nice evening,” he said and seemed to settle in as he ordered another drink.
“You, too. Thank you for the wine.” Charlie walked out, telling herself she couldn’t let this happen again. She would keep her distance from Amanda and Greg and their problems. She already knew too much as it was.
* * *
WHEN CHARLIE CAME through the door, Shep had barely reached the apartment ahead of her. He’d seen her leaving the bar and had taken a shortcut, moving fast so he’d be there when she arrived.
He hoped she would tell him about meeting her boss at the bar. Not that it had anything to do with him—except for the fact that he needed to believe that she was being honest with him about everything else. Not that she owed him anything.
But if she would hide a relationship with her boss, then how could he trust she was telling him the truth about Lindy and the rest?
“Hi,” she said, looking exhausted. “Sorry I had to cut you off so quickly on the phone earlier. It was one of those kinds of days.”
“Not sure I know what those kinds of days are,” he said.
She slipped out of her boots before she said, “Just busy and odd. I forgot all about my best friend’s baby shower.” She shook her head, clearly disappointed in herself. “Tara. I don’t think I’ve told you about her. She and I are desk-mates. I wouldn’t be able to survive the place without her. I also forgot her present, so now I’m running late, but I decided I couldn’t go without my gift.” She started for her bedroom and stopped. “I’m sorry, earlier, you said you had good news?”
“It can wait.”
“No, tell me as long as it’s quick.”
He nodded, realizing she wasn’t going to tell him about her and Greg at the bar. He quickly related what Paul Wagner had told him. He’d been excited earlier, now not so much.
Charlie took the news without much enthusiasm either. “So Lindy had a key and let herself in the back door.”
“Which proves that you weren’t responsible. She was never truly locked out of the house. She could have come in at any time, and she did. She was still alive at that point and able to stay in the house where it was safe, but apparently she chose to go back out.”
Charlie shook her head. “She went back out to replace the key and was attacked. Shep, you’re splitting hairs. It always comes back to the fact that I locked her out. She was out there screaming and carrying on and attracted a killer. If she hadn’t been locked out...”
He held up his hands in surrender. “You weren’t responsible. I don’t know how many times I have to say that. I thought you’d be more excited about the news. I’m sorry. So tell me about your afternoon. You sounded busy even before you remembered the shower.”
Charlie went into her bedroom and came back out with a wrapped present. “I really don’t feel like getting into it. Do you mind? I don’t have time right now anyway. The good news is that I didn’t see Lindy and I’m assuming you didn’t find anything new on my doorstep?”
“No.” He now wished he’d said something about stopping by her office, seeing her with Daniel, seeing her go into the bar and her boss coming in after her. He’d waited out in the snow until she came out. Alone. When he’d seen that she was headed toward the apartment, he’d beat her home.
Shep told himself that she probably felt it was none of his business. It wasn’t, since it had nothing to do with Lindy or the past or the stalking. He reminded himself that he was only here to solve this problem for her and then it would be time for him to get back to his own life.
He watched Charlie pull on her boots to head out to her party. Then he walked to the door, pulled on his own coat and followed her, afraid of what other secrets Charlie might be keeping from him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AFTER HE SAW Charlie safely to the restaurant where the shower was being held, Shep tracked down the boy Lindy had argued with at school all those years ago.
Austin Fletcher worked as a car salesman on the west end of town. He didn’t look all that different from his senior photo in the yearbook from fifteen years ago.
He’d been a big boy. He was now a large