Free Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack

and Caro that this is a police investigation, not something we should pursue. I wasn’t trying to get anything from you.” Oh, she wasn’t explaining this well, and it frustrated her. She wanted the fact that she hadn’t entered the kitchen with expectations of gathering information to offer some kind of defense, but maybe she was being unfair in trying to justify herself.
    “But you did get information from me,” Lori reminded her. “And you’re an investigator.” Her expression was hard, and Sadie continued searching for a way to make this right. There was only one way to earn back this woman’s trust—complete honesty. Come what may.
    “I used to be a private investigator,” Sadie said, dropping her shoulders in surrender to the truth. “In recent years, I’ve helped solve several investigations. Caro and Tess found the discrepancy with the photos before I got into town and came up with a plan to try to figure out why Dr. Hendricks’s car wasn’t where it should have been. When they told me about it, I told them we couldn’t interfere. Then I ended up in the kitchen with you, and you were so kind and open and ... I guess I got carried away. It began to feel important, not like a story that was so far away from me.” It wasn’t the first time Sadie had stepped over the line she herself had drawn. She feared it wouldn’t be the last.
    “So, then, now that you know my ‘take’ on things, what do you think?” Lori was still guarded, but her expression showed enough interest that Sadie thought she might be thawing a little bit.
    “I’m not sure what you mean.”
    “I told you all about my marriage and what I know of Trent’s life and disappearance. Did it change your mind about being willing to investigate?”
    “I’d be lying if I said talking to you didn’t make me feel more invested, but I still believe the police are the ones who should be finding the answers to the questions I have now. They have access to more information than I do. They see a bigger picture.” And yet Sadie also knew that the big picture often distracted people from the small details that could change everything. “But they haven’t contacted us yet. Probably tomorrow. Until then, I feel that trying to make some connections would be a good thing.”
    “The police never talked to me other than getting my alibi for that weekend—which was solid if you’re thinking I had something to do with Trent’s disappearance.”
    “I don’t think that,” Sadie said quickly. “The thought never crossed my mind.” For half a second, however, she wondered if it should have. Ex-spouses were often brimming with motive. Sadie was careful to keep any hint of those thoughts out of her own facial expression.
    Lori relaxed a little more as she regarded Sadie again. “Are you really a widow?”
    “I didn’t lie to you,” Sadie said, bristling slightly. “Everything I said was true.”
    Lori looked away for a few seconds, perhaps to gather her thoughts, and then she folded her arms over her stomach. When she looked back at Sadie it seemed as though she’d made a decision. “The police have told me nothing. Anita doesn’t talk to me about the case. Trent’s family only talks to me about the kids. Like you said before, I lost someone important, and no one seems to care.” She blinked back tears and took another breath before she continued. “Do you have any idea what a relief it was to finally have someone talk to me about this? And then find out that they had an agenda for it?”
    “I’m so sorry,” Sadie said, wishing she could go back in time and be up front with Lori from the very start of their conversation. “But I meant what I said—you have suffered a loss. You deserve the same opportunity to grieve as anyone else does.”
    Lori looked over her shoulder through the front doors, taking a deep breath that was possibly meant to help her control the emotion she was fighting. It was getting dark outside, and she stared