Free On Thin Ice by Linda Hall

yearbook they were also constructing a guest list. Alec’s laptop was open on the kitchen table and name by name, he was running them through his various police searchengines to see if anyone had a criminal record. It was a place to start.
    “Maybe this whole thing has been a waste of time,” Megan said.
    Alec shook his head. They were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table and he looked tired. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “It’s not a waste of time. Don’t say that, Megan. It was good for you to come. I am enjoying being with you.”
    Her heart fluttered. Megan looked at him for a long time. He was?
    “Plus it was good for you to see my parents again. I worry about my mother.”
    “She seems nervous. She dropped a glass in here. I’m afraid it was me who made her nervous. I mentioned the car accidents and perhaps I shouldn’t have.”
    Alec said, “My father told me she’s finding it more and more difficult to face reality. She’s always been like this to an extent. Growing up, I had to take care of her a lot. I still do. She only wants to hear the good about Bryan. None of the bad.”
    “I thought there was nothing bad about Bryan now.”
    He paused before answering. “He still has his challenges at times.”
    Maybe it was because she was overly tired, but her voice almost snapped when she said, “I thought everything was just great with him.”
    Alec eyes darkened for a second. “Sometimespeople don’t want to take a chance with an ex-con. He’s had a bit of trouble keeping a steady job.”
    Megan stared at him.
    Alec said quietly, “My parents don’t know this, but I’ve loaned Bryan money from time to time.”
    “Really?” Why were alarm bells going off in her head?
    “He’s my brother. Someone has to take care of him.” Alec went back to the computer and Megan flipped through the yearbook again, her thoughts tumbling around her. She said, “As soon as we find out who’s doing this, as soon as the cops find the killer, I’ll be going back to Baltimore. You won’t need to worry about me anymore.”
    “Megan, don’t say that. I don’t want you to go.”
    She gazed at him for several minutes, her heart melting. Was he being truthful with her, or would he just leave her again? She got up, turned her back to him and dug through the box filled with pictures, trophies, notebooks, artwork.
    Also on the table was Alec’s computer. As they went over the names on the wedding guest list, he would search for them online. But as much as they tried, they couldn’t come up with any names of anyone who would want to kill Sophia and Jennifer and Paul.
    Even though she’d been through it moments before, she sat back down at the far end of the table and opened up the yearbook again to the first page. And as shewandered through the book again, she realized that this was Bryan’s yearbook. All of the autograph signatures were made out to him. She ran her fingers over the pictures of Sophia and Jennifer. They had signed his yearbook and written messages to him. Megan and Bryan had dated briefly in May before they decided they would be friends only. Bryan was funny, but at times too much an actor. Often she didn’t know if it was the real Bryan talking or someone he was trying to emulate. He was funny, but she wanted someone real.
    Sophia had written, “Happy Bry! The happiest guy in the world. Let’s always be free and happy like we are today!”
    Happy and free. Megan sighed deeply.
    Alec said, “Anything jumping out at you?”
    She shook her head and yawned. She looked at Bryan’s senior picture. He was a member of the computer club and the radio control model club, she noted.
    “I’ve been looking up the guest list names online and I’m coming up with a few names that I’ll e-mail to Steve,” he said. “There are a few kids I can’t find. I also found three who have small criminal records.”
    “Really? Who?”
    “Someone named Jeffrey Brown. You remember