Page 28 of Out to Get Her
Back home… in New Orleans.
It felt so strange to be here again. This was no longer her home, but it still had an odd familiar tug at her soul, even after all these years.
She walked a little more, then circled back to the cafe where she was meeting Trey. It wasn’t until she saw the name on the glass door that she realized this was the same place Samantha had picked up her sandwich from less than two days ago. Her heart raced as she stared at the outside of the cafe door.
Her phone rang in her bag to snap her out of her fluster.
“Hey, Zach.”
“Between dog walks and just checking on how your sleuthing is going.”
Erin felt a warm sensation run through her. She wasn’t used to anyone checking on her. Heck, none of her New Orleans friends had checked on her in three days. They’d barely spared the breath to tell her they were sorry about her grandfather. Even her roommate hadn’t really cared. In all fairness, they hardly ever spoke to each other, only exchanging polite small talk between his night shifts at the hospital.
But Zach, who she hadn’t seen or spoken to in years, had called to see how she was doing mere hours after she’d last seen him. He’d even offered his spare room when Erin had a mild panic attack over the thought of going back to her own house last night. She considered herself pretty tough, but finding a dead guy in her bathroom apparently surpassed her toughness limit.
So she’d taken him up on his offer, popped a sedative, and slept through the night, sneaking out early this morning before he’d woken up for work at the vet clinic.
“Good so far,” she lied.
In truth, she had next to nothing. All her hopes for an early exit from Etta hinged on Trey having some juicy gossip that might actually be useful. “I’m meeting a new friend for lunch to try and get the scoop on some of the Main Street folks.”
After a long pause, Zach asked, with a hint of confusion in his voice, “A new friend?”
She almost felt guilty, like she was friend-cheating on Zach. Being back here was making her feel all sorts of weirdness.
But his confusion was warranted. She hadn’t really had any friends when she lived here. It did sound odd to say she had a new one in a mere two days of being back. If anyone knew how bad she was at friendship, it was Zach.
“Sort of.” Trey wasn’t an actual friend, but she didn’t know what else to call him. “Someone I met yesterday while taking care of paperwork.”
“Been in town less than three days and you’ve already made a new friend you’re gossiping over lunch with?” After another pause, Zach laughed. “Who are you? Where’s Erin? And what did you do with her?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not replacing you. You’re my bird guy. And my friend for when I find a murder victim in my house.”
“Leave it to you to need that kind of friend,” he said. “So who’s this new person, and what kind of scoop you hoping to get out of ‘em?”
“His name’s Trey. He works at the Clerk’s office. Do you know him?”
“Erin, everyone knows everyone here.”
“Right, but you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know him. Transferred from somewhere a few years after we graduated. Seems okay, I guess.” After a brief pause, Zach added, “Don’t really know much but that he got in a bad accident or something right about after they got here.”
“What kind of accident?”
“Car. Went to the hospital a while. There was… talk.”
“Talk?”
“You know how that goes.”
Erin did know how that went. Lots of words flying around town, very little of them true.
“People said he had problems, but hell if I know what’s real or not,” Zach said. “Anyway, keeps to himself and helps out with his parents mostly.”
“Well, apparently the Clerk’s office is gossip central, so he’s going to fill me in on some town stuff. Hopefully.” She spotted Trey walking toward her. “He’s here. I’ve gotta go. Thanks for checking in on me.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “Guest room is open if you’re still freaked out later.”
