Carol Ericson - Obsession & Eyewitness - Obsession / Eyewitness

“You’re going to check out Colin Roarke?” Michelle laughed. Amanda and her husband had separated exactly two months ago, and she spent all her time trying to make him jealous.

“And you’re coming with me, so I don’t look too obvious.”

Michelle smirked. “Yeah, wouldn’t want to look too obvious. Where is this rare specimen of hunky manhood and what’s he doing back in town? We’re the ones with the ten-year reunion this summer.”

Amanda formed a pout with her lipsticked mouth. “Too bad Colin wasn’t in our class. Maybe I could’ve snagged him instead of that loser Ryan.”

Michelle clicked her tongue feeling like a schoolmarm. “Ryan is not a loser. He’s a good cop and he loves you.”

“He cheated on me.”

“Not exactly. He sent some inappropriate emails to a woman in another state.” Michelle’s gaze darted to her closed-up laptop. Those inappropriate emails seemed to be contagious.

Amanda brushed her hands together. “Whatever. Are you coming with me or not? Colin’s at Burgers and Brews, but we’ll miss him if you dawdle.”

“Early dinner?” Michelle dropped Amanda’s sweater across the arm of a chair and checked her watch.

She really had to get those quizzes graded so she could enjoy the rest of her weekend, but she welcomed Amanda’s interruption. That email, the second in two months, had spooked her, and she didn’t relish the thought of hunkering down in her beach cottage alone as the fog pressed in on her.

“Sure. That’s a good excuse.” Amanda grabbed Michelle’s purse from the table by the window and tossed it to her.

A short drive later in Amanda’s Mercedes, they rolled into the center of town. Michelle rubbed a circle in the condensation on the window and peered outside. “You can actually see more than ten feet in front of you here, but that’s not going to last long. The fog’s on its way.”

“And I’m on my way to meet Colin.” Amanda threw her car into Park and cut the engine.

Michelle struggled into her sweater as she climbed from the car. “You never did tell me what he’s doing back in town. Visiting old friends?”

“That’s what he’s doing at Bryan’s restaurant.” Hunching forward, Amanda dabbed at her lipstick in the side mirror. “He was good friends with Bryan Sotelo, but I think he’s here on a case.”

“A case?” Michelle hugged the sweater around her body against the cool, moist air seeping into her skin. From the town grapevine, she’d heard that Colin had become an FBI agent after returning from Afghanistan to a hero’s welcome. There had been some tragedy over there involving his older brother.

“Something about Tiffany Gunderson’s accident.”

Michelle wrinkled her nose. “The FBI doesn’t investigate accidents. She fell down an elevator shaft and broke her neck. It didn’t even happen here in Coral Cove. Do they suspect foul play?”

“How am I supposed to know that? You sound exactly like my husband.” Amanda grabbed Michelle’s arm. “Let’s go before Colin leaves.”

“Hi, Ms. Girard.”

Michelle turned toward the two voices, the greeting spoken in unison. Four of her students lounged on the bench outside the local pizza place. The two girls waved, their long, skinny legs encased in short shorts and furry boots. The two boys perched on the arms of the bench, their hoods pulled up over their heads, matching teenaged smirks on their faces.

Michelle’s heart lurched for a moment before she waved and pasted on a smile. “Enjoy your weekend.”

Could one of her students be behind the annoying emails? They probably wouldn’t know her history, but their parents might. She hadn’t thought of reporting the emails to the police, but a third one might constitute harassment.

Amanda sighed. “Sorry. I forgot it was dollar night at Vinnie’s, and some of your snot-nosed students would be hanging around. Just didn’t think they’d be here this early.”

“Sydney and Maddie are nice girls. I don’t mind running into my students as long as I’m not doing something stupid.”

“You never do anything stupid, Michelle. Remember dollar nights at Vinnie’s? We just used it as an excuse to hook up with guys in the back parking lot.” Amanda clapped a hand over her mouth.

Michelle shrugged. “Yeah, I never spent a lot of time at Vinnie’s in high school.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Amanda pulled her close in a one-armed hug. “Teenagers can be so cruel.”

Cruel enough to send hurtful emails?

Laughing, Michelle returned the hug. Amanda had been one of the girls who’d shunned her in high school, but they’d become good friends since Michelle had helped Amanda set up an accounting system for her home business a few years ago.

“Nothing much has changed. Here you are hoping to hook up with Colin Roarke, except this time it’s in a restaurant, not behind it.”

As they pushed through the front door of Burgers and Brews, Amanda pinched her. “Shh.”

Not that anyone in the restaurant could hear Michelle’s comment. The chatter from the group of people in the far corner of the room drowned out the music, and the hostess had to shout above the noise.

“Table for two?”

Michelle nodded and jerked her thumb toward the noisy crowd. “What’s going on over there?”

The young hostess shrugged. “Word got out that Colin Roarke was back in town, which created a ministampede of his high school buds.”

As Michelle pulled out her chair, she glanced at the clutch of people. A tall man at its center, oddly detached amid the furor, met her gaze. For whatever reason, an electric current zapped between them, and Michelle felt it down to her toes.

She averted her gaze and dropped into her chair. Must be those football-star good looks—the broad shoulders, the square jaw. She hadn’t been immune to those attractions in high school, and now the man’s appeal hit her like a sledgehammer all over again.

After the waitress took their drink orders, Amanda propped up her menu and peeped over the top. “They’re having their own class reunion over there. Mmm-mmm, Colin looks better than ever. A few more lines on his face, but the body still looks rock hard. He’s probably older, wiser…and more experienced.”

“He looks…sad.” Michelle shot a few glances at the group, bubbling with laughter and conversation. Colin contributed a word or a smile here and there, but he seemed aloof, separate from the people around him.

“Are you crazy? That’s Colin Roarke you’re talking about—football star, war hero, FBI stud.”

The waitress delivered their drinks and Michelle blew on her hot tea. “Why was he a war hero? What did he do?”

Amanda wrapped her lips around the straw from her soda, staring unabashedly at Colin across the room. “I think you were in Europe on that sabbatical when all the news came through. Taliban forces captured Colin in Afghanistan. He escaped, but…”

Ducking behind her menu, Amanda hissed. “He’s coming.”

Colin strode past their table, a frown creasing his brow. He waved to someone behind the bar and then turned the corner to the restrooms.

“I think he noticed us.” Amanda slapped the menu against the table. “Or at least you. He kept staring over here.”

Michelle scoffed even though she’d felt a jolt when her eyes had met Colin’s. Had he felt it, too? “Aren’t you going to follow him into the bathroom?”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed and she clicked her long fingernails on the side of her glass. “That’s not a bad idea. I could stumble in there and pretend I thought it was the ladies’ room.”

The waitress took their order and apologized for the slow service. “I’m a little overwhelmed tonight.”