A soft smile appeared on Gwen’s lips. She fiddled with a gold band around her finger. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that you two make a lovely couple. I’ve been married thirty-five years next October, and I can always spot the good ones.”
“Oh, we’re not—”
“Thirty-five years! That’s impressive. What’s your secret?” Caden’s hand slid up my shoulder. He found that blissful spot on the back of my neck and kneaded it with his thumb.
I snapped my mouth shut. We could stay in a fake relationship for as long as my neck massage lasted. I wasn’t that picky, and he had really good hands.
“Compromise and trust. Also, earplugs. My Freddy snores like a bear.” Gwen laughed and relaxed back against her chair.
“Oh man, I can relate.” Caden angled his head conspiratorially in my direction.
And we were broken up.
I shook his hand off the back of my neck and muttered under my breath, “I do not snore. Keep it up, and you can find somewhere else to sleep.”
Gwen stifled a grin and glanced down at her cup.
“So, you were describing the man who was here yesterday,” Caden prodded, smoothly changing the subject.
“Oh, yes. I don’t think he was from the university, but his name escapes me at the moment. I’m sure he gave it to me . . .” She drummed her fingers against the table in thought.
“What did he look like? Maybe I’d recognize him,” I said.
“He was a large man, maybe early thirties or younger. He had a craggy face and sort of sunken eyes. There was a prominent scar across his palm—I noticed it when he reached for his coffee. Does any of that ring a bell?”
Unease tightened my stomach. What if the same man she was describing was the person who’d followed me in the parking lot? I shook away the terrifying thought and forced a smile.
“Yeah, I think I know who you’re talking about. Don’t worry. It sounds like it was just a scheduling error after all.” I twisted my fingers around the cup, missing the earlier warmth from the hot coffee. “Hey, I don’t think you ever answered what happened to the artifacts. Can we see them?”
Gwen shook her head, the knot of worry returning to her forehead. “That’s the thing. It seems the artifacts have gone missing. Laura checked them out right before the accident, and we’ve been unable to locate them.”
Missing?Did the mysterious man come here looking for the items, or was it to find out what the historical society knew? Either answer wasn’t promising.
Gwen rose from her chair and collected our coffee mugs. “I’m afraid I don’t have more information regarding her latest project. Hopefully, we’ll be able to track down the items and find someone to continue her work. It would be a shame to lose such an interesting historical find. Laura was so invested in her projects. I know she’d want to see them completed. Before you leave, let me give you some past issues of our magazine that contain articles she wrote. Those might help you with your tribute piece.”
I nodded. “That would be great. Thank you.”
Gwen left to retrieve the magazines, and I glanced at Caden.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said.
“That I’m going to grab some of those coffee pods for back at the dorm?”
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Okay, so I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
“No, you do. I think this project might be the reason she was killed. But now, we’re not just looking for her killer; we need to find those artifacts too.”
“And we’re not the only ones looking for them.”
“So, basically, we’re in a race.”
Caden grinned and clamped a hand on my shoulder. “First one to find the artifacts wins a prize. Tell her what she wins, Johnny.”
I rolled my eyes at the resurgence of my joke and tried to tamp down the dread rising inside my chest.
Win or lose, I just didn’t want to end up dead.
Chapter 12
