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Maddy nodded. “And you have to ask yourself why a law-abiding citizen with four kids would feel the need to carry a S&W in his coat pocket.”
That was a fair question. But how did it tie back to their Jane Doe? “We don’t even know for sure this little girl is Nina Chavez.”
Maddy cocked her head to one side, her lips pursed. “Well, CPS did come out here.”
“True and we’ve already been over how the system works.” Alex set the coffee mug on the table next to the swing, already feeling the effects of the caffeine on an empty stomach. “We think we may have a lead on where Chavez’s wife and kids are. I’m headed out to talk to someone who might know. I hope we’re on the right track.”
“Have faith.”
He stomped down the steps. It seemed that everyone had decided to push the faith issue with him. “Faith isn’t something I know much about. Good police work will solve this case.”
Maddy fixed him with a fierce look. “You can’t do it on your own, not even with the help of good men like Cooper, Ray, Samuel, Daniel, and Joaquin. You need more. You need faith.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t want to argue with a woman old enough to be his grandmother. She had no way of knowing faith had stopped entering the equation long ago. “I’m sure Cooper will be up for coffee soon. Do me a favor, please, and tell him I went to run down the PI lead. He’ll know what I’m talking about.”
Maddy nodded, but he had a feeling her sharp gaze missed nothing.
Anger shot through him, more effective than the caffeine. Only he wasn’t sure why he was angry. Something. About everything. “I’ll figure it out,” he said aloud as he jammed the key in the ignition. He just wasn’t sure what it was he was trying to figure out.
The address for Simon Phillips’ office led Alex to a storefront door in a strip shopping center between a hair salon and a Java Shack. The sign painted on the window readPhillips & Hamilton Private Investigations. Inside, the air conditioner rattle, but the air was lukewarm and damp. A platinum-blonde woman wearing pink lipstick sat at the desk, sipping coffee and playing solitaire on the computer.
“I’m looking for Simon Phillips.”
She chuckled and took her hand from the mouse. “You and every other customer he ever stiffed.”
“I might have more cause.” He held his badge out.
She eyed it. “I’m his former partner. BeBe Hamilton.”
Alex introduced himself. “So would that be a lot of customers?”
She waved a hand toward a straight back chair on the other side of the desk. “No, just the ones he was working when he decided to up and retire on a moment’s notice.”
“When did that happen?”
“About four years ago. He was all hot on a missing persons case, went up to Kansas to check out a lead. Next thing I know, I get a letter from him saying he’s decided to retire and he isn’t coming back. Asked me to clear out his apartment and take everything to the Goodwill. He was cutting all ties, according to the letter. Apparently they got some sweet deer hunting up there and land prices are cheaper.”
“The missing person’s case—was the client a man named Tómas Chavez?”
Hamilton’s mouth dropped open. “What are you—some kind of psychic? How’d you know?”
“I’m looking into the same case.”
“Huh, after all these years?”
“Didn’t you think it was sort of strange, Mr. Phillips deciding to retire like that?”
“Naw, not at all. He was a bitter, old man, and he was tired. His wife took him to the cleaners in the divorce. He had no kids, no family to speak of. He could retired if he wanted to.”
“What about the money Chavez paid him?”
“I told Chavez that Simon had exhausted all leads and gave him the retainer back. I didn’t give him any details. The guy was a scary dude. I would never have taken the case, if it’d been up to me. I didn’t want him to go looking for Simon or following me home one night after work.”
“You never tried to get in touch with Mr. Phillips again?”
She picked up her fingernail file and went to work on her thumbnail. “Actually, I did, but they said he’d already checked out of the hotel. I didn’t have an address or a telephone number. I figured he’d cut the ties.”
“And you got the business?”
