Page 52 of Little Stolen Memories

Had his tears been an act to make him seem innocent?

Or had his emotions been real?

I mulled those questions over as I turned onto his street.

Xander lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in a sage green house with a wooden exterior and a large back deck overlooking the ocean. The property alone had to have been worth a half-million dollars, I guessed, which suggested Xander had come a long way since high school.

I parked in the driveway behind a black Mercedes-Benz, walked to the front door, pressed the doorbell, and waited. From inside the house, I heard music playing. Blues music by the sounds of it.

A tall, broad-shouldered, brown-haired man answered the door, whistling to the tune of B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.” He was barefoot and dressed in a black T-shirt and black pants without a belt, which caused his pants to sag around his waist.

The man smiled at me and said, “Can I help you?”

“Are you Xander Thornton?” I asked.

“I sure am. Who might you be?”

“My name’s Georgiana Germaine. I’m a private investigator, and I am looking into a series of cold-case murders—murders I’m sure you’ll remember.”

Xander ran a hand along his chin. “Lemme guess. You’re talking about the murders out at Millie Callahan’s cabin.”

“I am.”

“I heard Cora was back in town. Is it true?”

The comment was said in a matter-of-fact manner, like he didn’t mind me knowing he was aware of her return. I wondered if he’d come to regret making such a comment after I started questioning him.

“What makes you think Cora has returned home?” I asked.

“A friend of mine told me, one of our old classmates. He saw Cora at the grocery store a couple of days back. Said he didn’t recognize her at first, but when he got a bit closer, he was sure it was Cora all right. He tried to strike up a conversation, but she didn’t seem to have any interest, and she walked away while he was still talking.”

“I wonder why.”

“I wonder why myself. She was always a bit skittish. Suppose some things never change. If you’re a private investigator, I’m guessing someone hired you to investigate the murders. Mind telling me who?”

I did mind.

I minded a lot.

It was information I wasn’t comfortable sharing—not yet.

“There are people in Cambria who still think about what happened that night at the cabin,” I said. “People who are uncomfortable knowing the murders were never solved, and the murderer hasn’t faced justice.”

“People like Cora, for example?”

He’d smirked when he said it, like he already knew she had been the one to hire me.

“I’m not the only one trying to figure out what happened to those teens all those years ago,” I said. “The detectives who worked on the case back then have just been given the green light by the chief of police to reopen the investigation too.”

Xander crossed his arms and said, “Took them long enough. When the police realized they weren’t getting anywhere with the case, they just gave up.”

“They didn’t give up.”

“I don’t know what else you’d call it. Seems like they gave up to me.”

“What matters is we’re looking into it again now. And this time, the person responsible for those murders will get what’s coming to him.”

“What makes you so sure?”

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