‘See you both soon’ wasn’t something that rang familiar with Thomas, and I wondered if he meant it as a message that he actually wanted to see us.
Lola gave us a quick nod before steering Thomas back into the restaurant to the main entrance and exit.
I took a sip of my white wine before saying quietly, “Since you’ve dug into Lola’s background and haven’t been able to find anything out of the ordinary, would you mind if I had Sherman give it a go?”
Amy nodded immediately. “Fresh eyes and someone who doesn’t know her might see something I missed.”
“That was my thinking,” I said.
“I still can’t find proof that she’s scamming Thomas. Nothing concrete anyway. What I do see is someone who makes very poor business decisions and keeps convincing Thomas to help her fix them.”
“That doesn’t sound encouraging.”
“It isn’t,” Amy admitted. “If he keeps signing on to things the way he has been, he’s going to end up responsible for a mountain of debt.”
“I could see debt with Danny or Josh, at least when they were young, but not Thomas. He was the one who would bail them out of debt, then charge interest on the loans he gave them. I just don’t understand why he’s letting it go this far.”
Amy sighed. “Because he thinks he’s helping someone he cares about.”
“And people in love aren’t exactly known for making careful financial decisions,” I said.
“That’s one way of putting it.”
We sat quietly for a moment.
Then Amy said thoughtfully, “The thing that bothers me most is how little there is to find about her. No real history. No long-time friends. No stories from other places she’s lived.”
“Almost like she just appeared in Willow Lake,” I said.
Then a thought struck me. “Maybe Lola isn’t who she seems to be.”
Amy scrunched her brow. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe she’s using an alias,” I suggested.
“Or she’s in witness protection,” Amy said quickly.
I smiled at her. “You just want to find an excuse, so Thomas doesn’t get hurt.”
Amy sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I can’t help it. I finally realized that Thomas is like a brother to me, and yes, I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“Who don’t you want to see get hurt?”
Amy and I both turned.
Burke Strathmore stood beside the table, appearing his usual well-put-together self.
I frowned at him. “You, for listening in on a private conversation.”
Burke pulled out a chair and sat down as if he’d been invited.
“I heard my name mentioned earlier,” he said casually.
“You did not,” I said.
“Come on. Details,” he urged playfully.
Amy looked between the two of us. “You’re not even going to pretend you weren’t eavesdropping?”
