Page 10 of A Sublime Casualt
Jackson’s forehead wrinkles as he looks to me. “Well, if you’re as smart as Gabby pegs you, by all means step into this investigation.” He hitches his thumb behind him at Theo and Neil. “Neither of these turkeys is making a dent in the case. This case is going cold fast.”
“Hey”—Theo chides—“she’s already agreed to listen as I chew her ear off.”
“Eww.” Gabby winks my way. “Keep the sexual details to yourself, will you?”
“Shit,” Theo mutters as he glances to the ceiling. “That’s not what I meant.” He taps Neil over the arm. “I’m sharing the file with her. God knows a fresh pair of eyes won’t hurt a thing.”
“I’m fine with it.” Neil shakes his head at me as if he isn’t. “Shoot me your email, and I’ll give you what you want. Unfortunately, Jackson is right. Things are getting arctic, and that’s not what we want.”
“Use mine,” Gabby offers. “Charlie here is a cord cutter. No phone, no net.”
Cord cutter. I think I like that label almost as much as waitress.
Neil nods to me. “That’s quite a technological advantage, don’t you think?” He laughs it off, and I’m relieved by it. “So, what brings you to Wakefield?”
“Adventure and a lack of funds to go elsewhere to find it.” I do my best to bubble unnaturally, like those coeds I inspect under a microscope of suspicion. “Why does anyone go anywhere? How about you? Are you a lifer?” There. Deflect. Hold up a mirror and deflect like a pro.
“Texas is my home, but my wife had a job offer in Des Moines, corporate reconstruction, and this is where I landed. We’re in the middle of a divorce. I guess moving out of state wasn’t enough change for her.” He gazes past me at some unknown dismal horizon.
Fiona clears her throat as she lifts a finger my way. “Well, if you get sick of this oaf, just hunt me down and I’ll be glad to get to know you. I know how hard it can be to make a friend or two in a town like this. Us girls have to stick together.” She slaps her gun as she says that last part.
“Thank you. I will.” I glance to the oaf with the mesmerizing pearl blue eyes. “But I must warn you. I have a soft spot for oafs.”
Theo grins, his dimples digging in deep enough to pierce my soul.
How did I ever end up here I will never know, but a man by the name of Theo Stavros is making me feel mighty glad I did.
A part of me is hungry to glean everything I can about Lizzy Hartley and solve this horrible crime. They just threw down the gauntlet. Challenge accepted. Too bad that after I end their suffering I’ll have to leave Wakefield forever. After all, I’m a piece of the puzzle myself.
* * *
On Friday,after a weary week of grinding it out at the Hideaway, my muscles still feel sore from that hike I took last weekend with Theo and I’m ready to fall into bed with exhaustion, but I’m sure that Peavey and Devyn have left enough messages for me. They must think I’m dead. I owe it to them to respond. They’re the reason I’m still matriculating with the general population of free civilians. I owe them everything. Theo wanted to have that informative dinner about his sister’s disappearance tonight, but I let him know I was off this weekend and that tomorrow evening would be better. He suggested we make a day of it, an early dinner then maybe we could figure things out. I made the mistake of relaying this to Gabby, and now I stand at the door ready to leave, watching her mouth round out in all sorts of unflattering shapes.
“Oh my God! I will so make sure Jackson is out of the house all night. In fact, I’ll have him here. Ha!” She claps just once. “Looks like we’re about to do the roommate shuffle.”
“We’re not, so you can settle down and eat your quinoa kale salad in peace. I won’t be home late. I’m just headed to the library.”
“Jackson will be here, but don’t worry. We’ll be in my room rehearsing for tomorrow night. Hey, maybe while you’re in the library, you can pick up a few books yourself.Kama Sutra? Maybe hit the erotica section for a few pointers?” she teases with her lids lowered, head tilted to the side like a seasoned seductress. I’ll have to remember that pose if I’m ever in the mood to seduce a victim. Theo will do nicely. “You know his ex works there, right?” She sucks in a quick breath. “Has he mentioned Ashley?”
“Ashley?” My feet absentmindedly take a few steps deeper into the room.
“Yeah”—Gabby’s entire demeanor shifts on a dime as if she’s suddenly sorry for me—“Ashley Engle. She and Theo dated for years. God, everyone thought they were going to get married.”
“Oh?” My mind tries to fill in all the blanks aboutAshley Engle, and here I’ve practically donned her like a lead coat. I don’t like surprises. I don’t quite know what to think of Theo’s ex that everyone assumed he should have married. Suddenly, I feel protective of him—a bizarre sense of ownership, and I have never liked to share my toys. “Did they break up because of what happened? I mean, I know something like that can trigger an undue amount of stress on everything. It only makes sense.”
“No, actually, it was weird. It happened about a month or two before. I can’t really remember, because once Lizzy disappeared, everything went haywire. Anyway, I guess that’s not my story to tell. But she works at the library now. She’s been there for a while. I ran into her a few months ago. She mentioned something about being the casualty of a string of layoffs.” She slumps in her seat, her coffee still held high in the air as if she were about to make a toast. “She was Lizzy’s best friend. They did everything together.”
“Her best friend?” The plot thickens. “I bet Lizzy was devastated to see them break up. I mean, her best friend and her brother. Ashley was practically family, right?”
“Totally. And I wish I could say she still is, but like I said, Lizzy has been the focal point from the day she disappeared. I’m sure it would have been different if she were still here. Knowing Lizzy, she would have moved the world to get them back together.” Suddenly, I don’t care too much for Lizzy. I’m pretty sure harboring petty hatred toward someone who’s suffered so much misfortune makes me a terrible person. So does premeditated murder, so there’s that. “But I’m not concerned about what Lizzy would have wanted in that respect. You are a far better person than Ashley in my book.”
Red flag number one for Ashley. “Right. Why is that?” I roll my eyes, playing the part of the self-deprecating BFF secretly fishing for a compliment. No, really, I think I am fishing. I’m only human. Mostly.
“Because you’re better. Don’t get me wrong. Ashley is nice and all around easy to get along with, but she and I just never clicked. She was completely possessive about Lizzy. She and I butted heads a lot. She wanted that whole family. Lucky for her, she didn’t have a stronghold over Jackson or I’d be incarcerated by now.” She hikes up her mug before taking a sip. “Have fun at the library. Don’t get too wild.”
“I won’t.” I head to the Wakefield Public library on foot, a distance of point three of a mile, and I wonder about possessive Ashley all the way there.
* * *