She nodded. “Is that where she’s sitting?”
“No. It’s a safer location, and we’ll ask Fran to join us. Pull your hat down lower. The staff is expecting a celebrity. Let’s keep them guessing.” He laughed and stepped back.
By the time her feet hit the ground, Dev was by their side. Together they escorted her the short distance inside and rushed past Fran to the table.
“Stay put with Dev.” Micha wound through the tables to Fran’s location in the front. “Ms. Nicks?”
“Yes?”
“I believe you’re here to meet Layne.”
“I am.”
Now he had to hope she didn’t balk. “He won’t be coming today, but we’re representing him and would like you to join us at our table. We’ll help you meet up with him later.”
She glanced around.
“The table in the back corner is ours,” he said quickly as he thought seeing a woman at the table might help her trust him. “My friends, Devan Graham and Ava Weston, are waiting to talk to you.”
She blinked up at Micha. “But I don’t understand.”
“We’ll explain it all right away. If you want to leave once we do, no one will try to stop you.” He stepped back to encourage her to move.
“Okay.” She got up.
She took measured steps as if thinking about bolting. He followed her around wooden tables with matching chairs to the booth in the back and introduced the others. She took a seat by Dev, and Micha slid in next to Ava.
Micha told her about Layne, the death of his mother, and their role in trying to find out who might’ve wanted to kill Holly.
“Oh, wow, that’s horrible.” She clutched her hands together in a death grip on the tabletop. “And you think I can help you figure that out?”
“We’re not sure,” Ava said. “But we’re looking for anyone with a personal connection to Holly and Layne. How did you know you might have a brother?”
Carrying a pot of coffee, a young waitress with multiple facial piercings and green hair came for their order. Her interruption stalled the conversation just when it was getting good, and Micha wanted to shoo her away, but he also didn’t want to alarm Fran. They all ordered coffee, and Dev added a slice of apple pie to his order. They often teased Colin about always being hungry, but Dev came in as a close second.
“BRB with the pie.” The waitress poured the coffee and then left. She must’ve thought everyone understood BRB meant be right back, but that was an awfully big assumption on her part.
“You were just starting to tell us why you thought you had a brother,” Ava said before Micha could.
“Oh, right.” Fran frowned. “My dad has a problem with alcohol. A big problem, and he really should seek treatment. But he’s managed not to totally screw up his life so he doesn’t think he needs to go to rehab no matter how much we bug him. Anyway, one night he went on a bender, and I overheard him mumbling about his son and wondering whyshedidn’t give him the money.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “Did you ask him about it?”
“Sure, but he passed out, and I had to wait until the next morning. He denied having a son and blew it off as the gibberish of a drunk.” She bit her lip. “But I could tell he was lying. So I figured, what the heck? Do the DNA test and see if a brother was out there looking too, you know?”
“I can understand that.” Ava rested her hand on Fran’s for a moment. “His comments must’ve been a shock.”
“Yeah. You got that right.” She blinked rapidly as if trying to stem off tears. “He traveled a lot for work, and I figured he might’ve cheated on my mom. But then I didn’t get any matches on my DNA. I’d almost given up when I got your message.”
Ava nodded. “And you’re probably not happy that Layne wasn’t here to meet you. We’ll make sure he reaches out to you.”
“Good. Good.” She cupped her coffee mug, then took a big sip. “You didn’t mention Layne’s last name?”
“Boyle.” Micha watched her carefully to see if any recognition dawned.
“His mother was Holly Boyle? Really.” She fell back against the booth and her mouth dropped open. “You’re serious?”
Beyond her recognizing the name, he’d touched a nerve. “Is that a name you recognize?”
