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“You knew he doesn’t like them.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, snagging the tomato from his fingers. “What’s with the guy in the lobby?”
“Gerard? He’s just . . . formal.”
“No. The client. It’s rude to schedule a meeting and then make him wait while you have lunch.”
“I don’t have any consultations today.”
“So he’s what? A groupie?”
“Fans come in all forms.” He winked at me.
“You can’t do that. My father patented it.”
“Ugh, I know. I’ve been hanging around the Dixon men for too long.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Speaking of, are you pissed at your dad?”
I paused mid-lift of my fork. “You aren’t going to automatically blame me for pissing him off?” I popped a black olive in my mouth.
“Why would I do that?”
“My brother had no problem,” I said, all the bitterness I felt in the statement.
“Want to talk about it?” He offered me a pita chip.
“I thought we weren’t speaking in questions.”
“Apparently, I’ve lost the ability to do anything but.”
“Knock, knock.” A hulk of a man tapped on the doorframe. “Gerard said you weren’t busy.”
Patrick swallowed his bite of food and wiped his mouth. “Come in. It’s fine.”
The guy swept his gaze across the scene. “I didn’t know you were married. Had a family.”
I choked on a piece of lettuce. Patrick patted my back.
“Should I be worried? I pay you to find shit out.”
“Thought I was losing my touch. Judging by her reaction, being married to you is as appalling an idea to her as it is to me.”
“Would it be so awful?” he said to himself.Did he say what I thought he did?I had to have misheard. “What do you have for me?”
“The girl. Cricket.”
“I was beginning to think you forgot about her.”
“She’s like a shadow. Pretty much was either at the food truck or the shelter. Should’ve known she wouldn’t come and go out of the front door.”
There were lots of reasons a woman might not want to be seen at the shelter. That didn’t necessarily mean she was up to no good. But it might.
“Where’d she go?”
“She slipped out down the alley behind the shelter most nights around one. Meets a guy in Brownsville, they exchange something, and then I lose her every damn time. It was around four this morning when she snuck back in.”
“She look messed up?”
“Not from what I could see, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. If she meets up with that dude again tonight, I’ll follow him.”
