Page 115 of Kiss Marry Kill

“Exactly.”

I frowned. “Did you ever get any results back for the high heel?”

He shook his head. “I’m hoping we’ll get something back soon. One of the hardest parts of this is having to wait for results.” He carried his plate to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

I joined him. “I still find it hard to believe Archie conned women out of money.”

“Me too. But the record is there. It was definitely him.”

“Do you suppose he turned over a new leaf? Or do you think he was planning on scamming Janelle all along?”

“I’m not sure yet. He had that ATM card to her bank account. He could easily have taken money out, but there’s no record of him doing that. Not one withdrawal.”

“Maybe he found God.”

“It could happen, I guess.” He scooped eggs into his mouth, washing it down with coffee.

“You think it’s possible he actually loved Janelle?”

Grimacing, he said, “Anything is possible. Looking at his track record, I would say he was just using Janelle. But the fact that he didn’t steal from her when he had the chance gives me pause.”

“It’s possible he was just biding his time. Once he married her, he’d have had access to even more of her wealth.”

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “We’ll never know what he was thinking or planning.”

“Does Janelle know yet about Archie’s past?”

Royce shook his head and put his fork down with a clatter. “I’m dreading telling her. She’s coming in later today to the station.”

“Would you like me to be there?” I grimaced. “I have nowhere else to be.”

He gave a weak smile. “I’m sorry, Max. What do you plan on doing about River?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to find a new location while trying to keep it secret. Apparently, he has eyes and ears everywhere.” It still hurt when I thought about that redbrick building and the pool. But I couldn’t control the world. I could only control my reactions to things.

“I don’t think you should confront River.” His expression was tense.

“I don’t plan on it. I don’t think I can avoid him forever, but I don’t plan on going out of my way to face off with him.” As much as I’d have loved to tell River what I thought of him, I didn’t think it would solve anything. It would probably just make me look bad in the eyes of the townspeople. River would no doubt play innocent, which would just make me look crazy for accusing him.

Royce nodded approvingly. “That sounds like a good idea. Take the high road.”

I didn’t want to think about River, so I changed the subject. “Janelle might be calmer if I’m there today. I’m happy to help.”

“Yeah, that might be good. She does like you.” He nodded. “Good idea, Max.”

I sighed. “If I can’t see patients at the moment, at least maybe I can help Janelle.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someplace soon.”

“I hope so. I prefer to work. I don’t like living off my boyfriend.”

He scowled. “You don’t live off of me. You insist on paying for almost everything.”

“I just don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never felt that. Not once.”

Sighing, I said, “That’s good because it looks like I’ll be here a while longer.”