“Not good. Connie insisted I come out tonight. I think she’s tired of my couch.”
He nods. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Thanks.”
We sit in silence for a few moments. The sound of familiar laughter draws my attention, and I see that Connie and Rover appear to be getting along well at the bar.
“What brings you to this place?” I ask. “Or do you two like hanging out at college bars?”
He laughs. “No, Connie clued me in where you would be tonight. Are you aware she’s been trying to get you out of your apartment for a while?”
“You and Connie have been talking?”
“Little bit. It wasn’t easy tracking her down without a last name.”
“But you did.”
He grins. “I did. She’s a good friend, you know. She grilled me pretty good.”
I finish my margarita. “Well, at least I got one friend right.”
He frowns in question.
“Ted,” I explain. “I misread him.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself. From what I understand, no one knew about his dark side.”
“That’s generous of you, since it was you he tried to set up. Do you have any idea how he did it?”
“I do. Detective Marin told me—”
“Detective Marin?” I ask.
Cody reaches for my hand. “Yes, the detective you dated.”
My face warms. I don’t know why I’m embarrassed, but I am.
“He told me that the hairs of mine they found on Randy were mixed with fabric from a car. I asked Stormy for access to the videos from his house security system. He has a couple of exterior cameras that are activated with motion sensors.”
“Did you find anything?”
“I did, after two hours of watching videos. A lot of birds fly by those cameras and set them off.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, on one video you can see a man break into my car. Once the door is open, he leans in a little. Then he closes the door and turns around. That was when I saw his face.”
“Ted?”
He nods. “The police think he got the hair from the headrest of my car.”
I lean back. “That’s so…” I’m at a loss for words.
“Premeditated? Yes.” His thumb strokes the back of my hand. “Can we not talk about Ted anymore?”
“Sure.”
“I started at Morgan Thompson this week.”
My body tingles at this news. He stayed, even though I was shutting him out.
“I thought you might go back to New York.” I stare at the table, unable to meet his eyes.
