Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [21]
“How long has it been since you’ve heard from Astrid?” Logan asked Fiona.
“It was about ten years ago, before our thirtieth high school reunion. She e-mailed me out of the blue and asked if I was going to attend. I said no and asked how she was doing, but she never replied.”
Ten years ago. Megan had been eighteen. The same age of her mother in those photos.
“Do you have her e-mail address?” Megan immediately asked.
Fiona shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t. That computer crashed, taking my address book with it. But I remember it was from someplace in Europe, I think. Maybe she was just traveling there or something. I do know that she did not come to the reunion. I can check and see if anyone else from school has heard from her, but I wouldn’t count on it. She wasn’t really a people person.”
“I’d appreciate you asking around, thanks. Here’s my e-mail address.” Megan wrote it down on a pad of paper that Fiona handed her. Fiona recited her own e-mail, which Megan immediately entered into her BlackBerry. “I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us.”
“Sure, hon. No problem,” Fiona said. “I just wish I could tell you more than I did.”
Megan clutched the photos of her mom that Fiona had scanned. “You gave me more than I had when I arrived.”
“I wonder why your dad would tell you she’d died.”
“That’s the first thing she’s going to ask him when we get back to Vegas,” Logan said. “We’re heading back there right now.”
Fiona shifted her attention to Logan. “Come back anytime.” Fiona gave him a sultry look. “We’ll give you a special rate.”
“He’s a cop,” Megan said.
Fiona shrugged. “So? Prostitution is legal in this county.”
“Thanks for the offer,” Logan said.
“But you’re not going to take me up on it.” Fiona’s sigh indicated her disappointment. “Because your heart belongs to Megan.”
His jaw practically dropped. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Come on, now.” Fiona patted his bare arm. “Don’t be shy. It’s obvious. Her heart clearly belongs to you as well. Tons of chemistry going on here.” She pointed from Logan to Megan.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Megan demanded.
Fiona lifted an eyebrow. “So you two aren’t having sex?”
“No!” Megan said, “We just met today. Yesterday, I mean.”
“So?”
Megan realized that having this conversation with a madam was probably not a good idea. “Anyway . . . what I mean is . . . uh, thanks again for the photos and the info about my mom.”
“Good luck with your search,” Fiona said as she waved them out.
Trying to assimilate what she’d learned about her mom, Megan didn’t say much after they left the ranch. Her brain felt all jumbled with images and information. Her mom flashing the peace sign at Woodstock, promising Fiona to keep the mud-spattered jeans as a memento of their time together that history-making weekend. Did her dad even know that Astrid had been at Woodstock? Had she ever told him about it? Did she still have the jeans?
Daylight had streaked its way across the broad sky, painting it bright hues of red and pink. Mother Nature’s show rivaled any light display on the Strip. Granted, the surrounding landscape was barren, but there was beauty to be found if you looked close enough. Kind of like the picture she was trying to create of her mother’s life.
Megan wasn’t the only one keeping quiet. Logan also appeared lost in his own thoughts. A strange sound captured her attention.
“What was that noise?” Megan asked a short while later.
“Nothing good.”
“Is it the car?”
“Yes.” He swore under his breath.
“Are we out of gas?”
“No, of course we’re not.”
“It’s just that cars this old don’t get very good gas mileage.”
“I’m aware of that.” The noise—a cross between a clank and a rattle—got louder. “We’re going to have to stop.”
She looked out the window. They were surrounded by miles of sagebrush and little else. “But there’s nothing here.”
“I think there’s a town nearby. Check the map on my phone.”
It took her a few minutes to figure out how to use his iPhone, and he wasn’t exactly patient about giving her instructions.