Page 4 of Out to Get Her
Erin pulled it together and asked innocently, “Are they closed?”
“The fire truck and empty parking lot weren’t enough clues for you?”
A tiny zing ran through Erin.
Sass. She liked this woman already.
Too bad she couldn’t remember her.
Oh, crap.Shouldshe remember her?
Was she mistaking sass for contempt? Resentment? Unresolved grudges?
“Have a mad craving for a BLT.”
The woman’s face softened. “Well, you won’t get one here today. And I really wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
Erin eyed her curiously. “Did someone get hurt?”
Now she felt bad. Shit, she hated feeling bad for anyone in this town.
“No,” the woman said. “It’s just that Addie’s on a tear. Looking for someone to pin the accident on.”
Erin instinctively surveyed the area to see if anyone else was around looking for a scapegoat. She should have known better than to make an appearance anywhere besides her grandfather’s place.
The woman took a step closer and peered inside the building. “I reminded her to call her insurance, but she’ll be wrapping that up soon. Better if she doesn’t spot you here.”
Better for Erin, for sure. She’d wanted to slip into town unnoticed, take care of her business, and slip back out as soon as possible. Addie stirring up gossip and dropping accusations at her door would slow everything down.
But why did this woman care one way or another? Why was she on a covert mission to warn Erin about Addie?
“Sorry, I’ve been gone a while,” she said. “Do I know you?”
The woman held out her hand. Arm straight. Right hand in a tight line perpendicular to the ground. Erin was sure she could slice through metal with that hand.
“Samantha. We went to high school together. I was Samantha Keller back then.”
Erin caught something in the woman’s face that she couldn’t quite identify. Some kind of discomfort. Erin hated when she couldn’t read someone. She didn’t exactlylikepeople, but reading people was a useful skill she’d honed over the years. Easier to get exactly what you want if you know what the other person is thinking or feeling.
She shook the woman’s hand and was surprised by the soft but confident grip she received in return. She’d expected the woman to strangle her hand with that initial stance, but she’d wrapped her soft, warm hand around Erin’s and gave the gentlest of squeezes.
Wait…
That maiden name finally registered in Erin’s brain.
“Sam?”
The woman nodded.
Well, this day was just getting better and better. Of all the annoying things she could have guessed would cross her path here, she never would have guessed she’d be cornered outside a restaurant fire by a former Keller turned police officer.
The Kellers were one of the oldest and richest families in Etta. Well, rich by Etta standards. But it wasn’t the money that mattered around here as much as the power. And the Kellers had all of it. Moneyandpower.
“I swear this was not me.” Just being in this place made her defensive, and being in the presence of a Keller family cop made her downright jumpy. Even a Keller she didn’t fully remember yet.
She wished her brain would catch up quicker, but its fancy trick of blocking access to her past was a well-trained self-defense mechanism. One she was normally grateful for.
Samantha laughed. “I know. It was a total accident. Grease fire.” She aimed a thumb at the restaurant. “But you know that won’t stop her from throwing the blame your way.”
