Charlie hesitated only a moment. “I had a crush on you, too, Andy... Good to see you,” she said and stepped toward the waiting vehicle.
Joe chatted on about the baby and Tara as he drove them to the hospital. Charlie hated that she could only half listen.
Lindy. That old anger had surfaced in a flash when Andy told her about his crush. What a manipulative, hateful liar her stepsister had been. And now she was back.
SHEP WATCHED THE exchange between Charlie and the man who’d stopped her on the sidewalk. It seemed friendly enough. Shep pulled out his cell phone and snapped several photos of the man—just in case he had to identify him. The man could have been asking questions for all he knew. Or he could be a friend. Either way, Charlie hadn’t looked like she needed Shep’s help.
Once she was safely inside Tara’s husband’s car, Shep got into his pickup and headed for the gaming company where Jason Harper worked.
He’d called the number Mulvane had given him. It went straight to voice mail. Even though it was Saturday, Shep had tried his work number. A receptionist told him that Jason was working but not in his office. Did he want to leave a message? He’d declined.
Shep found the video games office in a brightly painted old industrial building near the tracks—not all that far from where Lindy had been murdered. The place looked trendy. Most of the vehicles parked in the lot were equipped with racks on top for skis, snowboards, kayaks or canoes. Bozeman was an outdoorsy kind of town and the people who lived here reflected it. Nor was he surprised to see posted on the front door that employees were allowed to bring their dogs to work with them.
After speaking with the same receptionist he’d spoken to on the phone, he was told to take a seat. Moments later, Jason came out, followed by a large yellow Lab. He wore shorts with long underwear under them and a long-sleeved T-shirt advertising a local business that sold drug paraphernalia.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” Shep asked as he took in the young man. Jason’s hair was long and in blond dreads that he’d pulled back into a low ponytail. He looked fit and tan even though it was December. His brown eyes had narrowed at the sight of Shep, but he looked more interested than suspicious.
“Sure, we can go in the conference room. It’s kind of crazy here today. We’re having a holiday party later.” He led the way down the hall, the dog following. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Shep declined. Jason got himself an energy drink out of a refrigerator at one end of the room and then ushered them into comfortable lounge chairs. There was no conference table. Instead the area looked like a nice living room.
It wasn’t until they were seated, that Shep asked, “Why are you looking into Lindy Parker’s murder?”
* * *
FORTUNATELY, CHARLIE didn’t see Amanda at the hospital, but the woman had been there. A huge white teddy bear sat in one corner of Tara’s room. Joe left the two of them alone to go get some things for Tara.
“Amanda?” Charlie said, blinking at the giant bear staring back at her.
“Who else?” Tara laughed. “She had to outdo everyone else. She even asked me what everyone had gotten the baby so far. The woman’s nuts.”
“You don’t have to tell me. She stopped by my apartment after I left here.”
“You have to be kidding.”
Charlie shook her head. “She accused me of being after Greg.”
Tara rolled her eyes.
“You should have seen her face when she met my...old friend.”
Tara grinned. “I heard. She said he’s gorgeous, especially wearing nothing but a towel and water droplets running down his incredible rock-hard six-pack. It sounds like Amanda couldn’t take her eyes off him.”
Charlie felt her cheeks flush. “Of course, she would have told you.”
“Is it true? He came out of the bedroom from the shower wearing nothing but a towel?”
“He was trying to make a point.”
Tara laughed. “Oh yeah? Is he really as hot as she said he was?”
Charlie sighed. “Hotter.”
“Girl, I can’t wait to hear this story, but what happened with Daniel?”
Charlie moved to the bassinet to look down at her namesake. “I think I broke up with him. I don’t know. It’s all so confusing.”
“What a terrible problem you have.”
Charlie admired the sleeping baby for a moment, before she turned back to Tara. “Joke all you want, but it is confusing. Daniel’s here and now. Shep is...going away after the holiday and yet there are old feelings.”
“Does he realize Shep sounds like a dog’s name?”
Charlie grinned. “That’s what Greg said.”
“Greg knows about him?”
Charlie looked to the heavens. “By now everyone in the county knows.”
* * *
JASON’S EYES WIDENED at the question. He took a sip of his drink and for a moment, Shep wondered if the man was going to respond. So he asked it again.
“Why are you looking into Lindy Parker’s murder?”
Jason nodded as if to say he’d heard the question the first time. “And you are who exactly?”
“I’m a friend of Charlie’s. Your roommate’s former girlfriend.”
His brow shot up at the word former. Apparently he hadn’t heard about the breakup last night. Or maybe Daniel thought it was temporary.
“What is your interest?” Shep continued. “Or did Daniel put you up to it?”
Jason chuckled and leaned back as if to get comfortable. “Daniel? Not likely. He had no interest in Charlie’s past. Or really all that much in her. I, on the other hand, was curious about her.”
“It would have taken some digging to find out about her stepsister’s murder since they didn’t share the same last name.”
The young man looked nonplussed. “I’m not sure how much you know about me, but I’m a researcher here. I like digging up information about all kinds of things. I get curious so I check them out.”
“Did you tell Daniel you were ‘checking out’ his girlfriend? Did you tell him what you learned?”
“Why bother? Like I said, he had no interest. To him, Charlie was just a cute girl to date for a while.”
“For a while?”
“I’ve been his roommate for almost a year. Everything with Daniel is temporary, especially women. I’m sorry, but your friend was no different.”