“I see.” Apparently, the guy thought method acting would help.

  Several of the teens rolled their eyes. Then October’s arm started again.

  “Come on, Sergeant Kane! Show them how it’s done!” Ericka cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled.

  Greg hit the ball dead on. It sailed through the air toward the fence. One of the teens ran backward with glove outstretched, but it was gone.

  “Home run!” Bagger yelled louder than any of them.

  The scorekeeper changed the number on the board. Greg ran all the way around the bases to home plate and received congratulatory hand slaps. Pride swelled in Ericka’s breast. She hoped she could make him just as proud.

  Tristan was next to the plate. Three throws, three strikes, and he was out.

  Fanny was next. She hit a single. When she reached the first base, she swayed back and forth as though ready to run. Quinn was able to hit and send her to second. Then Maggie did the same.

  Ericka was up and the bases were loaded. No pressure.

  Greg came behind her and massaged her shoulders. “You’ve got this.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “No, I mean it.” He rotated her in his arms and placed his hands on either side of her face. “No matter what, it’s going to be fine.”

  “I need to tell you something.” She hadn’t told him about Joey yet. She really needed to do that.

  “Come on, lady. We aren’t getting any younger waiting on you to bat.”

  Greg turned her and patted her butt. “Get ’em girl.”

  Well, she couldn’t tell him now.

  She did a sideways grin and walked to the plate. She’d played baseball in gym at school and in the back yard of the group home. She knew how to hit, but not great or hard.

  She settled beside the plate and gripped the baseball bat.

  Greg appeared. “Too high, honey.” He moved her hands down.

  “Hey, no helping!”

  Greg snarled. “It’s a scrimmage!”

  “Whatever.” October waved at him.

  Greg whispered, “Do you know how to do this?”

  “A little.”

  “Oh, boy.”

  “I’ll wing it.”

  “Yup, wing it.” He stepped back. That earlier confidence seemed to have departed.

  She would get it back. Well, maybe.

  October dug his toe into the mound, she had no idea why. Then his arm started to wind. She watched the movement. Then it was as if the ball moved toward her in slow motion. She took her moment and swung. The crack of the ball against the bat almost sent her backward. Then there was yelling and shouting. Fanny was running toward her. Her arms were waving, and she was yelling something.

  Finally, Ericka’s ears opened, and she heard the word, “Run!”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m supposed to run!” She dropped the bat and ran as hard as she could to first base. When she got there, she stopped, but everyone looked at her.

  The first base player leaned forward. “You got a homerun. Keep running, lady.”

  She started running again, this time a little slower. Heat flushed her cheeks, and the wind stung. Tears fell from her chin as she rounded the corner. Greg was standing there with his arms open and directly behind him at the fence was Joey. He was clapping as hard as he could.

  She’d waited too long.

  Greg was about to find out her secret.

  ****

  Greg swooped Ericka up into his arms and swung her around. When he lowered her to the ground, he noted the tears that coated her eyes. He used his knuckles to wipe them away.

  “That was amazing. I knew you could do it.”

  “Hmm, are you sure?” The question appeared to be playful, with the head tilt and the half smile, but he could tell she was serious.

  He moved a strand of hair from her face and allowed his smile to broadened. “Never a doubt.”

  She laughed. A red hue flushed her cheeks. He would have continued to stare at her forever, but something at the fence line caught his eye and he peered over her head. The smile he’d just worn, morphed to a frown. “It can’t be.”

  “What?” She gripped his arm and poked her nails into his flesh.

  “It’s my mother.”

  “What?”

  He turned her around. In the parking lot was his mother and someone else. His heart hammered in his chest. That could not be who he thought it was. No way. This was not the time. If any time was not the time, it was now.

  “Who’s that with her?”

  “Nikki Post.” Could Ericka hear the feelings in those two words? The unresolved feelings.

  “You’ve never mentioned her.”

  “Nope.”

  Ericka gave him a push. “Why don’t you go say hi?”

  “Can’t. The game isn’t over.”

  He grabbed a bat and waited beside the dug out for his turn. He waved to his mother, but no other acknowledgment. What was she thinking? Why would she bring Nikki? Truthfully, what was his mother even doing here? Sure, she’d wanted to come visit and it was closer than coming to New York, but this wasn’t a good time.

  Not a good time at all.

  She hadn’t even asked! What if he’d been in the middle of a big murder investigation? Oh, yeah, he was.

  Greg took a swing. With all his pent-up rage it should have been a homerun, but it was a double. On second base he shifted from side to side.

  Quinn batted. He hit a single and Greg brought it to third base. His mother and Nikki were going crazy on the sidelines. Heat flushed his cheeks.

  Nikki.

  The prom queen.

  The valedictorian.

  The girl who got away.

  He’d joined the army, and she’d gone to college. He’d asked her to marry him, but she’d said after college. Then time separated them. He’d come home and she was engaged to someone else. He’d stayed away.

  Now here she was with his mother cheering at a game just like in the old days. His eyes darted to her hand. No ring caught the light. Did that mean she hadn’t married after all?

  Maggie batted or Tristan or someone, he wasn’t sure. Mechanically, he ran and slid into home plate. After that the game seemed to creep by. He kept praying it would end. After nine innings they lost by one run. The drama teacher reamed out the teens for barely winning. They were supposed to be the greatest team in the state, so he could see why Coach Denton would be upset. The drama teacher, oh man, he was taking his role a little too far.

  He would have scanned for scouts in the stands to see if the guy had a reason for his attitude, but there wasn’t time. His mother met him at the dugout and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Greg! That was amazing. You’ve still got it, son.”

  “Thank you.” There was that facial warmth again. He felt like a lovesick teenager. If acne popped out on his face, he was done.

  She stepped back. “Oh, where are my manners. You remember Nikki Post.”

  “I do.” He faced her. “Nikki.”

  “Greg.” She lowered her chin and let her hair fall in front of her face. She’d worn her hair long before as well. She knew that he’d always loved her long hair.

  Running his fingers through the strands…

  Smelling her hair…

  He cleared his throat hoping it would refocus his mind. “What are you guys doing here? Not that I didn’t want you to visit, but…”

  “But you didn’t want me to visit. Look, I know, but I couldn’t help it. I missed the home place. Susan came to check on things and we just came along. Plus, I knew Nikki was going to be in town. So, I thought if I came up, we could all get together.”

  “Mom—”

  “No, don’t ‘Mom’ me. You invite all your people to the house, and I’ll fix a big home cooked meal.”

  “Mom, we’re working a case.”

  “I heard. Ann Marie Hudson. Poor girl. You don’t have to stay long, just come for a bit.”

  Greg couldn’t deny his mother. Besides, she’d traveled all the way from Florida. “All right. We’ll come as soon as we’re done here.”

  “Perfect.” Mom turned and Nikki followed her.

  This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

  Quinn appeared at his elbow. “Was that Nikki Post?”

  “How did you know?”

  “You used to talk about her all the time. I’m guessing that you didn’t tell your mother that you were finally dating Ericka.”

  He swallowed. That was one thing he hadn’t gotten around to yet. And with Nikki here he didn’t know how he was going to do it now either. He ran his hands through his hair and prayed for a miracle.

  ****

  Heather cheered from the sidelines. After each cheer she went to the dugout and acted as if she needed a break. Really, she was gathering DNA. She planned to make the police’s discovery process very, very difficult.

  She gathered stuff in a small plastic bag and shoved it into her waistband.

  Chet Mahon from the dry cleaner burst out clapping when that detective lady hit a homerun. It seemed odd how excited he was.

  Ann Marie had said something was odd about the guy and his entire family. It was another mystery that Heather would need to figure out. The information might help her in her own pursuit of burying evidence. Or at least contaminating evidence.

  A smile teased her lips. She’d already arranged for Ann Marie to be cremated. It was the least she could do.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ericka followed along with the others as they climbed in separate cars and headed for the B&B. Tristan and Maggie had entered the back of Greg’s car.

  “I guess we’re taking showers and going out to Greg’s old homeplace for supper.”

  It was the happiest that Tristan had sounded in weeks. Maybe he just wanted some different food to eat. If that made him happy, then great. Then they wouldn’t lose Maggie. But if not…

  Ericka didn’t want to think about it. The family she’d started to develop was slowly being torn apart. It was a curveball she hadn’t planned for.

  Only a few moments passed before they parked. Quinn kept sneaking sideways glances at her. Every time she caught him, he would lower his gaze quickly as if trying to hide.

  Something was definitely off.

  They entered the B&B as a group and ascended to the second floor. Maggie and Tristan whispered to one another. Fanny and Quinn held hands. Greg gave her a peck on the cheek and rushed away. Ericka sighed and went to the shared room.

  In the bathroom, she showered and changed. When she came out of the bedroom, Maggie was still in the hallway whispering to Tristan. She quickly stopped when Ericka appeared at the open doorway.

  “Okay, that’s enough. No more whispers from you two. No more sad looks from Quinn. What gives?”

  Maggie sighed. “Don’t make me say.”

  “Um, I think you better. It seems like I need to be prepared for something. I don’t like surprises.”

  “This one you really won’t like.”

  Tristan slapped Maggie’s arm, and she frowned and rubbed the spot. “Tell her.”

  “It’s not my place.”

  “I would want someone to tell me, so I didn’t go in completely unprepared.”

  “Fine.” Maggie pulled Ericka next to the wall and leaned against the light-colored paneling. “Nikki Post was Greg’s old flame from high school. He proposed and she said not until after college. He came back from the military and thought she was engaged, but she wasn’t, at least I overheard her say that to his mom, Martha, and now she came and found his mother in Florida to find him.”

  “Oh.” Ericka licked her dry lips. Was it hot in there?

  “Tell her the rest.”

  “But—”

  “Maggie Shade Hart.”

  “Shade?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “Tell her.”

  “Fine, fine. Greg didn’t tell his mother that you two were dating.”

  “What?” The shriek that left Ericka made her cringe.

  The sound of a door closing down the hallway had them all turning. Greg stood there. She could smell the cologne on him from her location.

  “We ready?”

  Ericka would have run into her room and locked herself in, but it was too late. And she wanted to see how it played out. She might not like surprises, but she didn’t back down from a challenge or a fight. Now she needed to decide if Greg was worth fighting for.

  Maggie rushed into the room as Fanny was coming out. When Fanny had slipped into the room and showered, Ericka didn’t know. She’d missed the entire thing. Tristan also rushed away.

  It seemed like an eternity that she stood there with Greg in the hallway waiting, but only like fifteen minutes had passed. Quinn and Fanny kept conversation alive.

  Finally, they were all ready. They exited as they had entered. In the car, she looked out the window at the passing trees. Tears rolled down her face and fell onto the car door. Quickly, she swiped them away before anyone could see them.

  Tough girl.

  That was her.

  She’d lost everything and almost everyone, but she kept going. She was definitely not one who cried when her boyfriend didn’t tell his mother they were dating.

  But why hadn’t he told her?

  Ericka got the impression when they were in Florida that all Mrs. Kane wanted was for them to date.

  Maybe it wasn’t them in particular. Maybe anybody would do?

  “So, Nikki Post. That’s a surprise.” Quinn shifted his focus from the wheel to Greg who sat stiff in the passenger seat.

  Fanny reached forward and squeezed Quinn’s shoulder. Must be warning him to stop talking. Ericka could have told her not to bother. Quinn was a detective. He was detecting, getting to the bottom of this conspiracy. He’d been one of their strongest advocates for being a couple. This wouldn’t sit well with him.

  “It is a surprise. I haven’t seen or thought of her in about fifteen years.”

  That would have been the time that he returned from the military. Which matched what Maggie had said. And meant that Nikki could have been the girl he was always talking about on base.

  She lowered her head and studied her lap. Before she could think much more the car came to a sudden halt. A reflection on the window showed a large two-story white house with a wraparound porch. The entire place looked almost identical to the one in Florida.

  “What? How can this place be the same?” Quinn’s curiosity again.

  Bless him.

  “My grandfather used the same blueprints in Florida that he used to build this house. He said he liked it, so he did it again.”

  “Well, that’s different.” Fanny climbed out of the backseat.

  Quinn soon followed. He had his hand at the small of Fanny’s back and was walking her toward the door before Ericka could even move. Greg hadn’t moved either.

  “This is going to be awkward.”

  “Already is.”

  Greg looked straight ahead. He ran his hand through his hair. “I need to tell you something…”

  The thought stopped as the door was jerked open and Steve, Greg’s brother, reached in and pulled him out.

  “Steve? What are you doing here?”

  “Well, duh, we all came to visit.”

  “All… came… to… visit.”

  “Well, of course! And Mom couldn’t drive that whole way by herself. We just took time off, loaded up in the RV, and came home for a bit. Good to see you, man.”

  “Yeah, good to see you too.” Greg embraced his brother and gave him a pat on the back.

  Greg didn’t sound happy about the turn of events. She didn’t mind visiting his family, but the introduction of Nikki was well…

  Steve opened her door, pulled her out, and wrapped her in an embrace. “Hey, my girl!” He leaned back and gave her a high-five. “Are we ready to play some football? I heard you guys killed the young team in baseball. You didn’t win, but you came close. That’s awesome.”

  “Yeah.” Heat flushed her cheeks at the warm, unexpected welcome. He released her and she took a step back. She kind of expected Greg to be there to walk in with her, but he’d been surrounded.

  His nieces and nephew had circled the wagons.

  “Uncle Greg!”

  “Hey, guys. How are you?”

  “Happy to be in Tennessee. Not as many bugs.”

  “Not true, Lucy, it’s different bugs.”

  “Mom!” Lucy rolled her eyes at her mother, Susan, as she stepped onto the porch.

  “Well, brother, good to see you finally decided to visit us.”

  Greg opened his arms and received a hug. “It would have been quicker if I’d known you were here.”

  Susan frowned. She whispered something that Ericka couldn’t hear. Being kept in the dark looked like it was something that was going to happen from now on.

  “Come inside. Mom has been slaving in the kitchen all morning. It’s going to be yummy.”

  Greg kissed Susan’s forehead. “You know how to get me.”

  Ericka’s stomach growled, and she started to step toward the house then paused as her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, but it said unknown number. She answered just in case.

  “Hello?”

  “Ericka?”

  She knew immediately that it was Joey, and she couldn’t remember his witness protection name, so she said, “Yes?”

  “I might have some information on Ann Marie’s death, but I need you to come to the shop and come alone.”

  Ericka looked at the people in front of her. Greg had gone inside without waiting for her. Quinn had lingering back on the porch. Maybe he waited for her, or he was doing something else; either way she walked up him.

  “Quinn, I have a lead, but I need to go back to the office. Could I have the keys to the car?”

  “So, you’re not going to come in?”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t seem like they were planning for that, so I’ll just do my job and catch up with you later.”

  It sounded like sour grapes. She knew it did, but what else could she do. The warm welcome from Steve had been nice, but it hadn’t been enough to make her feel comfortable staying around.

  “I’ll tell Greg.”

  “Thanks.”