Meghan finally closed the browser and looked at Aubrey speculatively.
“Sometimes you can be so charmingly naive.”
“I am not. And Josh is dead.”
Meghan sipped her coffee. “Listen. I’ve never told you this, but years ago, I used to be married to a private investigator. If you won’t go to the cops, I could ask him to look into this for you.”
Aubrey felt her pulse begin to race. “You were married to a PI?”
Meghan shrugged. “He was always off on stakeouts trying to catch men in awkward positions so their wives could divorce them and get a bundle of cash. It was unseemly, really.”
“Still. I’m your best friend. I can’t believe you never told me.”
Meghan sighed. “It was a lifetime ago, sugar, and it didn’t end well. Besides, sharing, it’s not my way. Once something is done, it’s over, and there’s no sense looking back over your shoulder and wishing things could be different. That way lies madness.”
As soon as the words were out, Meghan winced.
Aubrey looked at the floor. “Ouch.”
“Sorry. My bad. Let’s get back to the matter at hand. Daniel and I are friends of a sort, now that we have some distance. And I have to admit, you’ve got me intrigued. Though I’m shocked that none of this came up during the initial investigation.”
“Why would it?” Aubrey asked. “Why would anyone tie an upstanding young doctor-to-be who went missing from his friend’s bachelor party to a drug dealer?”
“If the investigators were worth their salt, they would have looked at every angle.”
“But it’s such an obtuse angle, Meghan. They were looking at me. Maybe they missed it.”
“You don’t know that.”
Aubrey narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know that they did.”
“We’ll have to find out. We have to go at this from two ends.” Meghan stood and started straightening the counter. “It’s just crazy enough to make sense, though. That Josh was involved in a drug ring, got himself hurt, but got away, and now that he’s been declared dead, he’s back from the grave, looking for the insurance money.”
Aubrey felt the familiar sense of unease at the idea of the insurance payout. “Wow, Meghan. You should write novels. Josh is dead. We all know that. He can’t come back from the grave for the money.”
“When does the settlement go through?”
“Friday.”
Meghan shrugged. “It’s a jumping-off point. And you’re still planning to tell Chase what you’ve found out?”
“Yes. I think he might be able to help.”
Meghan fiddled with her cup. “I don’t know if you should.”
“Why not?”
“Isn’t that obvious, Aubrey?”
“No. It isn’t.”
“Look at this clearly, Aubrey. You have an emotional stake in the outcome. And that’s going to cloud your judgment. It looks to me like someone’s messing with you. You can’t be sure it’s not Chase. He could be behind all of this.”
“Meghan, that’s ridiculous. Chase is not involved in this.”
Meghan just nodded, curt, and Aubrey had to bite back a nasty retort. She didn’t believe that; she couldn’t. Chase was a good guy caught up in a strange situation. Instead, she said, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.”
Meghan smiled. “I can’t promise anything. But now you have me intrigued.” They heard clapping from the back of the store. “I can break this down. Go home, get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow after I’ve had a chance to talk to Daniel.”
CHAPTER 35
Aubrey left Frothy Joe’s feeling oddly optimistic. She was on the path to finding real answers about what happened to Josh.
She couldn’t believe Meghan had held out on her like this. She’d been married to a PI? Why hadn’t she offered his help with Josh before?
Because Josh was dead. And her responsibility as your friend was to help keep you sane and functioning.
And Meghan had done just that. For five years she’d been by Aubrey’s side, wiping away tears, fixing meals, taking away the empty bottles, reminding her to take her medicine.
Five years of friendship, of laughter, of sorrow. Aubrey hadn’t ever had a friend like Meghan before. No, that wasn’t true. She’d had Josh.
She was home in five minutes. The gaping hole in the brick made the already shabby house look horrible. She’d have to call the insurance company again tomorrow and see when they could get someone out to assess the damage. Shaking her head, she went inside. Winston was overjoyed to see her, licked her on the face, then went to his lead. He wanted to run. And so did she.