Read Online The Impostor, A Love Story by Tiffany Carmouche - Free Book Online Page A

Steve nodded
to the ginger haired man in a flannel shirt and jeans.
    “He was with you last time you were here,
right? Nice to meet you, sir. How can I help you all today?” I
glanced at the newspaper sitting folded on the table.
    The headline read: The Hunter Strikes Again:
Newest Victim of Serial Killer Found.
    “Oh my god, can I see that? I heard about
this.” I picked up the paper and went on to read aloud, “A female
body was discovered Monday morning at Lazy Mountain, Alaska. Two
hunters spotted something in the leaves they thought were remains
of a Dall sheep, but upon closer inspection identified it as a
human body. Initial autopsy reports revealed the victim was a
female in her twenties. Anchorage police believe this is another
victim of the serial killer . . .”
    “Oh my god, she was slaughtered also.”
    “What do you all know about the case, Randy?
Any new evidence?” Steve questioned the officer.
    “Normally, you don’t find an entire body.
Generally, you might find decomposition or some animal activity.
Since the body was still intact, it means it happened recently. The
fact that there have been numerous bodies found in the past two
years is disturbing.”
    “Do you know anything about the
murderer?”
    “We know the killer is a hunter.”
    “That narrows it down,” Steve laughed.
    “Aren’t there over a hundred thousand hunters
in Alaska?” Steve patted his friend’s shoulder. When Steve grinned,
you could see the gap in his front teeth and the gold caps on his
crowns. It appeared he didn’t frequent the dentist for someone that
seemed to have a lot of money. “Shoot, that makes you and me
suspects, huh Randy?”
    “Yeah. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot
to go on.”
    “I guess you’ve got to be careful who you go
hunting with, Nicole,” Steve warned me.
    “I know. It’s crazy, isn’t it? You will keep
me posted if you hear anything, right Officer Statton?”
    “Of course I will.”
    “Would you all like something to eat?”
    “No, not today. Just two Buds. Thank you.”

    I put down the article and went to get their drinks,
a little disturbed but trying to put it in perspective. Brad was
right. I used to live close to a city with one of the highest
murder rates in the country, and I managed to survive twenty-two
years; but for some reason, it never seemed so close to home.
    Carl walked over to me. Every so often, he would
approach me with a stuffed animal or rose that someone had bought
me anonymously. It made my day.
    “An anonymous customer wanted me to give you this
because he loves your smile.” He picked out the cutest stuffed
animal in the batch. I couldn’t help blushing.
    The men in Alaska were raised like southern
gentleman as far as you could get north. Alaska reminded me of
southern hospitality in the middle of paradise. I couldn’t wait
till I could make it my permanent home with Jess.
    I beamed, taking the stuffed animal to the bar to
put with my purse.
    Steve motioned me over. “Can we have the check
please? We only had time for one beer today.” He left another fifty
dollar tip.
    “Are you sure?” I asked to be polite.
    “Spend it on your daughter. I had another good day.”
He nodded, beginning to walk away but he turned back. “Oh, Nicole .
. .” He came back over to me. “I don’t know if you would want this
or not.” He began digging in his pocket. “I was cleaning out some
old stuff in my house and found this locket. I was going to donate
it. I don’t have any girls. I thought maybe you would want to put a
picture of your daughter in it. If you don’t want it, can you give
it to one of the other girls here? I have no use for it.” He pulled
a little sterling necklace out of his pocket
    “It’s beautiful. Are you sure?”
    “Yeah, I was going to get rid of it, but I
remembered you had a little girl. I figured you or one of the other
waitresses might want it.”
    “Thank you, that’s sweet. Really, thank you. This is
perfect.” I