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“Wate
r,” Ravinia said.
“Coffee would be great,” Rex said. “Black, please.”
The girl headed briskly down the aisle that bisected the cubicles and led in the direction of a glassed-in office at the back of the room. Blinds like on the front door were pulled down over the windows.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Rex said to Ravinia, “You’re not helping.”
“You’re gonna just wait till tomorrow, or whenever the owner gets back?”
“I’m the lead dog. Keep that in mind. A little tact would be a good idea.”
He kept his eyes on the girl in the red dress and watched as she entered the door just left of the office. As it opened, he caught a glimpse of a counter with a coffee machine and a vending machine on the opposite wall. The break room.
“What are you looking at?” Ravinia demanded.
“Nothing. I’m not going to hang around here all day,” he warned her.
“I can stay.”
He squatted down beside her chair and she gazed at him, her expression careful. In a low voice, he said, “You want this information about your cousin? Then, let me do my job. You can’t just bully your way through everything. That works to a point, but you hired me to do a job, so let me do it.”
“I just said I would stay if you couldn’t.”
“What you said was, ‘If you can’t do the job, Rex, I’ll do it myself.’ ”
“That’s not what I said.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. We’ve got to come to an understanding. I’m not—” Rex straightened as the girl returned with their drinks.
She said, “I texted Beth and she said she’s going to be here in about half an hour.”
“See?” Ravinia said, swiveling to give him the evil eye.
“Thank you.” Rex gave the girl a grateful smile.
“No problem.” She smiled in return and gave him a lingering look as she headed back toward the mass of cubicles.
Ravinia’s gaze followed her, then she turned to Rex again. “You lookin’ for a date?” she asked drily.
“I’m looking for anyone who’ll give me any kind of information.” He took a drink of his coffee—tepid, but beggars couldn’t be choosers—and sat down to wait.
Appearing harried, Beth Harper showed up about forty-five minutes later. She was in her midforties, near as Rex could tell. She had a plump figure and a blondish pixie haircut that was currently popular in the Hollywood set, but was harder to pull off after a certain age.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was waiting for me until Isabel texted me,” she said a little breathlessly.
“We didn’t have an appointment,” Rex assured her. “I just left a phone message over the weekend. I’m actually looking for someone. Ralph Gaines. You purchased the agency from him and his wife?”
“Oh. Yeah. Years ago.” She waved a hand dismissively. Old news. “Jimmy and I were looking for a business to buy and Ralph was getting ready to sell.” She peeled a scarf from around her neck and heaved a sigh. “You want to come into my office? I need to sit down for a while.”
“Sure,” Rex said.
Ravinia popped to her feet and they all walked single file down the blue-carpeted runway that led to the glassed-in office. Beth flipped on the lights and hung her jacket and scarf on a coatrack in one back corner. On the desk was a picture of her, and probably her husband, in happier days, the shot snapped in an outdoor setting. They were smiling at each other while behind them dandelion seeds floated upward like little ballerinas.
Seeing they were looking at the photo, Beth said, “We renewed our vows in a field. It was just such a perfect day.” For a moment, she stared at the photo and her eyes watered, but then she took a deep breath and said, “You’re looking for Ralph Gaines. Can I ask why?”
“I’m his niece,” Ravinia said before Rex could answer.
