start something between them. It was because...
Fuck it. He didn't have to explain himself to anyone. In fact, Carl was probably just busting Ryan's balls about Mariah. He probably wasn't even looking at her at all.
Carl held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, if you say so. I was just saying that you could do worse. She's beautiful and she's always been terrific. Everyone thinks she's great."
"Listen, it's okay," Ryan said with a sigh, trying to relax. He'd been too wound up today. "I'm just feeling the pressure about this investigation. I want to do right by Brad and his family."
"You will," Carl assured him. "You're a badass cop. I tell all of my friends and co-workers about you. We're all proud as hell of you."
If only Ryan's family felt that way.
"Thanks, but I'm just doing my job. Just like you."
Chuckling, Carl shook his head. "I don't get to do anything exciting or dangerous. In fact, my life is boring as hell while you're out catching bad guys."
"It's not like it looks in the movies. Trust me. I spend a lot of my time in the office doing research."
Carl didn't look like he believed Ryan.
"So do you have any leads on what happened to Brad? Any theories?"
None that Ryan wanted to talk about so he tried to joke his way out of the question. His friends probably didn't know about the medical examiner's report yet.
"Hey, give me a break. I just got here yesterday. I haven't even unpacked yet. I have a lot of people to talk to."
His friend wasn't the pushy type so he thankfully let it go.
"Just know that we're all rooting for you. We know you'll figure out what happened to Brad."
It wouldn't be easy. Cold cases never were.
Brad, what did you do that night? What was going on in your life?
At one point, Mariah and Caroline had been close friends. During their teenage years, they'd spent the night at each other's house and talked about what their lives were going to be like when they were grown up. Caroline had wanted to get married and have kids, and so did Mariah, although in her fantasies she was also a celebrated artist.
One out of three isn't too bad. And I'm still young.
Okay, point-five out of three. I can't call myself celebrated but I do make a living at it.
After going to different universities they'd drifted apart slightly. Still friends, but not the kind that divulged deep secrets to one another. They'd mostly partied together with the rest of the group. Caroline had been dating Brad, and Mariah was with Ryan. Brad and Ryan were friends too, so they all seem to end up in the same places on a regular basis. She got along with Caroline and they'd never argued, but later when Mariah and Ryan ended things, somehow she hadn't heard from Caroline anymore.
To be honest, Caroline had started separating herself from the group after Brad's disappearance. It had been a huge surprise when she'd married Dan, but she'd been absolutely radiant at the wedding and Mariah was thrilled that she'd found love after all that had happened.
Mariah had let Daphne and Caroline do most of the talking but eventually the conversation wound around to her life and what she was doing with it.
"You and Ryan look good together," Daphne said. "Do you still feel any of the old tingles? Maybe you guys could give it another shot. You're single again."
Tingles? My heart races and my palms get sweaty. But I'll never admit it.
"We're just friends. His apartment is across the hall from mine so we shared a taxi here. It's not a big deal."
Daphne looked over Mariah's shoulder to where Ryan was deep in conversation with Carl.
"He still looks good. Even better, actually. The cop stuff is kind of...manly, too. Not like my husband who sits behind a desk all day and then plays golf on Saturdays."
Mariah wasn't sure what Ryan was doing to stay in shape but it was working well. If anything, he was in better condition than when they were in school.
"I'm not looking for a relationship right now."
Caroline frowned. "You want to be alone forever?"
"Not forever, just...for now. Relationships are a lot of work. I'm just enjoying dating and my work. I'm not looking to take care of a man."
Mariah's ex-husband had been high maintenance to say the least, and by the time they'd divorced she'd been exhausted trying to keep him happy. Eventually she'd had to admit that it was