Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville) Read Online Free PDF Page A

ecosystems. Bethany determined that Percy Warner Park would be our ecosystem and we were planning to make extensive observations during that initial visit and then return each week during the fall semester.”
    Georgia had been a B student in high school and did what she needed to get by. It wasn’t until she reached college and took her first forensic class that her fascination with learning kicked into high gear. “Sounds ambitious.”
    “Bethany pitched the idea to us. She wanted the project to stand out.”
    “Why did she need you or Mike?”
    “She was afraid to go it alone. She had applied to some very prestigious colleges but had blown several interviews. She was painfully shy. She knew I’d go with her because we were friends.”
    Georgia tried to picture the girl and the nerd as friends. “And Mike?”
    “Trying to get his grades up so he could apply to one of the schools here in Tennessee. His dad had a lot of pull in the state and if his grades could be halfway decent, the old man could call in favors.”
    “What about you?” She knew all the answers but wanted to hear it from Amber.
    “My grades were good but not great, and I needed big scholarship money if I wanted more than living with my mom and working at Blue Note Java.”
    “The coffee shop.”
    “Right. The one near the school.”
    “So the three of you were all motivated.”
    “I’m not sure how motivated Mike and I were, but we were all desperate for something. Desperation makes strange bedfellows.” She threaded her fingers together and rested them on the table. Her nails were neat, trimmed and the cuticles manicured.
    “Okay. It’s a few days before the hike. What’s your last memory?”
    “I went by Mike’s house to drop off notes from Monday’s class. He missed it. Said he was sick but I suspected he was hungover.”
    “Was he?”
    “He liked to drink and he got wasted over the weekend on a road trip for a college football game. That was so typical of Mike.”
    Georgia shook her head. “My dad would have woken me up and insisted I go to school sick or not. He’d have wanted to teach me a lesson about underage drinking.”
    “Mike’s dad wasn’t like that. Dalton, Mr. Marlowe, protected Mike. Covered up his messes. Doted on the boy. If Mike needed an excuse for school, his dad came up with one.”
    Dalton Marlowe did well as a local corporate attorney, but the real money came through Mike’s mother, which Dalton still controlled until Mike was found dead or alive. Mike’s mother died when he was fifteen.
    “So you gave hungover Mike the notes. That’s Tuesday. You three didn’t go into the woods until Friday.”
    “One of the reasons I came by Mike’s house was to confirm he wasn’t backing out of our project. He did that a lot and I was there to make sure he would hike.”
    “That’s the last time you saw him before the hike?”
    “I don’t know.” She recognized Georgia’s word trap. “I have no memory.”
    Georgia’s tone held no hint of apology. “What did Mike say that last day you remembered seeing him?”
    “That’s the thing. I never saw Mike that day. His father answered the door. I asked to see Mike, but he wouldn’t let me. Said Mike was sleeping. So I gave the notes to his dad. His dad appreciated my help and even gave me fifty bucks for my trouble.” She crossed her legs and then slowly settled back in the booth.
    “That’s sounds like a very generous tip for just delivering homework. But it bothered you. Why?”
    “I wanted to say no to the tip, but I needed the money. My mom is a cocktail waitress and she never made a lot of money. I spent that fifty bucks on groceries.”
    Georgia would battle her growing fatigue so she could compare her father’s case notes against Amber’s comments when she returned home. Buddy had always kept careful notes when he investigated a case. “What do you remember next?”
    “I took the money from Mr. Marlowe, bought groceries, and went home. I