Page 7 of Ever After

“You sure you’re okay? You look panicked. If there’s something or someone that’s bothering you, I can help.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve really gotta go, though.” She puts the car in drive, and I’m left standing there, dumbstruck. I walk into the bookstore to hopefully catch a glimpse of the man she was with, but there are too many people, and I’m not sure who it could be. Not that I was expecting to know, but I’d hoped.

My phone rings, and I glance down at the caller ID. It’s Finley. “What’s wrong?”

“I promised I would tell you if something came up. Well, something came up. I didn’t want to talk to you in public. Meet me at my house in an hour. You’re going to want to hear this.”

“Okay, I’ll be there. It’s going to be fine, Finley.”

“I hope so.” She ends the call abruptly.

* * *

I gathermy things from the office, and as I’m about to step through the door to leave, Amelia stops me.

“Warrant should be here tomorrow at some point. Think she’ll give us information without a fuss?”

“I don’t think she’ll be happy about it, but she’ll give it up. I’ve got a few things I have to get done. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smirks. “Try not to have sex with her.”

I look over my shoulder at her and smirk. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you’re going over to see Finley. Don’t mess this up. The last thing I want is to have to interrogate my partner.” She lowers her voice so the busy bodies in the office don’t hear. “I also know that you were following Mr. Genova around. I know you’ve got beef with him and blame him for Sarah’s disappearance, but don’t let your hate for the man blind you.”

“I haven’t done anything that would land me in trouble, have I?”

“Just be smart about what you’re doing. That’s all I’m saying.”

I nod and walk out of the building, taking her warning to heart.

Chapter Four

Finley

I rush home and review my notes from the session with Miles today. The whole encounter was strange and made the hairs on my neck stand on end.What was Mr. Genova involved with?There’s one thing Miles said that sticks out, ‘You’re working with detectives? That’s not good’.

Why?

I vaguely remember reading something in my notes with Mr. Genova about his business. I scan back through everything, and my eyes lock on what I was looking for. It’s from a session just three months ago.

Patient has been nervous to talk and seems restless. He refuses to sit down, and he keeps talking about damage done to merchandise and how stressful everything is. He’s changing up his crew and switching his buyers. Also, he is looking into breaking into some bigger markets to capitalize his gain.

“Damaged merchandise? Why does it matter so much,” I ask out loud. I remember thinking the same thing at the time, too. Why did he feel the need to talk about work with me? What is it that I’m missing?

I wish I had more information, and that’s another reason I invited Grayson over. Maybe we can make a deal—I share, he shares. This case is more than just a homicide to him, and I need to know why.

My doorbell rings, and I pad over the soft carpet to the front door. Grayson is standing on the other side, looking just as handsome as earlier, and my heart kicks up a notch.It’s really not fair.I bet he just rolls out of bed looking that amazing. Me, on the other hand, I have to take an hour each morning to look presentable.

Ugh. Men!

I wipe my clammy hands on my pants and open the door for him. “Hi, Grayson, thanks for coming by. Please, come in.” I close the door behind him and motion for him to have a seat on the couch.

He stands in front of me instead. “What’s going on, Finley?” he asks, jumping straight to the point. “You said you found out some information that you thought would be useful.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. I have to play this right if I want anything. I peer up at him, and since he’s almost a foot taller, I have to crane my neck to do so. “I thought maybe we could trade information. What I figure is you’re working this case as more than a homicide; otherwise, why else would you want to see the records I have on Nick?”

“To see if there’s anything to lead to the killer,” he replies without missing a beat.