Page 6 of The Familiar Stranger

“I’m sorry about Kim,” Maddie said. “I can’t imagine how Henry must be feeling right now. It’s so screwed up.”

“The first thing that came to mind was whether I should stay or go, offer my support to Henry.”

“I’m surprised you’re still here, to be honest. Knowing you, I would have thought you’d left by now. I’m glad you didn’t. You need this break.”

She reached over and gave my hand a squeeze.

She was right.

I did need this break.

But the truth was, my mind wasn’t here in the present moment. It was somewhere else … on a road headed straight back to New Orleans.

CHAPTER5

In the middle of the night, I woke to the sound of sobbing. I jolted to a sitting position and turned.

“Maddie? What’s wrong?”

Her back was facing me as she sat at the edge of the bed, and she held her phone in her hand, her body quivering. She took in a deep breath. “You know Iggy, the guy in the band that I met at my niece’s wedding? We’ve dated a few times since then, whenever he’s nearby. We call and text and stuff. I-I like him a lot. And now … ”

Her sobs resumed.

I pushed her hair over her shoulder and rubbed her back. “I remember him. What’s going on?”

“He was in a car accident last night. One of his bandmates just called, and … well, they don’t know if?—”

She swiped at her cheeks, turning to face me as she threw her phone onto the comforter.

I presumed he wasn’t doing well.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’m so sorry,”

“Crazy, you know? I just talked to Iggy right before we took off on our vacation.”

I checked the clock on the nightstand. It was just before seven in the morning. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to realize Maddie had been on the phone in the first place—or that I hadn’t woken during her call. Seemed the massage had done me a solid, giving me a good night’s sleep.

I reached out, embracing her, and we fell back onto the pillows. She cried for a time and then succumbed to sleep. I folded her back under the covers and slid off the bed, slipping on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. Then I stepped into the hallway. I had some thinking to do.

I meandered through the halls until I got to the main lobby, where I sat on a rocker in front of one of the large fireplaces, embers burning hot. People were checking in and out all around me, the place abuzz, but my mind was focused on a harsh reality. Those in my inner circle always teased me about how murder had a way of finding me. Not just injury and death, butmurder. It happened so often I found myself questioning Iggy’s circumstances—whether Iggy’s car wreck had been an accident or if it had been something more. The notion was far-fetched, even for me, and it wasn’t long before I talked myself out of it.

“You’re being ridiculous, Sloane,” I mumbled.

I rose to a standing position and made a beeline for the concierge desk, determined to shift the paradigm of our vacation. Neither Kim’s death nor Iggy’s accident had anything to do with me or Maddie. We were brushed by the unfortunate, but we were not the cause of it.

Right?

I waited in line for my turn, and when I stepped up to the shiny, smiley-faced young man behind the desk, I said, “I’d like to make a reservation for two for … I’m not even sure what. What are some good activities to do around here?”

He made a few suggestions, and I chose a tour of the Fox Hollow Vineyards.

As I turned to leave, I ran straight into Almond.

Ooph!I bounced backward, trying to regain my balance as I said, “I’m so sorry.”

“No, you’re fine.” Almond reached out for my arm to help steady me. “You okay?”

I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. “Yeah. I just wasn’t watching where I was going.”

---