Page 45 of Tessa's Trust

Eddie shook his head. “Nah, not Sadie. She’d probably hide the money, but then she’d reappear. So, the question is, why? Do you think she knew something about Rudy? Do you think she skipped town with your money on purpose?”

“Well, you know her better than I do.”

“Not really,” Eddie said. “We’ve never been close. I think she just requested these dates to find someone to carry on the Brando name. I always liked her. She was a mean old broad, but...”

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “Why are you talking about her in the past tense?” This had taken a turn I didn’t want to follow. “I’m sure she’s still alive. God, I hope she’s still alive.” I meant every word.

Eddie whistled. “Who knows? That’s a lot of money. People have killed for a lot less.”

“Yeah, but who knew about it?” I asked quietly.

“Everybody,” Eddie answered. “There aren’t any secrets in that town. I don’t even live in Silverville, and I heard about it. Sadie told the family she was selling.”

That surprised me. I’d figured she would’ve kept it under wraps. “What do you mean she told the family?”

Eddie wiped sauce off his chin with his shirt, although his napkin was still in his lap. “Well, okay. To be fair, she told Hank, and then he told me. I guess maybe that’s not the whole family.”

The quiet bubbling of the fish tank behind me was starting to lose its calming effect. “Sadie told Hank?”

“Yeah.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “She adores Hank. If I had to guess, this plan of you dating all three of us was a setup. I bet she wanted me and Bobbo to put on a bad face so you fell for Hank. I mean, let’s be honest. He is the golden boy.”

I had to find Hank. If Sadie had confided in him about the sale, then perhaps he knew where she was. As far as I knew, Nick hadn’t been able to find him, and neither had Sheriff Franco. I needed to try harder. “This was a nice dinner, Eddie. Thank you.”

“No problem. You’re not my type, so don’t feel bad. I like more of the bad girl,” he said. “We’re splitting the tab, right?”

It was good to know he didn’t consider me a bad girl, although I could probably kick his ass if necessary. Our folks had taught us to fight after Anna’s early abduction. However, I nodded. “Absolutely.” Of course, we were paying separately.

The door opened, and cold air wafted in, I felt it even across the expanse. We probably had snow for quite a while longer, so the chill didn’t faze me, but I looked up to see a woman with curly black hair dressed in jeans and a white puffer coat looking around the area. I wasn’t sure why, but my instincts started to hum. Her gaze caught mine. She lowered her chin and stormed across the restaurant.

“Oh, crap,” I muttered. “Eddie?” I asked.

He turned to look and then groaned. “Oh, shit.”

I put my napkin on the table, noting Nick stiffen across the way.

“You bitch!” she yelled, coming up to me.

“All right,” I said calmly. “I need more than that. Eddie, is this your, I don’t know, girlfriend?”

“No, I’m not his girlfriend.” The woman grabbed my water glass and slammed it down on the table, breaking it. Glass shattered and landed on the floor.

“Holy crap.” I pushed away from the table. “Who are you?” I asked as Nick instantly stood over by his table. Jolene already had her phone out of her purse, glee on her face as she pointed the camera at me.

The woman shook her head. “I’m Louise Transkei. Bobbo’s fiancée. You went out with him the other day.”

“Ah, crap. How did you find me?” I knew it was an odd thing to ask at this point, but people were finding me way too easily these days.

Eddie had the grace to blanch. “I may have posted on Facebook that you and I were hooking up tonight.”

I couldn’t believe it. This guy was a complete moron.

“Listen,” I said to the woman, “Bobbo and I went on one date. That’s it. It’s over. I heard you were broken up, and I really don’t care. It was only a contractual obligation.”

“Ha. I heard you went home with him.” She came closer.

“Listen, knock it off, or you’re going to get hurt.” I had no idea if I could harm her or not, but I had been in a bar fight with an ATF agent not too long ago because of my sister, and I had held my own. Not that I wanted to get into a fight again.

“Oh, yeah?” Louise lunged for me, and I took the tackle, letting my chair fall over. We landed hard, and I rolled, landing on top of her and punching her in the jaw.

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