AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Harold?”
Kelley shook her head and her eyes widened. “No, but please do.”
“Well, I was coming in for my interview. Late. And when I showed up, I found him sitting in the office going over his papers while belting out that one song from Phantom of the Opera.”
Kelley sat up straight and actually let out a small chuckle. “No way!”
“Yes, way. And that’s not all…”
I shared the few pleasant memories I had of my former boss, and Kelley proved to be a rapt audience. By the time we’d drained our lattes, I’d run out of stories to pass on. Also the banana bread had at long last thawed.
I lifted a piece and nodded to Kelley before taking a huge, delicious bite. Hey, even though it wasn’t made fresh, it was still freaking delicious.
“So what do you think you’ll do now?” I asked as Kelley picked all the walnuts from her bread and popped them into her mouth one by one.
“My mom’s on her way to pick me up and drive me back home,” she revealed with a grimace.
“Where’s she driving from?” I asked conversationally, although it didn’t escape my notice that Kelley seemed unhappy about her mother’s impending visit.
“Ohio.”
“No way.” I reached across the table and lightly slapped her hand. “I’m from Michigan.”
“Natural enemies,” Kelley teased, referring to our home states’ bitter rivalry. In reality, though, us both being from the Midwest meant we had more in common than not.
I wanted to know more about her mother, just in case she was a person of interest in this investigation. But I had to be careful about how hard I pressed. Hopefully the light playful moment would help me get further with my next line of questioning. Again, the next to last thing I wanted to do was kick Kelley when she was down. The very last thing I wanted to do was go to jail for a crime I had no hand in committing.
“Your mom must be happy that you’re coming back home. Huh?” I ventured, licking my thumb and then pressing it into the crumbs that lay scattered on my plate.
“Yeah.” Kelley said, finally taking a proper bite of her dessert. “Like I said, she never wanted me to come in the first place. She said the only good thing my dad had ever done in his whole life was to give her me.” She smiled shyly.
“Why’d they break up? Did she ever say?”
“She didn’t want to spoil my impression of him. Kind of ironic, huh? She said just to take her at her word and be careful.”
That reminded me of rule number two of being Merlin’s familiar: Do whatever he says without asking any questions.
“I know things didn’t end well, but I think it’s really good you got the chance to meet him,” I offered with a small smile.
Kelley sniffed and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You’ll get there,” I said as if speaking from experience.
“You’re probably right.” She shrugged and leaned back in the booth, eyes closed. “It’s just still all fresh and new, and I’m not sure I can handle my mom trash-talking him before he’s even laid to rest.”
“Yeah, that’s hard.” Suddenly I got an idea that could help both of us. “Tell you what, if she gives you any trouble, come see me. Tell her we already had plans before this all happened. I can serve as a buffer.”
Kelley opened her eyes and stared at me in silent shock before saying, “Wow. Thank you, Gracie. You are being so nice.”
“You deserve a friend right now, and I’m willing to bet you need one, too.” I pushed my phone across the table toward her. “Here, enter your phone number, and I’ll text you my address.”
Gracie grabbed at it eagerly and began to type. As she did, a knock sounded on the door to the coffee shop.
I glanced over and immediately recognized the silhouette of the last person I wanted to see just then.
Officer Dash had come to pay us a visit.
12
