Page 193 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

She nodded. “I’m famished.”

They ate in a smoky room, and Becca kept remarking on how delicious the pasties were. Max had forgotten the way people who didn’t live in the Upper Peninsula found pasties so unique.It was such a staple up here. The rich mixture of beef, rutabaga, potatoes, and onions combined into a savory pie with a thick folded crust.

“So tell me where you grew up,” Max said. He tried to keep his tone light and conversational.

Becca shot him a glance that told him she knew exactly what he was up to. She took a bite of her pasty and took her time about chewing.

“I grew up in Chicago. This is a world apart from there.” Maybe if he offered some background of his own, she’d be more forthcoming.

“I love shopping in Chicago,” she said. “The stores along Michigan Avenue seem endless.”

“Laura always liked it too.” He shouldn’t have said anything about Laura. Becca already thought he killed his wife. At least that was the only reason he could find for the suspicion he often found in her eyes.

“How did you meet your wife?”

“I was teaching history at the University of Chicago, and she was my assistant.”

Becca nodded. “She was quite lovely.” She colored and dropped her gaze. “From her pictures, I mean. I only knew her as a child, but even then she attracted a lot of attention.”

Max narrowed his gaze, and stared at her. He wanted to know more about the time she’d spent on the island, but he knew better than to ask. She would just clam up. This whole thing had him so perplexed he didn’t know which way was up. “Yes, she was.”

“I was raised in Wyoming,” she said. “Which seems strange to me now. I haven’t been there in nearly five years.”

At last she was opening up. “Where did you go to school?”

“Indiana University.”

“What was your major?”

“English Literature.” She didn’t meet his gaze, and he wondered if she was lying about that. It would be one place for Adam to start looking.

“Do you still keep in touch with friends there?” he probed.

She nodded. “My roommate and I got an apartment together when we graduated. She was from Chicago too.”

“Was she upset when you took off to the great north country?”

“It was good timing. She was about to go off to Europe with her parents for the summer”

“What’s her name?” He tried not to show his excitement.

Becca looked away and pointed out the window. “There’s Tate. Wonder what he’s doing here?”

Max turned to look and saw Tate talking to an older man dressed all in denim and wearing a Tigers hat. “That’s Bob Chester, the boat builder. Tate has been saying he wanted to buy a new sailboat. Guess he was serious.”

“I was under the impression Tate and Shayna had some money problems,” Becca said.

Max looked at her sharply. “You don’t miss much,” he said.

“I overheard them arguing about money.”

“I think they do okay, but Tate thinks she spends too much.”

“Does she?” She twisted her dolphin necklace around her index finger.

“Don’t most women?”

“You sound a little bitter. Was Laura a spendthrift?”

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