Page 13 of The Familiar Stranger

I was about to show her my finds when something caught my eye. I turned to get a better look at the man who’d just left the register and was leaving the shop … emptyhanded, wondering why he’d changed his mind about making a purchase.

No big deal, I supposed, but the way he carried himself, his general vibe … it reminded me of someone.

Was it the walk that seemed familiar?

The way he moved?

Who was he?

And why did it feel like I knew him?

I was so curious, part of me wanted to chase after him, think of an excuse to strike up a conversation.

My logical side retorted with,That would be a little much, Sloane. There’s, what, maybe a .02 percent chance you would know someone here at the inn?

I talked myself out of the chase and shook it off, knowing sometimes the skills that made me a good investigator also made me a real weirdo if I wasn’t careful.

I turned to say something to Maddie, but she’d vanished. A flicker of movement near the floor caught my eye—she was kneeling to pick something up.

She stood and held up a postcard, turning it toward me.

“Remember the Marshall House?” she asked.

“Sure do.” That was the place we’d stayed in Savannah, an old hotel in the Historic District. I took the card and examined it. “Someone must have dropped it. But it couldn’t have come from this place.”

“I agree. I think I’ll keep it.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, but I was no longer listening. My gaze had wandered back to the front entrance, and to my curiosity about the mysterious man.

CHAPTER11

“Tell me about the note you found,” I said to Almond.

We were standing outside, under the eaves of the Hard Body building. I couldn’t help but think how she was back at work, acting like nothing had happened. But I wasn’t being fair. I had the tendency to dive into my job when times were chaotic as well.

Almond shrugged. “There’s not much to say.”

Maddie stepped forward, hands on hips. “Are you being serious right now?”

I gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder, hoping she’d relax.

Almond’s nonchalance wasn’t sitting well with me either, but I wanted to give her a chance to talk before I jumped to any conclusions.

“If I’m being honest, y’all are starting to creep me out,” Almond said, arms folded in front of her, muscles bulging. “What happened to Harmony, it isn’t your business. It’ll never be your business. Harmony’s resting at home, and things are settling down. We don’t even want to talk about what happened. Far as we’re concerned, it’s in the past.”

She made an explosion gesture, indicating the past was,poof,gone.

The weather of late had been wet, dreary, and cold, so I slung my scarf over one shoulder. “Look, it’s not in the past. It’s still an active investigation—I know that much. I’m just trying to find out what the note said and see if I can help.”

“I get it,” Almond said. “It’s like a car wreck. You can’t help but crane your neck to see the disaster. Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay? I’ve got work to do. If you need to talk to someone, talk to the cops.”

She turned to head back inside, leaving me standing there, stewing over how rude she’d been. We hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

Before she got the chance to walk through the door, I shouted, “Almond, stop.”

I said it with full force.

She swung her head around, eyebrows raised.

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