Page 36 of A Little Bit Whiskey
“Too early for that?” Weezer smiled.
“A little bit. Plus, a lot is going on.”
That wiped the grin right off Weezer’s face.
The last thing Tamsyn needed was to piss off anyone in Noir’s family, especially his mother. Getting into her good graces felt like nothing short of a miracle.
“We might as well dig into why we asked you to come over before Noir left the winery.” Carter sat in front of the mantel. He lifted his glass, swirling the wine, watching the liquid hug the sides. From the outside, he didn’t look like a refined man. More like rough around the edges. He always wore jeans. Even in court, unless it was a judge who required a suit, which she’d learned over the years, he hated. He liked his flannel shirts. If it was dressy, he wore a button-down. Sometimes blue, other times pink. Never white. That would be boring, according to him.
In the summertime, it was a black T-shirt. Or a collared golf shirt, but nothing flashy. He didn’t do fancy except for his truck. He liked red. For as long as she’d known him, he’d driven a red SUV or pickup. He got a new one every couple of years, stating it was one of the few things he enjoyed spending money on.
Carter River was a bit of an oxymoron. Then again, all of them were. The whole family wasn’t what one would expect. They appeared to be one thing on the outside. All tough as nails. And they were. But each one had a softness. A kindness. They were real, genuine people who cared about others, and that had always been the unexpected.
“Is this about me and Noir? Are you worried about how our relationship is going to work or look under the current circumstances?” she asked.
“No,” Carter said quickly. “We went through the wringer with Toby and Zinny. That could have turned out ten shades of bad.”
“I’ll never forget the comment she made about Officer Bob in court,” Tamsyn said.
“I forgot you were working the courthouse during that case.” Carter stretched out his legs. “Zinny certainly doesn’t pull any punches. But she and Toby survived that entire ordeal. They’re married. She’s going to legally adopt TJ. They have a child of their own. It’s all good. I’m only worried about the toll any of this will take on you and Noir. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
“So far, the worst of it’s been from idiots who aren’t strapped with the correct history. Thanks to Alison and her ridiculous reporting this morning, that’s been fixed.” While Tamsyn thought Alison had been irresponsible in her newscast and half the shit she said had nothing to do with the headlines, she had to admit, discussing the fact that Carter wasn’t her dad helped her and Noir’s cause.
“That young woman is lucky I didn’t run into her today,” Weezer said. “But I don’t want to get sidetracked with that. I need to show you something. You might have seen it before in your mother’s missing persons file.”
“Okay.” Tamsyn swallowed.
Weezer reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I should have brought this up when we were talking the day of Merlot’s wedding. But the conversation never circled back to this.”
“What is it?”
“A text your mom sent me an hour before our altercation.”
“What does it say?” Tamsyn asked.
“Why don’t you read it,” Carter said.
Weezer stretched out her arm.
Tamsyn took the paper with a shaky hand. Fred had sworn to her that everything he had was in the files.
But she knew that wasn’t true because she’d never seen the note Anna had from her mother that she shared with the Holiday Showcase committee. Fred mentioned he hadn’t entered it into evidence because it didn’t name anyone. That didn’t make sense. Fred was a rules man, and he did everything by the book.
Carter had asked if Tamsyn minded if he sent the note to a forensic friend of his to analyze the handwriting for authenticity. She’d agreed.
She trusted Carter. Of all the people in this town, he’d always proven to be levelheaded, even where his own family was concerned. Though he did some ass-backward things.
She mentioned to Fred that Carter had sent the note to be analyzed. Fred hadn’t appreciated that fact. He’d gone as far as to say he wouldn’t accept it into evidence and would run his own evaluation of the note.
That wasn’t uncommon, but if it had been any other case, Fred wouldn’t have been angered by the situation. He would have understood the independent study, done his own, and let good police work stand up in a court of law.
Elizabeth:I need to talk with you. Can you meet me in town in an hour? We need to clear the air and set things straight. Please. It’s important.
Weezer:Sure. I have to head in to pick up some things for Carter. I’ll meet you in front of Green Bean.
Tamsyn lifted her gaze. “I’ve never seen this before. It’s not in the file. Fred has never mentioned it.”
“That’s strange,” Weezer said. “I showed him my cell. He took screenshots. Printed it. Thought it would be a good idea to have it with the paperwork.”
