“It’s true,” I admitted, “that I don’t have any actual proof, but I feel like there has to be something to this,” I said.“I mean what he’s doing with that brunette and Ashley shows that he’s pretty unscrupulous.”
“Again, cheating doesn’t make you a murderer,” Brandy said.She actually rolled her eyes at me.
“I bet there’s a statistic somewhere that says how many cheaters murder or even how many murderers cheat.”Dave got out his phone to check.
Behind me, I heard the bells over the front door of the pub jingle.
“Speak of the devil,” Brandy said quietly, then pursed her lips.“Or rather, speak of the devil’s mistress.”
I turned to see who she was referring to.The brunette from dinner last night stood in the doorway.
“Mistress?”Dave asked, looking up from his phone.“Now I’m completely confused.”
I glanced back at him, smiling sympathetically.That wasn’t really an unusual state for Dave.
I tried to discreetly watch as the brunette walked up to the bar and took a seat a couple of stools away from us.Her hair, which had been long, glossy, and straight the previous evening, was now pulled up into a sloppy bun at the back of her head.A few strands hung down—not in an artful way, but rather as if she had thrown it up hastily.Her face looked pale, and even from this angle, I could see that her eyes seemed puffy and red.
Brandy and I exchanged a look.Then my friend moved down the length of the bar and asked her if she’d like a drink.
The brunette didn’t hesitate.“Give me a shot of tequila and a beer.”
Well, clearly, she wasn’t messing around.
“Sure thing,” Brandy said amiably.But as soon as she turned away from the brunette, she shot us a wide-eyed, “whoa” type of expression.It was clear the brunette was going through something.
I watched the dark-haired woman for a moment longer, then slid off my stool and walked up to her.
“Excuse me,” I said with a friendly smile.“Aren’t you one of the actors who was at the festival yesterday?”
The brunette only glanced at me before focusing back on the phone she now held.She tapped at the screen for a moment and then finally said, “Yes.I was at the festival.”Her tone was dull and disinterested.
I sat down on the stool beside her.She pressed her lips together, not disguising her annoyance that I was bothering her.I ignored my impulse to just leave her alone.
“I think I saw you at dinner as well,” I said.“At The Captain’s Inn.”
She nodded, but I wasn’t sure if that meant she remembered seeing me as well, or if it was just a response.
“I’m sorry,” I said, smiling again.“I should at least introduce myself.I’m Sophie.I own this pub.”
The brunette nodded again.Definitely just an obligatory response.And one designed to let me know she wasn’t remotely interested in a chat.
Then she surprised me by saying, “I’m Daphne.”
Brandy returned, setting a pint of beer and a shot glass in front of Daphne.She poured tequila into the shot glass.
“Would you like a lime?”she asked.
Daphne shook her head, reaching immediately for the shot glass.She threw it back, then took a swig of her beer.
“I’ll take another,” she said, sliding the glass toward Brandy.
Brandy showed no reaction as she refilled it.Daphne knocked back the second shot, banging the shot glass on the countertop once she was finished.Brandy held up the bottle of tequila, but this time, Daphne shook her head and reached for her beer.Brandy left to return the bottle to its position on the back bar.
“Are you okay?”I asked.
Daphne didn’t respond for a second.Then, she turned her head to look directly at me.
“Have you ever just dated a complete and total jerk?”
