Page 40 of Code Violation

“Well, here I am.” Was he being too hearty? “What’s up?”

“I don’t have too much to tell you, really. Just checking in.”

Nero pulled his phone away from his ear and glared at it. See? That right there was why he hated phone calls. Always so awkward.

“Any plans for spring?” he asked. “Are you going on a cruise or anything?”

A few years ago, his mom had discovered she loved the cruise life. Nero sometimes wondered if they were related—but all he had to do was look in a mirror, and yes, they were. Nero, however, was not a cruise person. The idea of being trapped on a ship on the open sea with a whole bunch of people he didn’t know sounded terrifying. But hey, the trips seemed to make his mom happy.

He wandered away from the window and back into the kitchen where Forrest was flipping through another Moleskine. An email pinged Nero’s inbox. He leaned in to see who it was from: R. Fernsby from Cooper Springs Library. Nero really wanted to know what the R stood for.

“—so you might not be able to get a hold of me for a few weeks. I’ve heard the internet isn’t reliable,” his mom said.

He’d totally missed hearing where she was heading. Hopefully, it was on a cruise and not a road trip.

“Okay, Mom, no worries,” he assured her. “I’ll try to get out there when you get back.” Did he feel bad insinuating he was somewhere other than Washington? Yes. When he did finally see her, Nero would come clean with his mom. And maybe he’d have news to share.

“Love you, honey.”

“Love you too,” he said quickly, eager to get off the phone and back to his laptop.

“Sorry,” he said to Forrest. “That was my mom. I haven’t talked to her recently.”

“You get along?”

“Yeah, she’s great. Honest. I’m just the loser son who’s been laid off and broke up with his boyfriend.”

He clicked open the email. Fernsby was merely notifying Nero that his library card had been sent out. Nice of him. The library card that he’d paid four hundred dollars for and now couldn’t use for the purpose he’d wanted it for in the first place. The fire had likely destroyed any documents stored in the mansion. If it was possible that some of the documents and old newspapers would end up salvaged, it would be months before Nero might be able to see them.

At the tail end of the email, Fernsby had added, “Regarding our conversation, I may have some information for you, but it could be nothing. I’m at the library today—Saturday—until five.”

Huh. But okay. They could use all the help they could get. Maybe R. Fernsby had remembered something after the two of them talked earlier in the week.

“Why loser?” Forrest asked. “Not the laid-off part. I get that, the economy is shit.”

“Oh, Austin,” Nero groused, taking his seat again and pondering how best to describe his ex. “Now that I look back, Austin was a mistake. Hindsight and all that. We are very different people. In the beginning, I enjoyed his utter solidness. Reliable. Safe. I should have known better since I’ve always been attracted to bad boys before. I thought it was a sign of personal growth or some nonsense. But I’ve come to realize I don’t actually care for his brand of reliability or safety.” Nero glanced across the table at Forrest. “And I’m still drawn to broody types. Austin didn’t like change, didn’t enjoy adventure. He hated that I wanted to hop in my car and just drive somewhere. He didn’t even like to go out to eat without picking the place before we left the house.”

“What about the podcast stuff?”

“Oh, you mean my ‘obsession’ with dead people? Supposedly that was the last straw for him, but in reality it was over already. What about you? Any skeletons in your closet?”

He was curious to know if Forrest had had a boyfriend or long-term partner at some point. He was so utterly single that Nero doubted it. Definitely just the wrong kind of person for him to be drawn to. Moth to flame and all that.

“Skeletons?” Forrest grimaced, probably wishing now that he hadn’t raised the subject. “I’m not good at relationships, so I don’t really do them.” He waved his hand vaguely. “In the past, I just hooked up with guys who have no connection with Cooper Springs. I’ve never been ashamed of my sexuality and anyway, most people around here seem to not care. It’s a me thing. A Forrest thing.”

“My mom would say you haven’t met the right person yet,” Nero said. “She’s a huge fan of romance books as well as the old detective novels. I haven’t told her about me and Austin yet.”

“Surely your mom wouldn’t want you to stay with someone who doesn’t make you happy?”

“No, of course not. She wants me to be happy. It’s a Nero thing, feeling like a failure.”

A half smile played on Forrest’s lips. “If it’s any help, I don’t think you’re a failure. I think you’re brave. You just picked up your life and moved forward.”

The compliment felt good but made Nero squirm a bit. “Enough about me. What do you think about going into town and seeing what Rufus might know? Looks like there’s not much in the diaries, so I don’t know if finishing them is worth it.”

“Sure, let’s do that. I’ll drive.”

“I’d like to stop by the library too. It closes at five.”

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