Page 39 of Healing Hearts

“Things have been better.” Patrick nodded solemnly.

Gene doubted Patrick would completely forget the nightmare of war. His friend returned home mostly physically intact, but he had to work hard to keep the horrifying memories at bay. He was glad to see less of a shadow in Patrick’s eyes.

“So, you hooking up with my favorite baker in town?”

Patrick didn’t hold back on his first question.

“Wow.” Gene didn’t expect the approach. “Is that what they taught you in the police academy? Shock the suspect into a confession?”

Patrick grinned. “Is that a confession?”

“Why are you interested? Crime must be low here if you have time to listen to gossip.”

“Is it gossip? I heard from a reliable source you spent the night at her house Sunday night, then drove her around all day the next day. Then you were spotted again last night at her place of business and drove her home.”

“It’s disturbing how many details you heard from the gossips.”

Gene was perplexed.

“There are different versions of the rumors, but I filtered most of the speculation and stuck with the simplest information.” Patrick leaned in. “From the look on your face, I gather I’m mostly right.”

Gene bit the inside of his cheek, annoyed he was that easy to read.

“Would I step on anyone’s toes if I were… y’know, interested in said baker?”

“Not that I know of,” Patrick answered. “But Amanda is beloved by many in the community, so I would tread carefully if I were you. The newest tea seems to be about trouble brewing already.”

Great, everyone knew Amanda gave him the boot last night. Damn Miss Lydia.

“I hope that’s not the only part of the gossip you focused on.”

“I heard about the accident.” Patrick shrugged. “Single car incident, no casualties except for minor injuries on Amanda’s part. The report was straightforward, unless you listened to the unsolicited commentary from Penn and his partner regarding a certain lady in blue sighting.”

“You know that’s not what happened.”

“Generally, you take these legends around the lake as a grain of salt.” Patrick sat back, giving the pretty waitress room to put down their drinks. He flashed an ‘I see you, gorgeous’ smile at her. “Thank you, Corrine.”

Gene waited until Corrine’s curious ears were out of earshot.

“Amanda’s adamant she swerved to avoid a girl running on the road—not an apparition. And she’s determined to find her.”

“Penn’s report said they searched the surrounding area but found nothing.”

“I gathered as much. Amanda and I also went back and looked the next day. We saw broken twigs, maybe some disturbed ground coverage, but that might’ve been left by the responders the night before.”

Patrick eyed Gene with curiosity now. “I got a feeling you called me for more than cheeseburgers and fries.”

Gene held his friend’s gaze. “No. I need your help to find this girl.”

thirteen

“Will you sit down? You’re giving me a headache,” Jo said, sounding exasperated.

Amanda abruptly stopped pacing in the little office she and Jo shared in Sanctuary. There was a small desk with a laptop, a built-in filing cabinet behind it where they stored hard copy records, and a yellow loveseat to brighten the windowless room.

“If you didn’t have an aneurism, you would’ve caused one by getting this upset over someone being concerned about you,” Jo added.

“Excuse me?” Amanda’s eyes widened. “He’s concerned I might be bat shit crazy.”

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