Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 05 - Gems & Gunshots by Laina Turner Page A

for. It couldn’t just be a coincidence that Greg was a patient here and Nicole left here to work for him and then they had an alleged affair and then she ended up murdered. All of this had to be connected somehow. I pulled out my phone and dialed Amelia’s number. She answered on the third ring, sounding out of breath.
    “Hi, Amelia. You sound winded. Is this a bad time?”
    “Not at all. I just got back from a run. What’s up?”
    “I have a weird question. Do you know how Greg came to hire the girl who was killed? Nicole?”
    “No, but I can find out for you. Why?”
    “I’d rather not say yet, I don’t want to misspeak, but if you could find out that would be great.”
    “Sure. I’ll call you when I find out. Hey, you want to meet up at the club for some tennis and lunch tomorrow?”
    “As long as you don’t mind that I suck at tennis?” I laughed. “You’re much more athletic than I am.”
    “Not a problem. Okay, talk to you later.”
    “Bye.” I tapped the phone on my cheek trying to think of the possible meaning this information could have.

Chapter 17
    H ello?” I said answering my phone. I hadn’t recognized the number, but it was the area code for San Diego, so it could be anyone I had recently met out here.
    “Hey, Presley. It’s Alan.”
    No wonder I hadn’t recognized the number. I had called him but hadn’t programmed his number into my phone. “Hi, Alan. What’s up?” I was very surprised to hear from him.
    “I was thinking about what you said the other night, and I called Nicole’s boyfriend Rex to ask him how things were before she died. You were right. She was seeing someone else. She broke up with him the night before she died. I guess she just hadn’t had the chance to tell us.”
    I hated to be excited about someone else’s misfortune, but I knew she had been having an affair with Greg. I just knew it, and that had to be why Alan was calling me. “What did he say?” I said, trying to mask my eagerness.
    “Just that things hadn’t been great between them, that she seemed distant and wouldn’t tell him why. Especially after she had quit her job at Stevens Dental for the jewelry store. He said he finally came out and asked if there was someone else. She said yes but wouldn’t tell him who. She would only tell him it was complicated and she was sorry. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. That it just happened.”
    “So he had no idea who she was seeing?”
    “No. He said she refused to tell him. Listen, I have to get back to work I just wanted to call you quick and tell you this.”
    “Can I call you later? There are a few more questions I want to ask.”
    “Sure, but my phone is almost dead, so if it’s before five, call me at work.”
    “Where is that?”
    “Monroe Insurance Services. Just Google it and call the main number and ask for me. They’ll put you through.”
    “Monroe Insurance Services?” I said, thinking that name sounded familiar and wondering why.
    “Yeah, the glamorous family business. Hey, I really have to go. I have a client waiting. Talk to you later.”
    Alan hung up and I sat there dumbfounded. Monroe Insurance Services. That was the company I called that day for Amelia to find out about the checks sent to Gemstone’s Unlimited for the stolen diamonds. This couldn’t just be a coincidence. I felt I was getting closer to knowing the truth about all this. Nicole’s family owned the insurance company that Greg just received a huge payout from and Greg may or may not have been having an affair with Nicole. Had he persuaded her to come work for him and/or start an affair with her so he would have an inside connection with the insurance company? Or were all the related things just the biggest chain of coincidences I had ever come across?
    I didn’t think so. It was too many coincidences to be random acts. They had to be connected. I needed to talk to Cooper and take the chance of him getting mad. He needed to know this, which was exactly the