“She did,” Kelly replied. “When her nausea wouldn’t go away, but nothing came of it. He told her to rest more and eat better.”
“She was definitely doing that,” Cal declared with a chuckle. “She even stopped smoking.”
Kelly’s head whipped toward Ben, her eyes wide with panic.
“She only smoked when she drank beer. That’s it. Lori wasn’t a smoker, like you’re thinking.”
She didn’t want him to think badly of her best friend.
“No judgment here,” Ben assured her. “We all push boundaries in our youth.”
Cal appeared to realize that he’d perhaps said too much, upsetting Kelly.
“Right. I mean, she wasn’t a smoker. None of us were, really. But, every now and then, we partied. You know? It wasn’t a big deal. Lori was a good girl. She always made sure I took her home before curfew, and she never drank to get drunk. But she was fun to be around, all the same.” He smiled suddenly, the expression warm with memory. "She had this laugh, you know? It would just fill up a room. She was one of a kind."
"She really was."
Kelly was smiling, too, completely unaware that Ben’s brain was going a mile a minute.
"Did you ever tell the police about Lori’s health changes?" Ben asked.
Cal’s brows pinched together in confusion, clearly unsure why he’d been asked the question.
"They never asked. Just wanted to know where I was that night and whether we'd fought recently. Basic stuff. Why would a stomach flu be of interest to the police?”
"We should probably get going," Kelly said. “We’ve taken up enough of your time. If something else comes to me, can I reach out again?”
“Absolutely,” Cal replied. “Anytime, day or night. And I mean that. I want you to find who did this as much as you do. I doubt I’ll be any help, but I’ll try. Just let me know what you need.”
“I appreciate that. Not everyone feels the same.”
“It’s hard for some people,” Cal said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Things like this don’t happen in Bergen.”
Ben didn’t point out that it had happened in Bergen. And it could happen again. The citizens weren’t immune from crime and evil, even if they thought they were. It didn’t work like that.
Cal walked them to the door, the three of them exchanging pleasantries that carefully avoided the real topic between them. At this point, there wasn’t anything left to say.
"You're quiet," Kelly observed as they reached the car.
"I’m thinking," Ben replied, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Today has given me a few things to think about.”
"What are you thinking about?" Kelly asked as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the condo.
He wasn’t sure if this was the moment to discuss it. In fact, he was positive this wasn’t a good time. He needed to think about how to even broach this subject.
"Let's talk about it over dinner," he suggested. “I still need to think this through before I say anything.”
“This enigmatic stuff is a new side to you,” Kelly teased.
“What can I say?” Ben joked back. “I’m a Renaissance man. So many layers to my personality.”
Sadly, he didn’t think that was a true statement at all. He had basically two sides, and they weren’t all that mysterious or exciting. He had a business mode and a non-business mode. That was it. He wasn’t complicated in the least.
He had experience giving bad news in business, but not in his everyday life with people he cared about.
And he did care about Kelly. Probably more than he was ready to admit.
But he didn’t have any experience telling Kelly that her friend, who was like a sister to her, might have been keeping a secret. A big one.
