“Uh, yeah. I guess. So I take it you’ve been here before.”
“Yup.” He grinned.
She frowned. “You didn’t go here, did you?”
What kind of person was she that she wasn’t sure where her boyfriend went to college? Or to medical school.
“No. I couldn’t afford it. My college benefits from the Army had a cap on them. It wouldn’t have come close to covering even Yale’s undergrad tuition. But I had a buddy with rich parents. He went here. And believe me, I visited whenever I got a chance. It was only a two-hour drive from Boston.”
Boston! That’s right. He did mention living in Boston for a time.
She should really listen more closely. But to be fair, Liam didn’t usually talk about himself. Research, yes. His past, not so much. And he didn’t hang his diplomas on the wall like doctors normally did. Probably because, unlike regular doctors, all of his ‘patients’ were dead.
Besides, pretty much from the time they’d met she’d been a bit preoccupied with ghostly matters. When they weren’t actively solving some murder or another.
Her list of excuses about why she wasn’t a bad girlfriend complete, she realized Liam had gotten the bartender’s attention and was in the midst of ordering.
“I’ll have the IPA.” Liam pointed to one of the dog-shaped beer taps before glancing back at Natalie. “You want a Malbec?”
She shook her head. “With that selection of beer and those adorable doggie taps? I think I need to try one of those.”
“Make that two,” he told the bartender before he turned back to her. “And it’s not a doggie. It’s a bulldog. The Yale mascot.”
“Ah, of course,” she said, as if it mattered at a time when she was so tired, grimy, hungry and thirsty.
They collected their drafts and a menu and headed to a table.
The beer helped her relax. So did the food they ordered when that finally arrived. But there was still something nagging Natalie that prevented her from completely letting the events of today go.
She shook her head. “Where is Lionel’s computer, Liam? I mean it didn’t just up and walk away on its own.”
“Maybe he was robbed,” Liam shrugged.
Natalie shook her head. “I checked the drawers of the desk and found the user manual and the receipt for the computer. It was old. At least old in computer years. It wouldn’t have been worth much if anything at all. And if someone was that desperate, why not take the printer too?”
Liam tipped his head in agreement. “Not to mention, Mildred the guard dog was on duty, keeping an eye on his place… as long as it doesn’t interfere with her stories, of course.”
His little joke brought a small smile to her lips but it didn’t last long.
“Nat.”
She glanced up. “Yeah?”
“Are you forgetting that you can just ask Lionel about his computer?” Liam reminded. “Maybe he donated it and ordered a new one. Maybe he took it to the Geek Squad for repairs. It could be any number of things.”
Of course Liam was right. There could be plenty of explanations. But in the back of her mind she somehow felt the possible scenarios Liam had come up with weren’t it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Natalie and Harper worked on Lionel’s book during every available moment over the next week.
Early, before Natalie opened the shop for business. During the day, whenever Jules didn’t have class and could cover the sales floor. And late, after the store was closed.
Once, they even worked on it long after dark when Liam, busy in the lab, and Stone, at a meeting, wouldn’t miss them.
The only thing Natalie could say about the agony of this book deadline was that at least they were making progress. Every chapter done was a small victory. Every time Harper ticked off another task on the pre-submission checklist Natalie got another jolt of adrenaline. That feeling made it seem like all the hours, the exhaustion, the stress, the endless repetition of going over the same words over and over again, was all worth it.
But all in all, deadline-mode, as Harper called it, was hell interspersed with brief moments of drug-like highs.
