beginning to realize that this was it, Nancy was getting married. 

Julio had been acting strange ever since the wedding.

What if he saw what Adonis saw? What if what worried Adonis was what worried Julio? If only he would talk. 

When we dropped Mac and Kyra off at the airport, Vincent got out to help them get their stuff out of the trunk. I rolled my window down to feel the breeze on my skin. The heating made me warm in a stifling kind of way but I was too shy to ask Vincent to turn it down. The hushed conversation from the back of the car floated over to me despite how it wasn't my intention to eavesdrop. 

"Be careful, Vinny," Kyra said. The nickname caught me off guard. It was cute but it didn't match how professional his appearance always was. Vinny sounded like a guy who could spill pizza grease on his shirt and not worry about it. Maybe Vincent was the man who was working with me on the case and Vinny was the guy who invited me to Dungeons and Dragons night. 

"I'm always careful," he replied. From the rearview mirror, I could see him pass her a purple duffle bag. 

"I don't mean with the case. I mean with . . . her." 

The skin between Vincent's eyebrows creased. I slumped in my seat in the hopes that if they looked into the rearview mirror they wouldn't see me spying.

"She seems nice but you have to remember that you aren't Fred and Daphne." 

"I'm very aware of my responsibilities. I don't treat cases as fun, little mysteries." 

Mac stepped in. His big, kind eyes seemed to dissolve the offense Kyra's comment had caused. "I think she means that you two aren't partners or a couple. At least, not now. Not while you aren't a hundred percent certain she isn't guilty of something." 

They thought there was a chance I was involved somehow. If they thought that, why would they enlist my help? Did they hope if that was the truth, that by working closely with a detective, I'd give myself away? I could be a mastermind, pulling the strings of the investigation to hide my guilt.

It was more credit than I deserved. 

I was holding my breath as I waited for Vincent's response. 

"I appreciate your concern." 

Of course he would respond by not actually saying anything. I crossed my arms and huffed. He could be such a puzzle sometimes. 

When he sat back in the seat beside me, I pretended I was scrolling through my phone. We drove out of the airport parking lot, Vincent sighing heavily. 

"Alright Daphne, let's get back on the road."

I swear my heart skipped a beat. 

 ___________________ 

The road was overcome with fog. The two yellow lines on the pavement disappeared into it, letting us see only a few feet ahead of us. One had to be extra vigilant to spot the headlights of the cars in the opposite lane. I imagined that if a car had braked in front of us, it would take far too long to see it. We'd crash into it before we'd see the flashing tail lights. As a precaution, Vincent drove slower.

We had been chatting here and there as we drove. The fog had brought up stories about irrational fears we had as kids and horror movies we've seen. With Vincent, conversations felt easy. It was okay if there was a sudden lull or if the conversation fizzled out. His reluctance to desperately try and make things pleasant allowed for breaks for thought or relaxation. Instead of taking energy from me like most social situations did, speaking with him felt replenishing. 

My phone vibrated against my thigh. As soon as I saw who was calling, I placed my phone on silent and shoved it into the cup holder.

Vincent glanced at me and then at my phone. "He's still calling?" 

"Every twenty minutes like he's got a timer on." 

I took a deep breath. The smell of pineapple and coconuts was fainter than the last time I was in his car. 

I tried to put up a wall in my mind to stop any thoughts about Darren. I didn't care if he was calling because he was losing sleep over how sorry he was about what he said. He hurt me. I needed time to see things clearly again and if I gave into him, he would cloud my judgment with sweet talk. Maybe the only way to have lips that dripped honey was to also have lips that dripped poison.  

"When I broke up with my ex, she left me twenty voicemails," he said, only a hint of amusement showing on his face. "Some people aren't used to not getting what they want." 

I smirked at the idea of someone throwing themselves at Vincent like that. It wasn't that I didn't think he was desirable - far from that - but Vincent was so obviously above begging. He seemed to prefer logic and reason. Begging was all about pity. 

I liked the idea of not giving Darren what he wanted. 

"We're almost there." 

The GPS on Vincent's phone said we were five minutes away. Our surroundings had shifted from miles of empty road surrounded by autumn colored mountains to a wooded area with a one way street. Through the trees were houses the size of high schools. They were refracted into vertical shreds by the thick line of trees. They flickered by as we drove, giving me glimpses into outdoor pools and triple garages. 

"Do you plan on going in alone?" 

"I guess so," I said, a little awestruck at the perfectly paved entryways and intricately cut topiaries. The stroller that Stephanie had bought probably hadn't made a dent in her funds. A hundred of them wouldn't have. "It would be nice to have you with me but she might get suspicious about who you are."

"What if I pose as your boyfriend? She hasn't been in your life so she won't know it's a lie." 

Boyfriend? 

It made sense for that to be our cover. Vincent didn't look like he was related to me and who else would I drag along with me to see a relative? He was only trying to come up with a good plan. 

"I don't have to go in with you if you don't want me to but I might pick up on something you miss. Two heads are better than one and what not " 

His reasoning was sensible but I couldn't help but think a part of him wanted to tag along because of what Kyra and Mac had said. He wasn't certain I was completely innocent. 

"Yeah, you should come with me." 

Vincent ducked his head to read the address of the next house. There was a cobblestone archway leading into the property. The house number was written across it in giant, obsidian letters 

"This is it." 

We followed the road up a small hill. I nearly gasped as the house came into view. It had columns - giant white columns sticking out of its front. There were four of them that held up a half circle that shielded the front door from the sun and created a spacious room for outdoor seating. On the roof of the semicircle was a railing that made me think it must have been accessible. Stephanie could stand on it and gaze down at her kingdom of a property. 

We swirled around plants and shrubs until we were in her driveway. I looked down at my clothes. They weren't fit for such a place. My aunt and I existed in two different worlds. 

We hurried out of the car, expecting that if she was home she had probably seen us coming the second we crossed through her gates. It was quiet enough to hear the birds chirping and nothing else. Not another car engine, not the neighbor's kids yelling, nothing. This was true privacy. This was the kind of place where no one knew what you were up to. 

We stood at the front door. I gave Vincent a brave smile before reaching out a finger to push the doorbell.  

The door was yanked open before I got the chance. 

A woman stood in the doorway with eyes wide and a hand over her heart. 

"You're Luis's daughter."

Author's Note: Remember to vote and comment!