Page 59 of Little Bitter Truths
“Mia?”
“Yes.I’ve seen the message.He said he still missed her, still thought of her every day.”
I walked back to my car, allowing the weight of what she’d just said to settle over me.
One by one, the names of my suspects had begun to fall away.
Karl.
Renee.
Christian.
Every path I followed seemed to split in two directions, one promising answers.The other leading nowhere.With each passing day, the truth felt harder to find, like it was just beyond my grasp.
24
The front door opened before I had a chance to knock.Mia had been expecting me, and she wasn’t alone.A man stood just behind her.He was well over six feet tall and neatly dressed.He looked like someone who took pride in his appearance.
“Hey, Mia,” I said.
“Hey,” she replied, stepping aside.“Come on in.”
As I stepped inside, she turned, gesturing toward the man.“This is Simon Sullivan, the man I told you about.The one I met at the conference.”
He smiled, extending his hand.“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
His grip was firm.
“All good things, I hope,” I said.
He nodded.“She said you’re already making progress on her sister’s case, which is impressive.”
“I’m doing my best.”
He gave a slight laugh, like he appreciated my honest answer.
“Mia told me about your theory regarding the killer’s motive,” he said.“If Wren was killed by mistake then I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.I don’t think she should be alone until we know who’s after her and what they want.Which is why I’m here.”
Untilweknow who’s after her?
He’d said it in a way that was protective.Almosttooprotective.
As far as I was concerned, there was nowe.
They were just starting to get to know each other.
I wasn’t sure why it bothered me, but it did.
“I was just on my way out,” he said, turning back to Mia.“I’ll come by later and bring dinner, like we talked about.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
He smiled, tipping his head at me as he headed out the door, and I turned, watching him walk down the path, noticing the confident and controlled manner in which he carried himself.
The door closed behind him, and Mia let out a deep breath.“I’m sorry.When you texted me, I meant to let you know he was here, and then we got to talking, and I lost track of time.”
“When did he arrive?”
