Tate ran his hands into the side pockets of the suitcase, searching for the match to the earring, but he pulled out a hotel keycard instead.
“He didn’t leave it in the hotel room,” Cat said. “I’ve done that a few times.”
Tate stared at the keycard and then held it up for Cat’s perusal.
“It’s for a local inn just one town over. Why on earth would Tyler be staying at a hotel when he could stay with his parents?”
“They were renovating,” Cat explained. “That’s why he was staying with Josh and Rachel.”
“His parents just started renovating. When he was here a few months ago, he was staying with them. I know because he stopped into the tavern for pizza and beer. We sat for a couple of hours and talked.”
“He specifically said he was staying with his parents?”
“He did. He said he couldn’t eat too much because his mom was making his favorite dinner. He talked about how he always ate too much of his mother’s cooking when he was staying with them and how he couldn’t stay more than a few days or he’d gain weight.”
“Maybe…maybe it’s a borrowed suitcase,” Cat suggested. “Or maybe he stayed there on a different trip. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for it.”
“You’re right,” Tate replied, tucking the keycard back in the side pocket of the suitcase. “Let’s get to work on those photos for Alexa. I have to say I feel a bit strange about going through Tyler’s phone and photos. That feels a hell of a lot more personal than a cashmere sweater.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Cat said, with a visible shudder. “What if there are nudes? I don’t want to see them.”
“I sure as hell don’t,” Tate declared. “Of my friend or any of his girlfriends. I’m not a prude, but I don’t like digging into Tyler’s life any more than I need to. It feels wrong about ten different ways. If there are any, I guess we should ask Alexa what she wants done with them. If they’re of her, of course.”
“I’m not looking forward to that conversation.Hey, we were looking through Tyler’s phone, and we saw your breasts, so like, what do you want us to do with them?Holy shit, that’s going to be awkward as hell.”
“I’m hoping since she asked for the pictures, that she knows there won’t be any,” Tate suggested.
“Poor innocent, naive girl,” Cat said with a shake of her head. “She may know that there aren’t any pictures of her, but…”
“Other women from the past,” Tate finished for her. “Shit, why did I agree to this?”
“Because you’re a nice man, and those parents are going through some hell losing their only son. You’re a good person, Tate Winslow. They trust you because of that. There aren’t many people they could ask to do this who wouldn’t gossip about whatever they found the minute they had the opportunity.”
“I’m not sure there would be anything to gossip about,” Tate replied. “At least, let’s hope not.”
Tate reached for one of the phones on the coffee table. He didn’t know which was which, so he might need to look at both of them.
“Is there a password?” Cat asked, her brows pinched together. “I always keep my phone locked.”
Tyler’s phone was open, the main screen popping up with a press of the button.
“Doesn’t look like it. If the phones we find at the bar every single night are any indication, there’s a huge swath ofthe population that doesn’t lock their phones. Only a small percentage are protected.”
“They forget their phones?”
“So many phones,” Tate said with an exaggerated sigh. “I have a box in my office filled with phones that were lost and never claimed. Really expensive ones, too. In fact, the cheaper the phone, the more likely it is that someone comes to look for it.”
“Amazing,” Cat said. “My whole life is in my phone. Or at least, it used to be. I don’t have as many things to keep track of these days.”
It was on the tip of Tate’s tongue to bring up the skin care contract, but he quelled the urge immediately. This simply wasn’t the moment, and he didn’t need to put on any extra pressure. When she made her decision, she’d let him know. Until then, he’d stay away from the topic.
Somehow, they’d make it work. They were motivated this time to stay together. When they were young, they hadn’t valued what they had. They’d thought that life was endless, and there would be something bigger and better down the road.
“I-I don’t think this is a work phone,” Tate said slowly as he thumbed through the photo gallery.
Women. Several of them. Nothing X-rated, or at least not yet, but these females clearly were close to Tyler. They had their arms around each other, and in some, they were kissing. There were dinner out pictures, beach pictures, bedtime pictures, and fun days in the city pictures.
These were not casual buddy photos. These were clearly “couple” pictures. And there were a hell of a lot of them.
