Always Devoted Read Online Free PDF Page B

that.
    "Emma was just giving me some background," Gillian told him.
    "She wanted to know about us growing up, how close Paige and I were."
    Linc decided to just keep quiet and listen.  He knew Emma and Gillian had to connect.
    "So...you took care of Paige and essentially acted as guardian of her after your mother died," Gillian prompted as if Linc's arrival hadn't interrupted their conversation.
    "Yes.  After I married, she lived with us until she went to school.  Then she stayed with us on holidays and throughout summer vacation.  After Barrett died, it was a comfort to have her around.  She was so good with Becky."
    Linc knew Gillian just wanted Emma to relax and go into stream of consciousness memories.
    "She got along with your husband?"
    "Oh, yes.  They were like big brother and sister."
    Gillian didn't miss a beat and asked next, "Can you tell me some of Paige's favorite places to go?"
    "Like me, she loved the beach.  She also liked hiking.  Before Becky was born, the three of us would do that together.  But most of all, she just liked to go any place quiet and sketch.  She was quiet as a child.  I think mom getting sick pushed her even deeper into herself.  She'd always been artistic and was hardly ever without her sketch pad."
    "So she wasn't the type who would attend frat parties and bar hop?"
    "I don't know exactly what went on when she was at school, but I doubt that very much.  Her artistic nature spoke loud and clear when she painted blue streaks through her hair.  But that was how Paige expressed herself—blue hair and funky clothes she designed."
    "Did she date much?"
    "No.  One guy lasted longer than all the others, Craig Jamison.  They dated for about six months.  But that was almost two years ago.  She broke it off with him before Barrett died.  They'd had a big fight about something.  She wouldn't tell me what.  It was so sudden.  I thought maybe he wanted to get more serious and she didn't, or vice versa.  But she just wouldn't tell me.  She said it was over and she was moving on and that was all that mattered."
    Linc wondered if the cops had questioned Craig Jamison and what they'd decided about him, if he was a person of interest.
    "Did you know this Craig well?" Gillian inquired.
    "Not well but I liked him.  He spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with us."
    "Do you think he was the type of person who would harbor a grudge if Paige was the one who broke it off?"
    "Are you asking me if I think he had something to do with her disappearance?  If he did, I'm a very bad judge of character."
    Linc used several means to figure out if someone was a good judge of character.  He would use that litmus test here.  Holding up his hand for a moment, he stopped the flow of Gillian's inquiries, and Gillian acknowledged that he wanted to break in.
    "How long have you been running your business?" Linc asked Emma.
    "I started it right out of business school."
    "The bank gave you a loan?"
    "Yes.  I had a small inheritance from my mom and her life insurance.  That was my collateral so to speak."
    "And has your business grown in the past five years?"
    "Yes.  I've turned a larger profit each year.  I plan to pay back the loan in two more years."
    "Do you have repeat customers?"
    "They're the core of my business."
    "Do you have a key to your neighbor's house?"
    Now she looked mildly annoyed, as if wondering what any of this had to do with why she was here.  "Yes.  I take care of Maris's plants when she's away, and just check on the place.  She has a key to mine, too, of course, because of Becky."
    "Are you still in touch with any of your friends from high school?"
    Now she finally did erupt.  "What does this have to do—"
    He didn't get defensive because he understood Emma felt he was interrogating her, not just filling in information about Paige.  "Just answer my last question."
    She glanced at Gillian, then back at him.  " Yes , I'm still in touch with two of the girls I hung around with in