Page 30 of Out to Get Her
“Thanks.” Trey let out a grunt and said, “Tell that to the rest of the world.”
“People around here seem to like you.”
“That’s because I try not to burn shit down.”
Erin shook her head and laughed. Somehow, she didn’t mind Trey poking at her well-earned reputation. “Fair enough. So that’s why you stuck around?”
“It took a while to find the right meds and get my feet under me again after that.” He picked at the edge of his menu. “Samantha was the first person at the accident. She could have filed charges or some shit after I got cleaned up, but I guess she recognized I needed help. She called my mom, and they both got me admitted to the hospital. If that had happened anywhere else, I probably wouldn’t have been so lucky.”
“Yeah, I can imagine that could have been even worse for you.”
It was his turn to shrug. “Anyway, I figured I’d clear that up before you heard some wild tale about what happened.”
“Again, thanks for sharing that with me.” She wasn’t sure why, but it warmed her that he did. “People don’t usually trust me with anything.”
The server returned and took their orders. A tuna melt for Trey, and a BLT for Erin. The one Samantha had brought her the other night had been good. Worth a repeat. Even if it wasn’t quite Addie’s level of good.
“For the record,” Trey said, “you’re buying. And this isn’t the favor you owe me.”
“Noted.”
“What specifically do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with Paul, since I don’t really remember him or anyone he hung around with.”
“Probably because Paul used to be a decent guy, from what I understand. Worked offshore. Didn’t cause much trouble. Went fishing a lot when he was home.”
“He was talking about fishing when I ran into him.” She recalled the conversation she’d walked in on at the gas station. “I’m guessing his fishing buddy probably wanted to push him over the side more than once, based on what I heard.”
“Yup. That would be Richard Cole. They had the bitchiest friendship I’ve ever seen. But yeah, I’m guessing if Richard got that mad, he’d just push Paul out of the boat and drive off, like you said.”
“So probably not Richard. Got it.” She nodded. “If Paul used to be such a decent guy, what happened?”
Trey frowned. “Rig accident. Pretty bad. Couldn’t work anymore, but got worker’s comp. From what I’ve pieced together, he got hooked on pain meds. No one around here reads a damn label, and not a doctor or pharmacist warned him. Just kept prescribing and filling those prescriptions, increasing the dose when Paul said they weren’t working instead of getting him on something better.”
“Ardoin’s Pharmacy?” It was such a common last name that Erin had forgotten it happened to belong to the wealthiest family in Etta.
“That would be the one, since it’s the only one.”
“Wait a minute…” The pharmacy name flashed a memory of that badge in her mind. She’d been so enamored with that smile and those tight pants that she hadn’t put two and two together the other day. “Sam marriedtheArdoins?”
Trey nodded. “Nathan Ardoin.”
“Oh. Ew.”
“Yup. That’s pretty much what everyone thought. The guy is straight-up hot garbage.”
She remembered Nathan hanging around school events even though he’d graduated. Definitely creepy vibes. She wondered what the hell Samantha saw in that guy. She always came across as very sensible. But in a no-bullshit way, not in a ladder-climbing way. Certainly never seemed the type to be impressed by another family’s money and prestige, especially since her own family had its own wealth and power. She didn’t need Nathan for that, even if she had been under his money’s spell.
“So Nathan’s pharmacy and some shady-ass doctor got Paul hooked and basically ruined his life. Sounds like motive.”
“Yeah, but motive for Paul, if anyone.”
Erin considered that. “Maybe Paul was going to reveal that they were over-prescribing?”
“Did he seem like the investigative type to you? Or at least that he might be successful at it?”
“Maybe he stumbled onto something else?” Although she couldn’t think of anything that would have had him stumbling into her grandpa’s house.
