running and then sells them and moves on.” Seeing Charlie’s concern, Amanda quickly assured her, “He isn’t planning to do that again. Not now that he has you, I’m sure. He says it’s hard to get good talent.” She shrugged. “But after we’re married, he’s going to help me start my own business, anything I want so I never have to sit behind a desk again. I want to do something where I can work from home, you know? Start my own empire. Call my own shots.”
“Do you have something in mind?” Charlie asked out of politeness.
“Not really. I like to leave my options open.”
The good news was that Amanda planned to quit her job as soon as she tied the knot. The bad news was that Greg had no idea what he was getting into. But how could the man not see it? He was a nice guy, just as she’d said, and he deserved so much better.
Charlie realized that Amanda was staring at her as if reading her thoughts. “You like him, don’t you?” Amanda asked.
“Greg?” Charlie felt herself flush at being so easy to read. “He seems to be a good boss.”
“You don’t think he’s handsome?”
“Sure, but he’s too...” She realized she was about to put her foot in her mouth but couldn’t think of how to get it out.
“Old for you?”
Yep, that had been the word she’d been planning to say. Greg was forty. Amanda was probably midthirties—not that much younger—while Charlie was twenty-nine.
“Too taken,” Charlie said as she pointedly looked at the huge diamond on the woman’s finger. “He’s in love with you. The two of you are getting married right after Christmas.”
Amanda drained the rest of her drink and licked her lips, her gaze becoming vague and distant for a moment. “Yes, we are getting married. You must think I’m a real shit for running around on him.”
Charlie couldn’t deny it. “It isn’t my place to—”
“I just wanted one last fling, you know? I plan to be married to Greg for the rest of my life. So why not enjoy myself before I vow to love him forever?”
Charlie didn’t want to answer that and was relieved when their orders arrived so she didn’t feel forced to respond. She felt guilty even dreaming about another man, not to mention that weak moment when she’d flirted with Shep. She certainly had no right to judge.
They ate in silence. The two drinks Amanda had downed seemed to have made her so mellow she was no longer interested in talking. Charlie was thankful for it.
“I really need to get back to work,” she said once they finished eating.
Amanda didn’t even look at her as she began glancing around for the waiter. Charlie assumed she was flagging him down for the check. But as she rose and excused herself, thanking Amanda for lunch even though Greg was picking up the bill, Charlie heard her order another drink.
She doubted they would be seeing Amanda the rest of the day.
* * *
SHEP WAS CURIOUS about Charlie’s stepmother. He wasn’t sure how she could be behind these Lindy sightings, but he had to find out if she knew about them. Apparently she’d never reached out to Charlie while in the hospital or searched for her afterwards that he was aware of. Whatever the judge’s thinking for asking him to look into this, Shep was going into it like he would a math problem—one step at a time. When he tried to locate Kat and came up empty, he called for help.
The judge answered on the second ring.
“You said if I needed any assistance...” Shep began. “I need to see what the police had on Lindy Parker’s death, autopsy photos, what evidence including any DNA that was recovered from the scene. Fifteen years ago, they would have saved everything, right?”
“I’ll make a call and get back to you,” the judge said with his usual efficiency.
Five minutes later, Shep’s cell rang. “Talk to a retired cop by the name of Danny Mulvane. He has agreed to give you what you need.” Landusky rattled off the man’s number.
Shep wrote it down and said, “I’m also having trouble finding the stepmother, Kat Parker Farmington.”
“I’ll see what I can find for you.”
Retired homicide detective Danny Mulvane lived in Gallatin Gateway, a town outside of Bozeman. Mulvane told him to give him an hour so he could get copies of the information Shep needed.
After Shep disconnected, he realized he was starving. He hadn’t bothered with breakfast, but now