Page 72 of Obsession

“Have you set a date?”

“Not yet. I know five months isn’t much time to plan a wedding, but I want to be a June bride,” she said and shook her head. “It hasn’t sunk in yet that I will soon be Mrs. Luke Fereday. You’ll be my maid of honor, won’t you?”

“You know I will.” She couldn’t believe her best friend was getting married.

The kitten meowed loudly as she rubbed against Brooke’s leg. “Were we not paying enough attention to you?” she asked and picked her up. “Where did she come from?”

“She just showed up at the visitor center,” Emma said. “She sure likes you. I think you need to take her home with you.”

Brooke set the tabby on the floor. “I can’t have pets at my apartment. Will they allow that here?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Emma didn’t think she remembered a clause against pets in her lease. She would have to find out.

“Good luck.” Brooke took a folder from her backpack and handed it to Emma. “This is the report Sam wanted.”

“I’ll give it to him.” Emma laid it on the bookcase.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” her dad asked. “There’s plenty. It’s steak...”

“Sounds good,” Brooke said. “But I promised Mom I’d meet her at King’s Tavern for one of their flatbreads to celebrate. Maybe a rain check?”

“Next time I grill steaks, I’ll make sure Emma calls you,” he replied.

Brooke turned to Emma. “See you tomorrow?”

She walked with her to the door. “I probably won’t get to Mount Locust until afternoon. I need to take Suzy to the vet, and then I have a few other errands to run.”

“I’ll check after lunch and see where you are.” Brooke’s cell phone rang, and her face lit up. “It’s Luke. See you later.”

“Tell him I said congratulations!” Emma called after her.

She hummed as she took out her not-every-day china. It wasn’t anything fancy, just plain stoneware, but at least it wasn’t chipped. Then she made a quick salad.

“Putting out your good stuff, huh?” her dad said.

“It’s not every day you grill steaks for me,” she said, slipping her arm around him and squeezing his waist.

“Or that Sam Ryker comes to dinner...”

“Don’t go there.”

“He’s one of the good guys, Em,” he said, using his pet name for her. When she didn’t comment, he nodded toward her bookcase. “Is that the private investigator report you were talking about last night?”

Instead of answering, she pulled out her better silverware. Why couldn’t he be like some of the people she knew who didn’t remember anything that happened yesterday? Not only did he never forget anything, he was very good at putting two and two together. “It is,” she said reluctantly.

“I would like to read it after dinner,” he said. Her face must have shown alarm, because he added, “Your mom called this morning and told me she was going to hire another private investigator, but I’d like to see what Bell said first.”

“Why did you hire the PI in the first place? And why did you wait six months?”

“Sheriff Carter asked us to wait until he finished his investigation. He said he was actively searching for Ryan, but we finallydecided he wasn’t doing anything. She and I discussed it, and since she was with the district attorney’s office in Jackson, I told her to take the initiative and use their resources.”

Carter. Just thinking about the man clenched her stomach.Relax.Every time she thought she’d put aside her anger at the former sheriff, it reared its ugly head again. The man had Alzheimer’s.Let it go. Focus on the fact that my parents didn’t ignore Ryan after all.

“Mom didn’t say anything about hiring another investigator last night,” Emma said as she set water glasses around the table.

“I think your visit triggered the decision,” he said. “Which is fortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

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