Page 95 of Proof

“And he gave you no inclination as to why?”

“Nope.” Luna shook her head. “This has been some kind of a train wreck day.”

“You forgot ‘dumpster fire.’ Come here, sweetcakes.” Gail pulled open the covers and patted the bed.

“I can’t. Sorry. I have to pull it together.” She continued to pace.

Several minutes later, headlights flashed across the window, and they could hear the engine of a car come to a stop. Luna was trembling uncontrollably. Gail got up and put a robe around her friend. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so. I can’t deal with any more shocking news.” The two padded to the front door, with Max following close behind.

Luna opened the door. Gaines did a double take. “So it is you.”

“Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?”

He kept staring. Then she realized he hadn’t seen her with her new hairstyle. “My hair!”

“And the glasses.” He scrutinized her.

Gail jumped in. “Come. Let’s sit down.”

“Marshal Christopher Gaines.” He nodded at Gail.

“Yes, I figured.”

“Apologies for the intrusion, Gail, but I need to speak to Luna in private. If you don’t mind.” Chris’s voice was steady and very official.

“Of course.” Gail showed them out to the patio. The air had cooled down a bit, and it was comfortable enough for a conversation, provided the conversation didn’t turn heated.

“I’ll get you some water.” Gail could see Chris’s face was red, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the heat or anger.

Luna pulled out a chair and slowly lowered herself into it. She was in flight mode. All she wanted to do was run. Run away. Run anywhere.

Chris sat across from her. He hadn’t kissed her or touched her since his arrival. He was all business. They sat in silence while Gail brought a pitcher of ice water and some glasses.

When Gail was no longer within earshot, Luna asked, “Chris, what is going on?” She was almost pleading.

“Why don’t you tell me?” he asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. Really, Chris. Please tell me what is going on.”

He pulled out the laptop and opened it. He made a few clicks and turned it to face her. “Is this you in the photo?”

Luna’s jaw dropped. She pulled the laptop closer. “Yes. It’s me. Where did you get this?”

“Never mind where I got it. What were you doing there?”

“I thought I recognized someone from college.”

“How did you come upon Canyon Farms?” He was interrogating her now.

“Yesterday, we were at the market. Well, actually, I thought I spotted him a couple of times these past few days. Then when I was waiting in the car, I saw him again.” She got up. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

She dashed into the bedroom, grabbed her phone, and returned to where they had been sitting. “Remember when you were over at my place and you saw the Kentucky Derby program?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“When I tried to reach out to my friend Brendan, he didn’t respond, and none of his friends had heard from him, either. Then Anthony sent me a text with Brendan’s postage stamp-sized obituary.” She scrolled through her phone and showed him the announcement. “As you can see, there were no details.” Then she scrolled to Eileen’s obit and handed him her phone. “It was all very odd. We looked into their deaths further and found a short blurb in the St. Kitts-Nevis Observer about an American couple killed in a boating accident.”

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