Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 (7 page)

The private detective blinked rapidly. “I can't...”

Nicholas punched in two numbers.

“I can't get another ticket. Please.”

Nicholas pushed two more buttons.

“Senator Eagleton's office,” Mr. Goodwin shouted.

Why would her uncle want to know?

“Who hired you? Who set this up?” Selena clenched the arms of the chair.

“I don't know. My secretary took the call and set it up a couple of months ago. Other than Littleton's mother, you are the only one who has visited him. Until today, when he came with you.” Mr. Goodwin tossed his head toward Nicholas.

“How do you report to the person who hired you?” she fired another question at the private investigator.

“I call a number and leave a message.”

“Don't you think that's strange you don't talk to someone personally?”

Mr. Goodwin lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Miss, in this job, I've dealt with some strange people.”

“How are you paid?” Nicholas sat again in the chair next to Selena.

“Cash, almost immediately after each time I've reported in. The amount varies on how much time I spend finding out who the person is and basic information on them. I won't call the number about today.” Mr. Goodwin stared at Nicholas. “Your name won't be mentioned.”

“But you have mentioned my associate?”

“Yes. Not long ago.” The man turned to her. “Selena Barrow, White House tour director.”

Nicholas stood. “Please write down the number you called and then make a call to it and report that we visited Littleton today.”

After Mr. Goodwin jotted something on the piece of paper and gave it to Nicholas, the detective picked up his phone and made the call. He was on the line two minutes, giving the details of who went to see Littleton, then he hung up. “I tried to trace the number once. Prepaid cell phone. I couldn't.”

“We're leaving right after we talk with your secretary.” Nicholas waited while Selena rose and started for the door. “Keep doing what you're doing. Call me when you receive payment for the tip. I'll need to check the envelope. Don't let anyone know about this chat, not even your secretary.”

“I won't. I don't want to lose any business over it. Times are tough and rent is high here.”

Out in the reception area, Nicholas smiled at the young secretary and half leaned, half sat on the side of her desk. “Do you remember anything about who set up the account with Senator Eagleton's office a couple of months ago?”

As she continued to chew and snap her gum, the woman scrunched her forehead and tapped her chin with a fingernail with hot-pink polish on it. She finally shook her head.

“A man or woman? This is important,” Nicholas said with a slight Southern drawl.

“I think a man... No, wait, a female. I don't believe I got a name.”

Nicholas took out a business card and wrote his cell number on the back. “Call me—if you remember anything.” He winked and straightened. “Good day, Betsy.”

The young woman's cheeks reddened. “I will—” she looked at the card “—Nicholas.”

Out in the hallway, Selena rolled her eyes and laughed. “You're a smooth operator, Nicolas Cole.”

“It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.” He gave her a wink and headed for the stairs.

Back in his SUV, Selena relaxed for the first time since the private detective had started following them. “I have some steaks at home. Why don't we skip going out to dinner? I'm not hungry right now since I ate the pie. I'm sure Max is wondering where we went without him.”

“He's probably thrilled. He got an afternoon off.”

“Well, not exactly. He's guarding my house.”

“True. He's learned to protect his territory. Honestly, I don't think anyone will come back. They searched thoroughly the first time.”

“Yeah, I think they got what they were looking for.” Selena took in his strong profile and liked what she saw. Not movie-star handsome but definitely heart-stopping when he smiled and his dark chocolate–colored eyes sparkled.

When Nicholas turned onto her street, she broke the silence of the past ten minutes. “So what are we going to do next? Go see my uncle?”

“No.” He pulled into her driveway. “I'll look into this lead.”

“Have you met my uncle?”

“Once.”

“He's a very private man. We may not have a great relationship, but I am his niece.” She didn't want Nicholas interviewing him. She couldn't believe her uncle would order her house searched. His method would have been to come see her and demand to know why she was investigating Littleton's case. He'd want to view what evidence she'd collected because Erin was his daughter, and he'd always loved her. He would see she was trying to prove Erin was innocent and might even want to take over Littleton's case. This might be the time she could mend the breach between—

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing. Just thinking about my uncle.”

“I don't want anyone to think you're investigating Littleton on your own.”

“Okay. Then we go together. I'm conceding Tabitha to you but not my uncle.” She'd seen how Nicholas got women to talk. Perhaps he'd be able to charm information out of Congressman Jeffries's aide and find out what she remembered about the argument between Littleton and the murdered intern.

He stared at her as though probing her reasons behind the request. “Why is this important to you?”

For a moment she didn't know if she could tell him, but it was imperative since she had gotten close to Erin. She'd wanted to be part of a family. She was determined to help Erin come back safely, with her name cleared. If her uncle didn't want to have anything to do with her, so be it. She would be satisfied with being close with Erin.

“Selena?”

She angled toward him. “I have a letter from my mother written when she was dying from alcohol poisoning, begging me to give it to her brother and make sure he read it. I'm afraid with the way our relationship is now, he would take it and tear it up without reading. I want to fulfill this last obligation to my mother then I'll be...” She swallowed back the word
free
and averted her gaze.

“You'll be what?” he said in a gentle voice.

“Free of my past. I washed my hands of dealing with my mom's drinking. I refused to see her until the hospital called and told me she was dying. I should have been there for her.” What was it about Nicholas that she said out loud something she had been suppressing and struggling with since her mother had died three years ago?

He touched her arm and drew her around so their gazes linked. “I'm sorry. Our past can play with our minds sometimes.”

“My childhood wasn't anything like yours.”

“Do you think I had an easy time while growing up?”

“Did you go without food for a couple of days at a time?”

He pulled back from her, all feelings wiped from his expression. “I won't play one-up with you. No, my life was different from yours, but it had its challenges.”

His blank look, which had chased away the earlier concern, bothered her. “I'm sorry. I know that just because you came from a wealthy family doesn't guarantee an easy life. I haven't walked in your shoes. I shouldn't have judged.”

His hands on the steering wheel, his body facing forward, he fixed his gaze on something beyond the windshield. “Let's start over. Is the steak dinner still on the table?”

“Yes, I'll use the microwave to defrost them. I can put a couple of baking potatoes in the oven and make salad.”

He sent her that special smile, dimples appearing in his cheeks. “I'm starting to get hungry after that description.”

“Let's go. And Max will have a treat, too. These are T-bones, so he can enjoy the leftovers.”

“He may desert me for you after tonight.” Nicholas exited the Tahoe and met her on the sidewalk to her house.

“I'm beginning to change my mind about having a pet. When this is over with, I want a dog. One like Max. I know you mentioned you'd help me, and I might take you up on it. You're the expert on guard dogs.” Before she unlocked her door, she shifted toward Nicholas. “We never settled on me going with you to interview my uncle.”

He studied her for a few seconds. “He might not be too happy to see me—us. Do you still want to do it?”

“Yes. I owe Erin. She's the one who contacted me first to meet for lunch. I might never have gotten to know her if she hadn't made that first move after my mom's funeral.” She grinned. “And since working at the White House, I've discovered diplomacy. I'll persuade my uncle to help us get to the bottom of all this because I know he isn't personally involved.” At least she prayed he wasn't. She couldn't dismiss that someone from the Eagleton office had paid Benny Goodwin to keep an eye on who visited Greg. Who? Why, after he was sent to jail?

“Then okay. You can even initiate the contact to set up a time. All right?”

“Yes. Perfect.” She unlocked her front door and hurried to turn off the alarm while Max greeted Nicholas. She glanced back at them and some of her wariness of Nicholas's motives faded as she watched her protector playfully roughhousing with his dog.

* * *

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Miss Miller.” Nicholas took the seat in front of the desk that Congressman Jeffries's aide gestured toward.

She sat in the one next to him, dressed in an emerald-green pencil skirt, black high heels and a white blouse with cap sleeves. He noticed a matching green jacket hung on a coatrack. Her office wasn't big, but then she was a junior staff member.

“Please, Tabitha.” She crossed her long legs. “What brings you to my office?”

“I'm reopening a case and your name came up.” He observed her for any reaction to his words, and she didn't let him down. Her pupils dilated. Her body tensed.

“Case? I haven't been involved in any cases.”

“It happened two years ago at your apartment complex.”

As her forehead crunched, her lower lip stuck out. She brushed back her long, wavy, reddish-blond hair, similar to Erin Eagleton's. “I don't understand.”

“Do you recall when Saul Rather, one of Senator Eagleton's interns, was murdered in the parking garage?”

“I wasn't a witness to that murder. I was asleep when it happened, because I remember sirens waking me up. Why do you want to talk with me? I don't know anything about what went down.”

He was beginning to wonder if she might know more than she was saying, with the way a defensive wall went up when he mentioned the murder victim. “Did you know Saul Rather?”

“Personally, no. He hadn't lived at the apartment complex but a couple of months, and he kept to himself. I saw him a few times at the Capitol and maybe spoke a handful of words to him. His murderer has already been convicted.”

“New evidence has surfaced, and I'm taking a hard look at the case.”

“Again, I don't see my connection.”

“You and a few of your friends witnessed an argument between Rather and Littleton, the custodian convicted of the crime, the evening before the murder. Do you recall it?”

“Two years ago,” she said in a voice full of disbelief. “What do you expect me to remember?”

“What you saw between the two men, your impression of the fight and who else was with you on your balcony.”

She blew out a long breath. “No, I mean it was
two
years ago.”

“I understand you used to have various aides over to your place after work.”

“I used to once a week. Those people would vary from week to week, so to be able to recall the exact ones at my apartment on that particular day is impossible. The only ones I remember who might have been there are the regulars, although even they didn't come every week.”

When she didn't elaborate, Nicholas asked, “Who were they?”

“Sally Young, Becky Wright and Janice Neill. We did a lot of things together back then.” Tabitha rose. “I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Saul Rather had a temper. Word had it, he usually held it together during the workday, but once off work he'd speak his mind. That's all I know.”

In his gut, he felt she was holding something back. Nicholas took his time getting to his feet, then slowly lifted his gaze to Tabitha's green eyes, dark with—worry? She came to four inches shorter than he was, so she could have fit into Miss Chick's costume. He knew that was a stretch, and yet she was Congressman Jeffries's aide, had been for several years. Could she be connected to Michael Jeffries's murder case somehow? “One last thing, did you go to the Easter Egg Roll?”

“Yes, along with thousands of others. Congressman Jeffries was there as well as a couple of his staff members. Why? What does that have to do with the murder of Saul Rather?”

“Nothing. Just curious.” He thought of the cufflinks, with the initials
VG
engraved on them, that he found in Margaret Meyer's office. “Was Vincent Geary one of the aides at the event?”

“No. He had some work to finish up on a bill for the congressman.” She walked toward the door. “I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more use to you. I need to leave. I have a luncheon scheduled. Duty calls.”

He removed his card. “If you can think of anyone who was on the balcony with you that day or possibly would have been, please give me a call.”

Out in the main hall of the office building, he lounged against the wall, waiting to see when she would appear to go to her luncheon. Still no Tabitha Miller ten minutes later. His cell phone rang, and he quickly answered the call from Selena.

“Are you backing out of eating lunch at the White House mess with me?” Nicholas asked instead of saying hello.

“Don't you think after spending most of yesterday together we've seen each other enough?”