Page 24 of Bit's Bliss
BIT
One look, even as pixelated as the image was, and I knew the man who’d been at Eberly’s gate was the same one I saw walk into the event center two nights ago. More concerning, though, was that she knew him too.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Tiernan. My ex-fiancé.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Burke.”
My mind raced with what I knew about FAIM, the Killeens, and the two men who’d attacked me—Eddie Grogan and Clint O’Donnell. I couldn’t recall anyone with the surname Burke.
“Any idea what he might’ve wanted?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t have said this earlier, but do you think he knows something about my dad?” Her face turned ashen.
“Why wouldn’t he have called you?”
“I blocked his number.”
“Can you unblock it?”
Eberly bit her lip. “Do you think I should try to call him?”
“Maybe. I’ll let Vader, err, the sheriff, know we’ve been able to identify the guy, then see what he says.”
“This may seem like a stupid question to ask at a time like this, but why do you call him Vader?”
I leveled my gaze at her.
“What? Wait. I meant silly. That’s probably not any better.Odd?”
“I’ll take odd. If you ever heard him over the phone, you’d know.” I picked up my cell to give him an update. “Eberly’s pretty sure she knows who it is. A guy named Tiernan Burke.”
“Her former fiancé?” Vader asked.
“That’s right. Do I want to know how you knew that?”
“Not right now, you don’t,” he responded.
“Gotcha.”
“I’ll be in touch later.”
“Hang on. One more question. Should Eberly try to contact him?”
“That’s a hard no.”
“What did he say?” she asked when the call ended.
“He wants you to hold off on calling him.”
“What about the other thing you said? About not wanting to know how he knew something.”
“When I gave him the name, he knew the two of you were previously engaged.”
Her eyes opened wide. “That’s concerning.”
