Actually, the chances were good. Small-town living and all that. I ran into people all the time.
Sure enough,theAmanda came to the counter to retrieve her order. Dressed in a sweater with jeans, her outfit was a lot less revealing than what she’d been wearing at Morris’s celebration of life. I watched from the corner of my eye as she took a seat across from a woman dressed similarly, with shorter blond hair.
There was an open table near her, so I casually walked over and sat down. Angling myself so I was facing the counter, not the two women, I rested my elbow on the table with my hand to my chin and leaned slightly in their direction.
“It’s so weird, because I looked at his profile and I totally would’ve swiped left if I’d met him that way,” the other woman said. “But we actually had a good time.”
“That’s the problem with online dating,” Amanda said. “How can you tell anything from someone’s profile? I’m so over it.”
“You say that now, but give yourself a few months. You’ll reactivate your profile.”
“Maybe. I guess I haven’t had luck the other way, either.”
“Well…” Her friend paused. “I mean, the last guy was…you
know.”
Amanda sighed heavily. “I know. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Good, because I really don’t. Did you actually think he was going to leave her?”
“I do not want to talk about him,” Amanda snapped. The sudden change in her voice almost made me shrink away.
“I’m sorry,” the friend said, her tone sympathetic. “I know it’s been hard.”
“Theo!” the barista called.
I got up and went to the counter to get my order. As I brought the drinks back to my table, I studied the two women for a second. Amanda seemed agitated, and the way she’d snapped at her friend clearly meant it was a sore subject.
But why?
Unfortunately, they were gathering up their things to leave. When I sat down, I heard the friend say something about getting to work. A moment later, they got up and left together.
I took a sip of my coffee, mulling over what I’d heard. I’d have bet a million dollars the guy they’d been talking about was Edwin Morris. Amanda had been having an affair with a married man.
A married man who’d wound up dead.
Did Amanda have anything to do with it? Did she kill Edwin while his wife was out of town?
The plot thickened.
My mom walked in, and I had to push all thoughts of Edwin Morris aside. But man, I wanted to talk to Pen. I couldn’t wait.
With a smile, Mom sat down across from me and tucked her chin-length hair behind her ears. As always, she wore her blue-rimmed glasses, and she was dressed in jeans and what looked like one of Dad’s flannel shirts over a Squirrel Protection Squad T-shirt.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey.” She set her purse on the floor near her feet and moved her mug closer.
I could see the concern in her expression. “Did Dad talk to you?”
“He just said there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Which probably made you worry.”
She nodded and wrapped her hands around her mug. “A little. So what’s going on? Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, everything’s good. Great, as a matter of fact. I’ve been offered a job coaching at the college level.”
