necessary. I’m sure he’ll never do anything like that again.”
“You talked to him about it?” Before she could answer, he continued, “Is he the man I saw watching you come into the building this morning? I got the impression that he followed you.” Greg went on to describe Shep. “Could he be stalking you?”
He thought Shep was her old boyfriend who she’d said had sent the dead mouse. She started to say no, but sensed he wasn’t going to let this go. “You have the wrong idea,” she said. “I can promise that Shep and I now have an understanding.”
“Shep? That sounds like a dog’s name,” Greg said. “No offense.”
She had to laugh. “I said the same thing to him when I first met him. His last name is Shepherd.” She shrugged, then she clamped her lips shut, realizing she was only getting in deeper.
“He isn’t someone you dated since you went to work here?”
“No, it was a long time ago.” A very long time ago. She frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
Greg looked embarrassed. “Amanda was with me this morning. She said he wasn’t the one who’s picked you up from work in that muscle car of his.” Daniel. “She thought he might be someone new. She keeps track of these kinds of things. I have to admit, it isn’t something I ever notice.”
Amanda, of course. Charlie wondered what other things the woman had told Greg about her. “Amanda definitely has a lot of interests.”
“I wouldn’t ask about the man. It’s just that you seemed upset this morning.”
It surprised her that he’d noticed. “You know how old relationships are. Often those feelings are still there.” She meant that as a throwaway, not realizing how close to home she’d hit until she saw his expression.
“I guess the staff have been talking about my old girlfriend,” he said quietly. “I did make a fool of myself over her. And you’re right, it’s often hard to get over, especially your first real love.”
She wanted to swallow her tongue. How had they gotten on this conversation? She didn’t want to share confidences with her boss anymore than she had wanted to with his fiancée.
“Well, if you ever want to talk about it...” Greg rose, dismissing her just as a clearly drunk Amanda appeared in his doorway.
“What do you have here?” Amanda said, slurring her words as she took in the two of them.
“Running a business,” Greg said stiffly. “Nice of you to join us.”
Charlie made the fastest exit of her life, fearing another dead mouse. Or worse.
* * *
RETIRED HOMICIDE DETECTIVE Danny Mulvane offered Shep a cold can of beer and a chair at the kitchen table. He took both. Mulvane was a big man, broad-shouldered with thick legs and a belly that preceded him wherever he went. The man seemed comfortable with himself and his retirement.
“Lindy Parker,” Mulvane said with a sigh and shook his mop of graying dark hair. “Have you seen a photo of her? Beautiful girl. Had her whole life ahead of her. What a waste.”
“You talked to the neighbors at the time?”
He nodded.
“What about boyfriends?”
“She was seventeen,” Mulvane said.
“Exactly.”
“The neighbors said they’d never seen her with a boy. The mother was in a coma in the hospital, the stepfather was dead and the sister said no boyfriend, but she wasn’t the most reliable witness, even if she hadn’t been in some kind of state of shock.”
Shep was surprised by his take on Charlie but asked, “Were you the one who found her?”
Mulvane nodded. “I was in the office when the call came in. I offered to go with the new patrolman to deliver the bad news about the parents to the family. The father was dead. The mother was missing somewhere in the river. It was the last thing I wanted to tell the family. The moment the one daughter opened the door, I felt like something was wrong. You know when you just have a feeling you can’t shake. The girl... What was her name?”
“Charlie Farmington.”
“Right, the stepsister. She said Lindy was in the house, but when we called for her, she didn’t answer. I insisted we find her. Turns out she wasn’t in the house and hadn’t been for some time. When we found the back door standing open, I told her to stay and I stepped out back. Found Lindy Parker only yards from the house. She’d been brutalized. Definitely a crime of passion. I figured, like you, a boyfriend. At first.”
“At first?”
“Turned out that