Page 61 of Amber Gambler

A small van turned into the lot, distracting me from our plans, and a familiar woman exited the vehicle.

Except she was a good two feet taller than the last time I saw her. Must be wearing glamour today.

“Do you know Charity Moore?” I waved to her. “She’s a dendrologist.”

“Name doesn’t ring a bell.” He rubbed his jaw. “What’s a dendrologist?”

“A tree geek.”

“She’s here to see Josie?”

I neither confirmed nor denied, but he didn’t need me to when all things plants defaulted to Josie.

“I’ll leave you ladies to it then.” He jingled his keys. “When do you suggest we go visit our new friends?”

“They’ll be out hunting at night.” For drunk tourists—or careless ones—with cash, cards, or jewelry. “We should hit them early in the morning, catch them as they come home to crash for the day. We can question them about Audrey then. See if she’s there or if they know where we can find her.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.” He tipped his head. “Carter and I will pick you up in the morning.”

His gaze slid past me, swept over the shop, then traveled up to our apartments.

“I’ll be ready.” I did my best to projectnothing to see herevibes. “Thanks for checking in on me.”

“I had to see for myself you were okay,” he said, but I didn’t think he had really seen me since Lyle died.

Doing my best not to fidget, I linked my fingers at my navel. “I appreciate it.”

With a nod, he climbed into the Chevelle and let her idle while he craned his neck toward his windshield.

Curious what had caught his eye, I pivoted to find Badb on the power line, her beady gaze sharp on him.

About to ask if there was anything else he needed, I exhaled in a rush when he pulled out onto the road.

Badb wasted no time landing at my feet and hopping a circle around me, her head bobbing up and down as she examined me. I must have passed muster. I pivoted to locate her, and she was…gone.

Man, that bird could move when she set her mind to it.

I stood there, rolling my shoulders, attempting to slide off the weight of Harrow’s searching gaze.

“Ms. Talbot.”

That fast, I had forgotten Charity Moore existed, let alone that she was in our parking lot.

“Ms. Moore,” I returned the polite greeting. “How can I help you?”

“We’re here to examine the subject.” She punctuated each word with a specificity conveying how much it grated on her nerves to report to me, not that I had asked her for check-ins before she did whatever it was she did to the tree to gauge its evolution. “Have you noticed any change?”

Ah. That explained it. She wantedmeto updateher.

“I’ve had my hands full.” I really needed that ibuprofen. “I haven’t given it a second thought.”

Flaring her delicate nostrils, she acted as though I had just demanded one of her kidneys.

To feed Badb as a snack.

Behind me, the office door opened, and a coconut breeze teased my senses. “Hey, Kierce.”

“You’ve come to inspect my tree?” He cocked his head to one side. “For what reason?”

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