“Near the top, I hope.” She rested her fingers on his arm and smiled.

“Very.”

“Good to know.” She removed her hand. “I’ll be following the bomb scare story until it’s resolved. If you get any inside information, I hope you’ll think of your favorite reporter.”

“Naturally.”

Grinning, she wiggled her fingers and sauntered down the street toward her car.

Once she disappeared in the crowd, he turned the other direction and picked up his pace back to the station.

A two-hour meeting with the sales folks about ad revenues wasn’t going to be the highlight of his day—but if that detective stopped by to go over the material Meg was compiling, he’d have an excuse to duck out.

His cell began to vibrate, and he pulled it out.

Alison.

His conscience pricked again.

The impulse to ignore the call was strong—but he forced himself to answer. “Hi, hon.”

“Hi.” She sounded frazzled . . . as usual these days. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“I’m getting ready to go into a meeting, but I have a minute.”

“I won’t keep you. Your mom called. She seems lonely. If you have a spare half hour, you may want to swing by after work tonight. I think she could use a lift.”

Couldn’t they all.

But stopping at the assisted living facility where his parents had lived for the past three months wouldn’t give his spirits a boost. The place was downright depressing.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Bree called too. She’s got more roommate issues.”

“That’s what comes from having a room to herself at home all these years. She’s been on campus what? Ten days?” He stopped at the corner to wait for the light to change. “She needs to give this other girl a chance, learn to accommodate.”

“I told her that. You may want to call her and reinforce my message.”

“I’ll touch base with her later this afternoon. Anything else?” A hint of impatience crept into his tone, but he didn’t attempt to mask it. After the past, pleasant hour, he wasn’t yet ready to dive back into the reality of his life.

“No. I’ll see you tonight.”

The light changed, and the crowd surged across the street. “I’ll let you know my ETA.” He shoved the phone back in his pocket.

Calls like this were why he enjoyed his one-hour escape each week with Carolyn.

And why it was so difficult to give up that pleasant reprieve from real life . . . despite the danger.

“Knock knock. Anyone home?”

At the question, Eve jerked around in the chair she’d claimed on her small deck and grabbed her teetering laptop.

Olivia sent her an apologetic look and continued across the lawn, a covered plate in her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I should have called out sooner, given all the excitement we had on Friday.”