Ending of Previous Post:

She pulled into a parking slot and glanced at her watch. "I'm about fifteen minutes early. That's good. I can find a private table so we can talk."

"Want me to come in and wait with you?" As McKenzie shook her head, Logan continued, "I'm at least going to come in and scout the area." He walked around and opened her door.

"Later we'll discuss what the right girl is."

Logan laughed. "Sure."

McKenzie watched Logan leave the coffee shop and then ordered a large coffee and a blueberry muffin. As she sat at a corner table, she smiled. I wonder what type of a woman would catch his eye. That should be an interesting conversation.

TODAY'S POST:

ST. LOUIS CHAPTER 7 PART 1

McKenzie stood and approached a blonde lady in her mid-twenties. "Ms. Hartford?"

She accepted McKenzie's hand. "Yes. Please call me Kate."

"Okay. You can call me McKenzie. Before we begin, would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, I'll get some and be right back."

McKenzie returned to her table and sat. Why'd I introduce myself as McKenzie? I've been Mac for twenty plus years? She sipped her coffee and then peeled the paper from her muffin.

Kate sat across from McKenzie and added cream and sugar to her coffee before she said, "I hope you find who did this to Megan, but I'm not sure I can be of any help."

"Any information you can tell me about her private life will be helpful. I hope you don't mind me recording this. I do it so I don't make mistakes or have any misunderstandings." After Kate nodded, McKenzie tore a piece from her muffin and ate it before she started the recording. "Most people have a public life, a private life, and a secret life. It's usually the private and the secret life that gets them into trouble."

"I see. Megan had a few on-again-off-again boyfriends."

"I know about George Whitney. I've been told he was physically abusive. Is that true?"

"He was emotionally abusive. He was always trying to take control." Kate took a bite of a brownie. "Yes, I guess at times he got physical with her. He liked rough sex."

"Was Megan into that?" McKenzie attempted to keep her face from showing surprise.

"Let's say she was adventuresome with both sexes and multiple partners. She wasn't against experimenting. Once in a while it would get too rough, so she'd try to stop him. George didn't like to stop, once he was..." Kate stopped.

"It's okay. I get the picture," McKenzie quickly added before she took another bite of her muffin. "Were there any other men in her life?" She sipped her coffee.

"How much of this are you going to share with her family?" asked Kate.

"If anything you tell me helps me find the murderer, I'll share only the parts that pertain to that. Why?"

"Have you met her family?"

"Her father hired me." McKenzie grasped her coffee cup. I didn't lie. I just didn't tell the whole truth. I guess I lied by omission.

"So maybe you can understand how old fashioned they were."

Logan used the word traditional. Means the same thing.

"Megan had an older brother. He was almost a teenager when she was born. I think there's like eleven or more years between them. I can't remember his name. Anyway, he totally embraced the big brother role. On top of that, he was perfect in everything he did."

"What I heard you say was that her older brother watched over her and she struggled living up to his expectations."

"He got straight A's in every subject without even trying. Megan struggled to get B's. Her parents never understood why her grades were low. She was always compared to him." Kate took a breath. "You've heard of helicopter parents, well she had a helicopter brother. When he went into the Army, Megan celebrated her freedom, a lot."

Logan isn't going to like this one bit. McKenzie chewed on her lower lip before she asked, "Are you saying Megan was a party girl?"

"She wasn't a party animal. She only partied on weekends, but she did totally enjoy a good party."

"Did she only use alcohol or were drugs involved?"

"I think in college she used marijuana, but after graduating only alcohol. Again, she only partied on weekends and usually either Friday or Saturday, rarely both days."

"I understand. When was the last time she was with George Whitney?"

"That I'm not sure of. She broke up with him in April, but I think he still called and tried to get her back. She was getting pretty tired of it."

"Do you know of any other men she dated?"

"Donny, but I don't remember his last name. His number should be on her phone."

Her phone wasn't found. I need to check on that. McKenzie wrote herself a note. "Do you know how they met or where he works?"

"They were introduced by a mutual friend."

"Can I have contact information for that person?"

"Sure." Kate pulled up Eleanor's name on her phone and showed it to McKenzie. "I really don't know anything about him. Megan only had two or three dates with him that I know of. She didn't really talk about him. I don't think it was serious."

"Not a problem. I'll call and speak with Eleanor."

Kate checked her watch. "It's getting late. I need to get going? Anything else?"

"Besides George and Donny, do you know of any other men she saw?"

"There were some, but she met them at a bar, did some dancing. Once in a while, they'd leave together. One-night-stands."

"Do you know if they went back to her place or his?"

"Pretty sure hers, but not positive."

McKenzie handed Kate her card. "Thank you. If you think of anything else, please call."

The ladies shook hands, and then Kate left.

McKenzie took a long drink of coffee. I doubt Logan will want to hear any of this about his baby sister. How do I answer his questions? She put a large bite of muffin in her mouth.




Characters:

McKenzie 'Mac' Morgan a 27 year old private investigator
Major Logan Nelson 34 years old and an active duty soldier
Arlo McKenzie's black and tan dachshund
Megan Nelson Logan's younger sister - murdered
The Lou is an area name for St. Louis
Simon Knight Logan's former Army buddy and a Lab technician.
Fan name for the St. Louis Cardinals - a major league baseball team.
Yadi's Fan name for Yadier Molina - Cardinal's all-star catcher.
Edger McKenzie's black and tan rottweiler
John Benson Man who murdered McKenzie's parents
Bill Abbot A D.A> and McKenzie's God-Father; he was a high-
school friend of McKenzie's father. Joanie is his wife.
Jose Lopez Chicago Police Department undercover police
department.
Kate Hartford Megan Nelson's friend they taught middle school
together.
Donny A man Megan Nelson dated.