“Now, you could give the plate to your insurance, or I could run it down for you. I know some people. Give me some time, I could get you a name and address, and if she’s running a scam on school property, we’ll pass it to police.”

“No, I want to keep this confidential for now. How about you just get me her information for starters? Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. I could just call her, talk to her. If it’s something more, I’ll get back to you.”

Greg considered Emma’s request. “All right, if that’s the way you want to go.”

“And we’ll keep this between us. Okay, Greg?”

“We’d better.” Greg chuckled and winked.

Twelve

Orange County, California
Present day

There wasn’t much time.

Saturday, Kayla and Emma had been shopping all morning and were having lunch at the new Lemon Palm Grill. After they’d ordered, Emma left their table to go to the bathroom, giving Kayla a chance to continue with a little more detective work.

Curiosity had been fluttering in the back of Kayla’s mind for days now, since that evening she’d startled Emma in the kitchen and seen how she had reacted. The way she sat, casually shielding the screen, then closing her laptop. It all looked kind of sketchy. As if she’d been caught at something.

What had Emma been looking at?

Kayla had only glimpsed a couple of words, anniversary and killers now. So in the short time she had before Emma returned to their table, Kayla picked up her phone and began searching those words online.

Again, all she found was information about anniversary gifts and killer ideas for gifts, leaving her stumped. Emma could’ve been on a site that was firewalled or accessed by subscription. Kayla didn’t even know what she was looking for.

A shadow fell over her.

Emma had returned. She nodded to the bags beside Kayla and said, “Those tops you got today are pretty, and I love those new shoes.”

“Me, too.”

The server set down their soft drinks.

“This girl time has been fun, hasn’t it?” Emma smiled.

“Yes.” Kayla looked off, then said: “Can I ask you something?”

“Absolutely.”

Kayla took a moment, thought, let out a breath.

“I got to thinking after you said your mom died in the explosion and fire.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Was it like a murder, or arson, like someone did it on purpose?”

Emma’s jaw dropped ever so slightly. “Why do you ask that?”

“I mean it just seems so horrible and people do kill people on purpose.” Kayla flushed, slightly embarrassed. “I mean, look at what my dad writes for a living. I was just wondering.”

Emma shook her head. “No, the gas line broke. It was an accident.”

“What was the name of the restaurant?”

“It was called Tony’s Diner.”

“Where in Maryland was it?”