Free Collateral Damage by H. Terrell Griffin Page B

mean.”
    â€œHe came home all hopped up about what they’d been doing. He felt like he had helped some people who had no hope.”
    â€œLove life?”
    Doc chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Meredith was with the same group. Theymet during the orientation on the Mercer University campus in Macon. That blossomed into quite a romance. Took everything her parents and Julie and I could do to keep them single until they finished college.”
    â€œDid Jim ever indicate that there’d been any trouble in Laos?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI don’t know. Any tension with any of the other students. Anything that could have carried over to the present.”
    â€œI doubt it. If there was, I’m not aware of it.”
    â€œWhat about at the university? Any big issues with other students?”
    â€œI don’t know of any.”
    â€œI’d like to talk to Meredith. Is she in Atlanta?”
    â€œNo. She’s in Savannah with her parents. I can call her for you. I’m sure she’d be glad to talk.”
    â€œI think I’ll go up there. Can you set up an appointment in the next couple of days and let me know?”
    â€œSure thing, Matt. I’ll get back to you this afternoon.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    Savannah is an old city by American standards, founded in 1733 by English settlers led by General James Oglethorpe. This lovely town sits on the banks of the Savannah River and is famous for its twenty-one historic squares, small oases of peace in a bustling city. Meredith met me at a Star-bucks at the corner of Bull and East Broughton Streets about halfway between Johnson and Wright Squares.
    Meredith had called me the afternoon before, about thirty minutes after I hung up from talking with Doc. She said she was leaving on a trip with her family in a couple of days, but if I could come to Savannah, she’d meet me the next afternoon. We agreed on Starbucks at three o’clock in the afternoon. I called J.D. to let her know where I was going.
    I’d driven up from Longboat Key, up Interstates 75, 4, and 95. It’s about a seven-hour drive, a little more if you count the stop for a Big Mac. I checked into a hotel out on the interstate and drove into the city for our meeting. Savannah was more humid than Longboat Key, and I had the air-conditioning on the Explorer cranked as high as it would go.
    I wasn’t too sure about drinking hot coffee on a day like this one, but iced coffee made me irritable. I think it was the combination of caffeine and my distaste for cold coffee. Some things just need to be drunk hot. I ordered a small coffee and sat at a table that gave me a sight line to the door.
    I recognized Meredith as soon as she walked in. I’d seen her picture in the newspapers I’d found on the Internet, but they didn’t do her justice. She was a tall blonde, with shoulder-length hair, a trim figure, and a face that was still showing grief. She was wearing a pink blouse, white mid-thigh shorts, and white sandals. Her only jewelry was her wedding ring, a simple gold band.
    I stood and introduced myself, asked if I could get her a coffee. She declined in a soft voice carrying the accents of the South. I started to explain what I was trying to do and she interrupted me. “Chaz explained it to me. You’re an old friend trying to help us. I appreciate that.”
    â€œI know you talked to the police. I’ve seen the statement you gave. I’m hoping there is something that you inadvertently left out, something that will give us a lead.”
    â€œI’m willing to do anything I can to help. Whoever killed Jim ruined my life.”
    â€œChaz told me that you and Jim met in Laos.”
    â€œMacon, actually. During the orientation before we went over.”
    â€œLove at first sight?”
    She smiled. “Not really. We became buddies and then sort of drifted into something more. It seemed so gradual and I wasn’t sure it would