Page 74 of Tessa's Trust

“I’m aware,” Anna replied.

I wasn’t so sure. If anybody could find Sadie, I thought it was my grandmother, especially since Sadie seemed to have her share of secrets. Somebody in Silverville had to know where she might’ve gone.

We were all quiet the rest of the way home, and Clark drove me to The Clumsy Penguin to pick up my SUV. It was now around eleven, and most people had left.

“How was your date?” Anna asked.

“It was fine until the sheriff showed up,” I admitted.

“Are you going to see Hank again?” Clark asked.

One thing I always liked about Clark was that he enjoyed gossiping as much as Anna did. I thought it was kind of cute. He was a good partner for her and seemed to be an even better friend.

“No,” I murmured. I hadn’t had a chance to tell Anna about my wild night with Nick, and I wasn’t going to do it in front of Clark. “I’ll see you guys later. Thanks for coming over. Definitely send me a bill for your services.”

Clark snorted, and Anna rolled her eyes. “We are not going to bill you.”

“Yes, you are. I charged you for food at Smiley’s,” I said.

“You don’t own Smiley’s,” Anna contested.

That’s what she thought. Yet another thing I’d go into detail about the next time I saw her. “You guys have a good night.”

I shut the back door and hurried over to my snow-covered Rogue. Jumping inside, I ignited the engine, turned on the heat, and let it take care of all the snow on the windows. As I sat there, I thought through my options. They weren’t good. I would be arrested on New Year’s Day if I didn’t figure out who killed Rudy Brando. Oh, I figured the sheriff would get there. But perhaps with Nonna’s help, I could at least find out where Sadie had gone. Biting my lip and trying to think of the best avenue, I drove slowly toward Timber City around the lake, taking a detour to the hospital.

I was sure visiting hours were over hours ago, but I stopped and jumped out of my vehicle, sliding across the icy parking lot to reach the emergency room and the reception desk. I paused at seeing Kelsey Walker behind the desk.

“Hey, Kelsey,” I greeted. “What are you doing here?”

She looked up and stacked a neat pile of papers in the corner. “After the funeral home closed down, or rather after my sister went to jail and my family kicked me out, I got a job here. I guess they figured I wouldn’t mind seeing bloody messes since I had worked at the funeral home.”

“I didn’t know that.”

She looked pretty in green scrubs that somehow brought out the blue in her eyes. She leaned forward. “I saw Sheriff Franco take you out of The Clumsy Penguin. Were you arrested?”

“No,” I said. “He just had more questions for me about Rudy Brando’s death.” I cocked my head to the side. “Did you and Bobbo have a good date?”

“We did,” she affirmed. “I wanted to get the night off work, but I couldn’t, so he brought me here after. We played darts and had dinner. He’s the nicest guy. I owe you big time for setting us up.”

Her blond hair was up in a ponytail, and she looked younger and brighter than I’d seen her in a long time. We’d both had the misfortune of dating Danny Pucci, and I was glad to see her happy.

“I’m glad it’s working out. Just go slow, okay?”

“Oh, I know. I learned that the hard way,” she said, tapping her nails on the desk.

I studied her for a moment. “Kelsey, what were you doing over in Silverville the other night?”

She lived in Timber City and had, I thought, for her entire life. I remembered playing volleyball against her and a couple of her sisters in high school, but they’d never lived across the mountain pass.

A pretty peach wandered across her cheekbones. “I went over for the speed dating?” She made it sound like a question.

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”

Her blush intensified. “Okay. No, I’m not kidding. I’ve been really lonely, and there’s nothing going on here. I read about the speed dating happening over in Silverville and figured, why not go over there for the night?” She looked down at the ground. “I know. It’s pathetic.”

“I was there, too,” I reminded her. “Sure, I ended up on a date first, but—”

“Yeah, Bobbo made you.”

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