Page 15

CHAPTER 15

“So we’ve got a note that’s wet, torn, wrinkled, and stinky,” Maddie said, after verifying with Almond that the paper had indeed been parchment-like. “What’s next?”

“The actual words themselves.” I stretched my neck and shoulders, thinking. “I’ll be honest, I’ve had those words on my mind ever since I first read them.”

“So have I. The PI part freaks me out, Sloane.”

“Yeah, I hear you. I’ve thought a lot about that.”

“And?”

“How could it be related to me? We’ve known them for what, a handful of days? Besides, no one knows us here. We haven’t even been here before. Maybe the note is unrelated. Maybe it?—”

Maddie raised a hand, stopping me. “I’m not buying it. When it comes to you … I mean, nothing is off the table. Strange things happen to you all the time. I can’t believe it’s a coincidence.”

“Okay, fine. But how in the world would I have become a threat to anyone in Asheville, people I don’t even know that well! Harmony, of all people.”

I dropped my head into my hands.

“Hear me out,” Maddie said, taking a cross-legged position in front of me on the floor.

I groaned.

I couldn’t help it.

This was the nightmare I was trying to avoid.

But we had to address it.

The big elephant.

“Someone’s trying to mess with you,” Maddie said. “Not Harmony. Not Almond. You .”

“In North Carolina? Come on, that’s just so … far-fetched.” I paused. “Isn’t it?”

“Not far-fetched at all. You’ve ticked off a lot of people in your line of work over the years, Sloane. A LOT.”

“And you’ve helped, let’s not forget.”

Maddie’s life hadn’t been smooth-going, and many of those sketchy times were during one of my investigations. In fact, it happened in New Orleans a few years back. She had been kidnapped and almost killed. Thanks to me.

“Let’s focus on this creep and what his motives might be,” I said.

“On that note, I have a question. You seem convinced the bad guy is a ‘he.’ Why?”

“Did I say that?”

“You did.”

I chewed on my bottom lip while I thought about it. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I think it’s a man, though I hadn’t realized it until you pointed it out. I was shoving all that to the back of my mind, not wanting to think I’d put anyone in danger. In most of my murder investigations, the murderer was a man.”

Maddie shook her head. “Not true. What about Florida with my nephew? What about in New Orleans with that woman who ran the addiction house, before you bought it, and it became Helping Hands? What about in Tennessee …”

I held up a hand. “I get it.”

“So …?”

“I don’t know. It just feels like a man to me.”

“Okay, then,” she said with a clap of her hand. “Look, I’m about to pass out from lack of food. And I wouldn’t be opposed to a stiff drink or two. Besides, it is our last day here.”

With everything that was going on, I’d forgotten we’d be going our separate ways tomorrow. “Alta Vista again?”

“There’s another restaurant in here, Bennie’s Tavern. We haven’t been there yet, so let’s check it out. A change of scenery will refresh our minds too—if we don’t overdo the cocktails.”

I shot her a pointed look.

Maddie snickered. “No way you’re putting limits on me.”

“I’d be shocked if you allowed it.”

We slid on our jeans, sweaters, and boots, and left the room, preparing to hit the restaurant, where I was determined to do another deep dive into the mysterious letter.