Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Fuck off.”
“No, thanks. What’s your plan?” He bumped Nash’s shoulder. “You do have one, right?”
“I’ve been piecing a plan together all morning. I’m getting Haisley back.”
As Nash filled Ethan in, he clicked the link Matt had sent him. Since she’d said she couldn’t do “this” with him again…maybe she could do it when he was someone else. At the very least, maybe he’d get answers.
Using the name of his childhood dog, Jasper, he went through the approval process to join Crime Solvers International. Once in the group, he scanned various cases the members were trying to solve. Not surprisingly, there were subgroups working on infamous murders—Jack the Ripper, JFK, the Black Dahlia, JonBenét Ramsey, Tupac…all the usual suspects.
Other subgroups were hard at work on more recent murders and disappearances. He glanced through a few, happy to see that a couple of their theories had been proven true. One even led to an arrest and conviction in Florida. Good for them.
“Let me get this straight.” Ethan scowled. “She’s into solving cold cases with people online, and you’re going to connect with her again through a shared love of murder?”
“No.” Nash rolled his eyes as he found the handles of all the members and started scanning for a familiar redhead. Among a few thousand people, this could take a while. “I’m going to connect with Haisley through a common interest. Of course I’ll flirt with her, too. Let her get to know me again while I regain her trust.”
“By lying to her?” Ethan shook his head. “Dude, once she finds out you’ve been chatting her up using a pseudonym, she’s not going to appreciate the subterfuge any more than she’s going to welcome you invading her online space.”
“It’ll be fine.” Nash hoped.
“Youre funeral,” Ethan quipped.
“Okay, dipshit, if you were in my shoes, what would be your smooth move?”
Ethan tossed up his hands. “Off the top of my head? I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be lying to her.”
“You don’t understand how Haisley works. She’s stubborn as the day is long, and right now she’s not speaking to me.”
“Because she doesn’t want to, and I’m guessing it’s because you screwed the pooch somewhere along the way. Figure out what you did, then try to talk to her when she’s not in a crowded bar with her girls and you’re not drunk. Maybe invite her out to dinner or—”
“I can’t invite out a woman who’s blocked my messages on every conceivable platform and pushed me away last night, so fake name it is.”
“Boy, you really pissed that girl off. What did you do?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” And that was the rub. “We didn’t fight. She just…mumbled some BS excuses, pulled back, and ran off to Cali.”
Ethan scowled. “It’s been a couple of years, but I remember that woman being really into you. I would have sworn you two were headed to the altar. And the maternity ward, the way you went at it all the time.”
“Me, too.” And a possibility that had once scared the hell out of Nash had felt like a happy eventuality—until Haisley fled. “That’s why I need to figure out what happened. And if I have to be a little underhanded…isn’t that how intel works?”
“On a job, sure. In relationships? That seems like dangerous ground, but you do you.” Ethan swallowed the last of his coffee and stood. “Since I intend to start my New Year off right, I’m going to escort my horny little sorority princess out the door, get in a workout, meet her for lunch, then bring her back here for round two. See you later.”
Nash shook his head. “See you, man.”
When Garrison disappeared into his half of the house, Nash rededicated his effort to finding Haisley among the thousands of people in the online group. Finally, he located her. At least he thought she was RedHotSavvySleuth. Her avatar wasn’t her face but a cartoon of a curvy bombshell in a trench coat, but her bio claimed she was a feisty redhead who lived in Lafayette. How many could there be in this group? Then he tracked her latest posts, noting the cases that interested her most tended to be the ones that needed attention.
That gave him an idea.
As JasperThePrivateDick, he agreed to the group rules, posted to the newbie forum, fielded welcome messages, then did a little digging on the disappearances happening at the nearby mall. Shockingly, he couldn’t find much. Finally, he asked the general forum if anyone was looking into this case. Since he claimed to live in New Orleans, he asked if anyone living locally could shed some light.
Thirty minutes later, RedHotSavvySleuth welcomed him and said she hadn’t heard of the case. But she said she’d been to that mall many times, so she’d love to hear more.
Grinning, Nash immediately slid into her DMs. “I’m coming for you, baby. Let’s connect.”