Research

Searching on the computer, Jen found solace along with information. Sean’s penetrating gaze showed her he knew she had more to tell about that night.

He’d left her with the Internet while he had a cigarette. She found numerous articles in the online archives of the Centre News, the local paper. Bill and Ben had been busy boys.

How much she hadn’t known about them astonished her. She sipped the dregs of her cold coffee and Sean returned. He eased his lean, muscular body into the chair next to hers.

His close proximity felt intimate, almost intimidating. The smell of his cigarette invaded her so that she thought she had smoked it, too. Her nose wrinkled holding back a sneeze.

She cleared her throat. “Both Bill and Ben were arrested in college. Drunk and disorderlies. Assault.”

His face appeared in her peripheral vision. “Assault?”

“One of them punched a bartender.”

His chair creaked as he leaned back. “Great guys. And these were your friends?”