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He wrapped one arm around my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. Suddenly I could care less if we went to visit the sheriff.

“I had Lacy call the county courthouse,” Nash said. I could see by the look on his face, I wasn’t going to like what he was going to say next. “This is legal. According to what’s on file, someone provided the deed to the house, and it was in their name. They made it clear that they did not give permission for anybody but himself to be living there.”

“Do I even have to ask who he was?” I was getting a bad feeling.

“Arthur Beaumont,” Nash said reluctantly.

“And where is Arthur Beaumont?” I asked as my blood pressure skyrocketed.

“Now Kai, we need to handle this by the book. You know and I know that this can’t be legal. That asshole ran out of here almost fifteen years ago. He left your Mama to pay on that mortgage. There is no way that house is his.” Nash’s soothing voice grated like sandpaper.

“Where is my father?” I asked for the second time. Nash must have realized I wasn’t fucking around.

“We don’t know. Per the county clerk, the only time they can get ahold of the attorney is when he has a court appearance, otherwise he’s in the wind.”

“That can’t be right,” Marlowe said. “He has to get new clients some way. And if the judge really needs to get ahold of him, he’d have to be available. The county clerk is wrong.”

Marlowe was making sense.

“You’re right, but so far, she’s the only one I’ve talked to,” Nash admitted. “Look, I’ve got two guys out with the flu for the third day in a row. I’m swamped.

“I’ve got you,” I said. I plucked the letter out of Nash’s hands. “We’ll work this out.”

“What are you going to do, Kai?” he asked.

“We’ll keep you informed.”

As soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, I could see that Marlowe was antsy. “What is it, Sweetheart?” I asked.

“I really need to get this food to Chaos, and I’d really like to spend some time with her.”

I realized the antsyness was probably rooted in anxiety over the house, and nothing soothed Marlowe’s anxiety like spending time with Chaos. “Okay, let me drop you off.”

“Where are you going?” she asked as she climbed into my truck.

“I’m going to check in with a new friend,” I said as I started the engine. “I’ll let you know if anything pans out.”

Onyx Security wasn’t in the middle of town like the rest of the businesses. Somebody must have decided that Jasper Creek and Gatlinburg needed office space between the two cities and built some back in the early 2000s, then came the crash and they were stuck with unrentable space. Simon was probably their first tenant.

When I pulled up I saw that there was only one small sign on one of the doors, and it read Onyx Security. I let myself in. An older woman was manning the desk. She looked all-business.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m wondering if Simon Clark is available. My name is Kai Davies.”

“He’s working on a hot project at the moment, but I’ll see if he has time to see you.” She stood up and went down a hallway. Something told me that’s what she always said to anybody who didn’t have an appointment. Two minutes later she reappeared.

“They can see you now.”

“They?”

“Simon Clark and Roan Thatcher. They head up Onyx Security,” she said proudly.

I wondered if that meant they were the only two employees besides her. When she ushered me down the hall, I was happy to see they weren’t living in the lap of luxury. That meant they were saving their pennies on important stuff, like guns, ammunition and surveillance equipment.

I sat down in the small office. Simon gave me a nod and the other man smiled at me.

Simon looked irritated. “I told you I’d give you anything as soon as I had it. I don’t have anything yet.”