Cut & Run (A Rachel Scott Adventure) - By Traci Hohenstein Page 0,46

today at Madame Verdene’s place.”

“Oh, yeah. Right. I remember,” Rachel said. She put the phone on speaker so Stacy could hear the conversation.

“Melinda told me what happened to Erin. I didn’t know they had found her…um, body. It’s just all so tragic,” Alanna whispered into the phone. Rachel could hear the noise of kids playing in the background.

So much for keeping it under wraps, Rachel thought. Agent Krapek would have a fit if she knew that Melinda was going around talking about the case.

“Yes, it is,” Rachel agreed, wishing that Alanna would get around to the reason that she had called. She glanced at Stacy, who was listening intently. Rachel grabbed a notepad from her bag and hastily wrote, “Melinda’s friend,” and Stacy nodded.

“Have you found anything else about the kids?” Alanna asked.

“Not yet. We’re still searching.” Rachel pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and then wiped the sweat from her face with a pool towel. “What can I help you with?”

“I just wanted to give you my number. Check to see if I can help in any way. I was good friends with Erin as well. We all went to high school together, and now my kids are friends and classmates with Erin’s children. This is breaking all our hearts.”

“Thank you for offering to help. I didn’t realize that you went to school with Erin.”

“Yeah, well, Melinda and I were closer in high school. Erin didn’t really travel in our social circles.”

“Where did you go to school?” Rachel asked, making notes on her pad.

“We attended Sacred Heart Academy—it was a private Catholic school, very small but we still had our cliques. Erin was the outsider up until our last year.”

“I thought Melinda and Erin were good friends in high school,” Rachel said, remembering that Melinda told her that when they first met. The way she put it, they were the best of friends.

Alanna laughed. “Not really. Actually, far from it. Melinda and I were on the cheerleading squad. Erin was very shy in high school. She was what you’d call a wallflower. And kinda geeky. Glasses, braces, tall and thin. Until the summer of our senior year, when she lost the braces, got contacts, and grew some boobs. Then she became a real knockout. All the boys stood up and took notice of her.”

Rachel thought back to the conversation in which Melinda told her about growing up with Erin and how close they were. She listened as Alanna opened up about her friendship with Melinda and Erin, providing more detailed information than Melinda had ever offered.

“It wasn’t until our senior year, when Melinda and Matt broke up, that Erin starting hanging around our group,” Alanna continued.

“Wait a minute. Melinda and Matt O’Malley dated in high school?” Rachel said, incredulously. She looked at Stacy, who had a big smile on her face. They may be on to something, she thought.

Alanna sounded surprised. “You didn’t know that?” She continued without waiting for an answer from Rachel. “Yeah, Melinda and Matt were hot and heavy throughout high school, until our senior year. Then Melinda broke up with him and started dating his best friend, Jason. Erin became popular, and suddenly all the guys were hot for her. Matt won, probably because he was the best catch. Smart and handsome. Total package. He still is, right?”

“Do you have any high school yearbooks from your senior year?” Rachel asked.

“I sure do.”

Rachel looked over at Stacy, who gave her a thumbs-up.

“I’m staying over at the Hilton at Riverwalk. Would it be too much to ask you to drop it off with the concierge?” Rachel asked.

“Not a problem. I live close by. I’ll drop it off later.”

“Thanks, Alanna.” Rachel remembered something else she wanted to ask. “By the way, do you know Gavin Beckwith?”

“Sure. We’re good friends. He owns Orleans Gallery.”

“Right,” Rachel confirmed. “Were Gavin and Erin…friends?” Rachel waited for Alanna’s answer. She wanted to see if Melinda shared this secret with Alanna as well.

Alanna was silent for a moment. “I introduced Erin and Gavin at a charity function. My husband and I bought artwork from Orleans Gallery and thought it was a perfect fit for Erin to showcase her work. You know she does some fabulous work with watercolors and pencil drawings…”

Rachel wondered why Matt had never met Gavin if they all ran in the same social circles. But she didn’t want to ask more questions and possibly alert Alanna to the fact that she was suspicious of Gavin. Rachel changed the