Alvera hung up the phone and looked into the shadows at the door.
"Mr. Francois, you'll scare someone to death standing there in the middle of the night."
"Where have you been? Why did you come back so late?" he demanded.
Without thinking, she lied, "I took a walk after dinner."
"You're so dense. Aren't you afraid of getting into danger again?"
Alvera gave him a half-hearted smile and stepped up to the door to open it.
"You didn't bring your keys?"
He did not respond as he followed her into the house.
Alvera turned on the lights and bent down to take off her shoes.
She could smell the alcohol on Roland as he approached her while she was changing into her slippers.
She backed away from him nonchalantly. "You reek of alcohol."
...
She dropped the keys on the table and poured a g
