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“And you didn’t.”
“Right.”
“Dale, what’s this about?”
“The bar,” he says. “It got me thinking. The answers we’re seeking aren’t there, Don. Not at that particular bar. But they are in a bar.”
I nod, taking another sip of dirt water. “Right. Murphy’s.”
“Yeah. They start with that lien.”
“I’m on it first thing tomorrow morning.”
He nods. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say, and dare I say it? Dad’s shooting may work in our favor.”
I set my ceramic cup of swamp root onto the Formica table more harshly than I mean to. “The fuck?”
“Mom will be here in the city with him until he comes home, which won’t be for a few days, at least. You’ll have the office to yourself.”
“Not exactly. The investigator, the secretary. And Callie.”
“Callie?”
“Yeah. Apparently Mom hired her to be some gopher or something.”
“Fuck.” Dale rakes his fingers through his hair, making it look like a lion’s mane.
“She’s cool, Dale.”
“I know that, and I know you’ve got the hots for her. It’s just… This has to stay between us.”
I nod. “Got it. And I agree.”
“Which means you need to access records without anyone else in the office knowing it.”
“If Mom’s not there, I’ll be the boss. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Any way you could give everyone else a few days off?”
“Yeah.” My voice drips with sarcasm. “That won’t look suspicious or anything.”
He sighs. “I know. You’ll make do.”
“I can be discreet,” I tell him. “Nothing to worry about.”
“And we’re supposed to pull up Brendan’s floor Tuesday,” Dale says.
“Yeah.”
“We need to get him to leave town. Whatever else might be under his floor, I sure as hell don’t want him to know about it.”
“Good point. Exactly how do we get him to leave town? And then I suppose you’re suggesting we just break into his place and remove his entire floor, all while the bar is teeming with patrons one floor below?” I shake my head. “Not happening, Dale.”
“What if we could make it happen?”
“How would we do that?”
“You go into the database tomorrow. Find a problem with… I don’t know. His liquor license. Get it suspended for a few days.”
“That would shut the bar down, but it wouldn’t get Brendan out of the building.”
“A potential gas leak, then. Or a code violation in the building. Brendan has to stay at the hotel and close down the bar for a few days.”
“And if there’s no gas leak? No code violation?”
“Then you manufacture one.”
My jaw drops. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”
“I’ve been known to breach ethics now and then.”
“Exactly when?”
He sighs. “A few times.”
“Meaning you ran a red light once? Or you didn’t stop for a jaywalker?”
“For fuck’s sake, Don. Are you with me or not? There’s something going on. Our father’s been shot.”
“I’m an officer of the court,” I remind him. “I can’t intentionally break the law.”
“Right.” Dale sips his coffee, takes a bite of his donut. “It was worth a shot.”
“Of course,” I say, “I might be able to bend it a little.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Callie
I could learn a lot about the man I’ve inadvertently fallen in love with. All I have to do is look inside his suitcases.
Trespass.
A big-assed trespass.
So easy. I’m in here vacuuming. No one would know or even suspect, especially if I keep the vacuum running. Mom’s busy in the kitchen. Darla is relaxing in her room in the other wing of the house. Rory’s scrubbing mildew somewhere.
So tempting.
But already I know I won’t do it. That’s not my style. I don’t violate others’ trust.
Especially not the trust of someone I love.
I force the vacuum over the navy area rug, and then I change to a lower setting for the hardwood. Donny’s room is large, but still, it doesn’t take long to get it vacuumed. Just a bit of dog hair here and there. Plus some sunflower seed shells.
Funny. I just learned something about Donny. He likes sunflower seeds.
Big damned deal.
I could learn so much more by snooping through his luggage.
“Stop it,” I say out loud. “Don’t even go there.”
Rory peeks into the room. “Did you say something, Cal?”
My heart skips a beat. “Just talking to myself. I guess I’m done in here.”
“I’ll do the bathroom, then.” She strides in, holding a bucket full of rags and cleaning solutions.
A lightbulb shines over my head. “I’ll do this one.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Take a break.”
“This is the last one.” She shoves the bucket into my hands. “I’ll go help Mom finish up in the kitchen.”
Once my sister is gone, I take the bucket and head into the bathroom Donny’s using. Not that I think blond hairs in the shower are going to give me some amazing clue about the man I love, but for some ridiculous and unknown reason, I don’t want my sister—or anyone else—cleaning his bathroom.
Go figure.
If possible, the bathroom smells more like Donny than the bedroom. On the marble counter sits a bottle of cologne. Aspen Grove. That explains Donny’s woodsy scent. Doesn’t explain the law book fragrance, though. I chuckle out loud. Must be in my head.
