by L. C. Warman
“This seat taken?” a boy asked. For he was a boy, no older than twenty-three or twenty-four, perhaps, with a bright, beaming face and a mop of dark hair. Becks grunted and stood to make room for the boy to pass.
“Andrew Chung,” the boy said, reaching out his hand. “Dang, it’s a big class, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Becks said, clasping the boy’s hand in his. “You local?”
“No—I’m from Connecticut, actually. You? And I didn’t catch your name.”
Becks blushed. Now or never. “Daniel,” he said. And then, with an effort, “Daniel Becker.”
Bless him—the boy’s face remained bland and bright. “Great to meet you, Daniel!” he said. “I’m trying to remember names—my dad said that’s what you have to do, right from the start. Nobody likes any word as much as the sound of their own name.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Becks said with a quick smile.
The auditorium continued to fill; Andrew continued to chatter endlessly about college, and his consulting gig right after college, and how he planned to go back to said consulting gig, “considering they’re paying for all this—ha! What did you do?” Becks was saved from answering as finally, at a quarter past nine, the lights dimmed, and the crowd grew quiet. A professor took the stage, launching into a welcome speech, encouraging them all to “get to know one another” and to “look around—for your future is around you in the connections you form here.”
Becks half-listened. He couldn’t still his nerves. But he was certain of one fact, as the professor continued—his future was indeed here, and he would make sure it was vastly different than his past.
Acknowledgments
I’m so appreciative to have worked with so many wonderful and talented people on this title.
Thank you as always to Caroline and Alexandra for their their beautiful cover design and sharp edits, respectively.
A huge thank you to Joyce and Lesley, for their great feedback.
To my family, I love you so much. I wouldn’t want to walk through this world with anyone else.
Finally, reader, thank you. I’m so grateful that you decided to spend some time in St. Clair.
Also by L. C. Warman
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ST. CLAIR MYSTERIES:
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The Disappearance of Charlotte Walters
The Last Real Girl (Book 1)
The Last Real Crime (Book 2)
The Last Real Secret (Book 3)
* * *
The Eastwick Mansion Mysteries
A Death at Eastwick (Book 1)
A Scandal at Eastwick (Book 2)
A Betrayal at Eastwick (Book 3)
About the Author
L.C. Warman is the author of the St. Clair mystery series. She grew up in New England, in a town where real estate contracts stipulated that you couldn’t back out if you discovered your new place was haunted. She currently lives in a Michigan lakeside town with her husband and two dogs.