Page 57 of Little Shattered Dreams

“Any idea what it may have been?”

She shook her head. “After our lunch, I didn’t see or hear from her again until a few days ago, when I arrived here.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“I tried. She didn’t recognize me at first. I’ll admit, I’ve gained some weight since the last time she saw me. My hair’s a lot shorter now and a different color. Anyway, I reminded her who I was, and I assumed she’d want to catch up. She didn’t. I don’t think she was happy to see me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She kept trying to end the conversation, and when I saw her in the dining hall or anywhere around this place, she’d look the other way. It was obvious she was avoiding me.”

Quinn had come to the retreat to work through her past, her insecurities, things she wanted to let go. I bet she intended on leaving the outside world behind, and thenbam—she sees a blast from the past on day one.

“A lot of people come to this place to get away from it all, to work through things,” I said. “Even though the last time you saw each other you had a good time catching up, maybe seeing you here had triggered her in some way.”

“I’m not so sure. It may have been part of the reason, but there’s more to it.”

Margie knew something.

Something she hadn’t said.

“Is there anything about Quinn that I should know before you go?” I asked. “Anything that could help me with the investigation?”

“There isonething … her real name? It isn’t Quinn.”

CHAPTER29

“Quinn isn’t her real name?” I asked.

“Nope. I don’t think so, anyway. When I knew her, she went by Brynn.”

Interesting.

Margie stood and walked to the kitchen. “All this talking has me parched. You thirsty?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Margie gulped down a glass of water, refilled it, and returned to the sofa. She took a few sips from the glass, set it down on a coaster, and continued. “When I worked at the floral shop, she went by Brynn Fielding, and I never heard anyone call her by any other name. The surname changed because she remarried. That part makes sense. But I don’t get why she changed her first name too.”

“When did you realize she’d changed it? After you arrived here?”

“It was before, during the fancy lunch we had. When the check came, she signed it Quinn instead of Brynn. She did it fast. I’m guessing she hoped I wouldn’t notice, but I did.”

“Did you ask her about it?”

She shook her head. “I assumed I’d read it wrong. That happens with signatures sometimes. I suppose I didn’t think about it much after that until I got here and overheard her being called Quinn.”

It may have been the reason Quinn was uncomfortable seeing Margie.

But was it the only reason?

“When I saw her at the beginning of the week, I asked her why she was going by a different name,” Margie said.

“What was her answer?”

“She brushed it off by saying Quinn was a nickname she’d been called as a kid. Doesn’t that seem odd to you though? Doesn’t seem like a nickname a person would have when your first name is Brynn.”

“You’re right. That is odd. Where was the floral shop located?”

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