Chapter 2

Maggie stood besideNoah Riley at the entrance to Valentina's condo with her mouth hanging open. Her gaze moved from him to the trashed living room and back to him again. She'd already been there for two full minutes and hadn't yet said a word.

Then, just as he opened his mouth to speak, she started to sputter, "Wha...wha...what happened?"

When he didn't answer right away, she turned the full force of her wide-eyed, golden-brown gaze on him.

He gave a small shrug. "I don't know."

She gaped at him. "You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?"

"I'm sorry. But I just don't know. For some reason, I can't remember anything from last night," he said. "I wasn't even certain where I was until I saw a picture of Valentina beside her bed when I searched the place."

Maggie's gaze scanned the room again, falling on the wine and glasses on the dining table. She looked at him accusingly. "Did you get so drunk last night that you blacked out?"

Noah shook his head. "I don't drink."

"Uh-huh," Maggie said, looking doubtful. Her eyes swept once again over his messy hair, bloodshot eyes, bruised face, and rumpled clothing. "And where is Valentina?"

"I don't know."

Maggie took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face, clearly thinking. "You say you've searched the entire condo?"

He nodded. "Every room."

"What about...other places in here."

He looked confused. "Other places?"

She cleared her throat. "Clearly something happened here, Noah. Something...violent." Her eyes flicked over the room again. She swallowed, then continued. "A friend of mine has had me listen to a few true crime podcasts with her, and sometimes people aren't always where you might expect them to be."

Noah felt lightheaded. "Are you talking about a dead body stuffed in a closet or something?"

Maggie winced at his words. "It's...possible."

A lump of panic rose in his throat, bringing with it the nausea he'd felt earlier. He raced into the kitchen and heaved over the sink. He was mortified to see out of the corner of his eye that Maggie had followed him. Her look of concern did nothing to assuage the embarrassment he felt.

He turned on the faucet and swished out his mouth for several long minutes.

"Would you like a piece of gum?" Maggie asked.

"Uh...yeah, that would be great."

He dried his hands on the decorative towel hanging from Valentina's pristine oven while Maggie rummaged through her purse. She pulled out a stick of gum and handed it to him. The crisp, clean flavor of peppermint filled his mouth, the scent of it helping to calm his nerves.

"So, I'm thinking we should probably go through the rooms more carefully then," Maggie said, looking apologetic.

A feeling of dread rose in him, but he gave a small nod. "Okay," he said. "Let's do this."

Together, they moved from the kitchen down the hallway leading to the other rooms. First, they checked the laundry room, then the bathroom. A peek behind the shower curtain revealed nothing more incriminating than a sparkling clean white tile shower.

Next, they stepped inside the master bedroom. Maggie dropped to the floor and peeked under the bed. She gave a sigh of relief. "It's clear, except for a few dust bunnies."

"Great," Noah said, and turned to look at the closet with a feeling of distaste. He reached for the closet door handle and slowly opened it. Maggie was behind him, peeking around his shoulder.

The two sides of the walk-in closet held rows of women's clothing that were organized by color from light to dark. There was an empty laundry basket and shelves that held a few neatly arranged pairs of women's shoes. Nothing more.

Noah sighed with relief and shut the door.

They moved on to the final room, the second bedroom. After Maggie's look under the bed, Noah started to feel himself relax a little. He opened this bedroom's closet door more easily than he had the first. But he gave a sudden cry of shock and stumbled backward against Maggie as a large dog came bounding out from inside.

The dog made a beeline for the front door of the condo and began to whine.

Noah and Maggie exchanged a look and then raced after him. The dog appeared to be some type of German Shepherd mix, with a glossy coat of black, cream, and gold fur. One of his ears pointed straight upright, but the other was cocked at a forty-five degree angle. His long nose was pointed directly at the door. He wasn't interested in them at all. He just continued to whine and began pawing at the door. A blue leash trailed from the collar around his neck.

"Maybe he needs to go to the bathroom?" Maggie suggested.

"Oookay," Noah said. He picked up the leash and opened the front door. The dog bolted through it, pulling Noah along with him. He bounded down the steps of the small front porch and stopped at the fire hydrant in front of the building, lifting his leg.

Maggie stood at the front door watching while Noah waited, and waited, and waited for the dog to finish. His mission finally complete, the dog trotted back to sit in front of Noah. His soft, milk-chocolate brown eyes were expectant.

"I'm sorry, boy, but I don't have anything for you," Noah said. He reached out a tentative hand and let the dog sniff him. Then he scratched him behind his flopped-over ear.

Maggie spoke from the open doorway. "He seems to know you."

Noah looked at her helplessly.

She sighed. "I know, I know. You don't remember. I wonder what his name is."

"He's got a tag." Noah slipped his hand to the dog's collar and lifted the small, silver circle at its center. "Boon," he said, and looked at the dog's face. "Well, Boon. Feel better now?"

Boon licked Noah's palm.

Noah looked back at Maggie, bemused, and shrugged one shoulder. She gave him a half smile back and shook her head. Her soft blond curls bobbed around her face and shoulders, looking like a halo of gold in the morning sunlight. Despite the utter craziness of the situation, he was struck afresh with how beautiful she was.

As he led Boon back up the porch steps, his thoughts drifted back to when they'd attended high school together. He'd had the most massive crush on the curvy, petite Maggie Milena. Actually, it was more than a crush. He'd been completely in love with her. But she never knew.

They'd met at the start of their junior year when he'd signed up to get an honor society member to tutor him in chemistry. Maggie was a total brainiac, ending up as their class valedictorian. And she had been an incredible tutor. She'd helped him pass that dreaded class. And during the time they'd spent together, he'd fallen head over heels for her. She was sweet, talented, and beautiful. And he dreamed about a relationship with her. But unfortunately, she was already taken. She dated the football team's quarterback—the most popular guy in school—for all of her junior year and part of her senior year. So, he'd settled for the friend zone.

As a result, he'd focused all his energy on making music and getting gigs with his band. He and Maggie had remained close until the end of their senior year. But then they'd gone to different colleges. He'd tried to keep the friendship going, but Maggie hadn't responded to his emails or texts, and he eventually gave up, believing he'd never see her again.

When his sister-in-law Alex had suggested using a matchmaking service to help him overcome his ongoing reign of dating disasters, he'd hesitated. But she'd insisted that friends of hers had experienced great luck with Matches by Maggie, so he'd let her arrange his initial interview. At the time, he'd had no idea it was his Maggie.

When he'd walked into the coffee shop for their first meeting and saw her, he'd almost turned around and walked right back out. But she'd spotted him in an instant, waving him over to her table. She had been friendly and polite, but barely acknowledged their former friendship from a decade ago. She simply assured him that she'd work hard to find him his perfect match.

However, from the moment he saw her again, the secret feelings he'd harbored for her came bubbling back to the surface. Recognizing how he still felt had made him feel awkward when it came time to share his dating background with her. And there was no way he was going to tell her the whole truth about the issues he'd been having in the dating arena. Not Maggie Milena! So, he'd played down the real reason that he needed professional help getting dates, simply telling her that since he had recently started his own business, he preferred the convenience of keeping his personal life offline.

Noah and Boon reached the door, and Maggie stepped aside to let them back in, shutting and locking it behind them. Then she turned to face Noah, her eyes snagging his. "So, what do we do now?"

"Uh...maybe we should go back and look in that closet where we found Boon," Noah suggested. "There might be a clue in there that will help me remember something."

Maggie agreed, and Noah, still holding Boon on his leash, led the three of them back to the second bedroom. The closet for this bedroom was much smaller than the master bedroom's spacious walk-in closet. There was a simple rod with a couple of men's shirts and pants hanging on one side. A large black suitcase lay on the shelf overhead. But the closet held nothing else.

"Anything spark a memory?" Maggie asked.

Noah shook his head. "Nope. And those are not my clo–"

He was shocked into silence by the sound of sudden, loud banging at the front door of the condo. "We know you're in there, Tina! Let us in! NOW!"

Maggie and Noah looked at each other, eyes wide. Boon began to growl.

"Tina!" More banging.

Noah shushed the dog, uncertain what to do.

The banging stopped and the voice grew softer, yet somehow sounding more dangerous. "You and your boyfriend are gonna pay for what you did, Tina. Going to the cops like that. And you never should have lied to Papa Dom about your bachelorette getaway. Next time, make sure you let all your little girlfriends in on your plan. He knows the truth now and he's not happy, Tina. And even worse for you, I'm not happy. If you open the door now, it'll go easier for you. At least, I promise not to leave any visible marks." A pause. "I'm not making the same promise for your boyfriend."

Noah watched Maggie's face grow pale, and he quickly put his arm around her waist to support her sagging legs.

"What's happening?" she whispered. "Who is that guy?"

The voice came again, barely above a whisper now but clearly audible in the quiet of the condo. "Last chance, Tina. Open it, or I'm busting it down."

A couple of seconds of dead silence ticked past and then there was the sound of violent kicks against the door.

Noah made a split-second decision. "C'mon!" he whispered, pulling Boon and Maggie with him through the open closet door. Boon growled again. "Shhh, no!" he commanded the dog in a firm whisper. He pulled the closet door shut just as the sound of the cracking doorframe shattered the air.