AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, that’s awful.” I surge forward to the edge of my seat. “Did you find him?” Mr. Truman watches us with a keen eye.
“Yes, we did. He’d chased a cat under another neighbor’s deck and was waiting there with his head stuck between some broken latticework. His behind was the first thing I noticed. Then I saw his bright orange pumpkin sweater. It’s a little early for a Halloween costume, but the glow came in handy. Everyone’s safe at home now.”
“I can see it now.” I giggle. “You’re getting into the habit of rescuing things.”
“Don’t go there.” He glares.
“What did I miss?” Mr. Truman arches an eyebrow.
“Too long of a story to explain. There’s nothing like watching a couple of retired individuals in their housecoats peeking over the neighborhood fences, yelling out, ‘Precious.’ I thought I was on the set of Silence of the Lambs.” He frowns. “And there’s nothing precious about that yappy dog. The cat, who is over twice as big as the dog, didn’t think so either.”
“I’m glad you found him.” It’s ironic how much time he spends helping people when he claims to be a man who doesn’t rescue things.
“Cute.” Mr. Truman leans back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m glad you were able to use your extensive training to locate a lost animal. Obviously, you haven’t lost your edge. We could use those skills in the field.”
“You’re going to compare a search of a pet in a subdivision in the same breath as doing an extraction in a hostile territory?” Cade’s jaw is tight, as if he’s disapproving of Mr. Truman’s comments.
He unfolds his arms and raises his palms upward. “I’m sorry. That was out of line. I said I wouldn’t push it, and I won’t.” He turns back to me. “Lola, ignore our bickering.”
What’s that about? My head spins. I never questioned why Cade spends his time in the office doing computer work instead of out in the field. That was a mistake. There’s something more going on.
“What can I help you with?” Mr. Truman rests his hands on the surface of his desk.
“Do you remember the case you gave me to research on the robbery/theft ring?”
“Of course.” He nods.
“I know one of the men–Randall Maitland. I don’t know him well, but I spoke with him last night. I’ve managed to get him, and the other players to agree to attend my father’s fundraiser this weekend. Randall was the hardest to get on the hook, so I’ve set up a meeting with him to chat about investing.”
***
Cade
I choke and almost fall out of my chair. “What did you say?”
She talked to Maitland last night? When? There was plenty of time to tell me her plans. We talked about the case for over thirty minutes. Did she intentionally keep me in the dark? Is that why she made me promise to stay out of her business. Son of a bitch. Was she even going to tell me? I grind my teeth together. For fuck’s sake, she’s a loose cannon.
“I went to college with this woman, Patricia Young.” She turns to me. “You remember we discussed her yesterday?”
I narrow my eyes and nod. Yes, we talked about that, but not calling this dude, meeting him, meeting all of them. What in the hell?
“I fed her this spiel about having a trust fund that I want to invest, and she gave him my number. He called me last night and left a message, so I called him back. There wasn’t time to discuss it with you before making plans. I was going to attend the gala, as usual. Well….” I shrug. “I decided to attend the event after reviewing the file. This is a perfect opportunity to get all of the suspects in one place and shake things up.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” I jump out of my seat and pace in front of Truman’s desk.
“I was going to tell you this morning, but I didn’t see you. Until now.” She crosses her left leg over her right, and my asshole eyes follow the movement. Down boy. Son of a bitch. I’m pissed at her, and I still want to take her to bed. Or against a wall. “Why didn’t you tell me last night when we were discussing the assignment? You know how I feel about you working in the field.”
“It wasn’t a sure thing, and I wanted to run it by Mr. Truman, which is what I’m trying to do right now.”
I brace my hands on my hips and glare at her. “You can’t contact this man. You don’t know what he’s capable of doing. Or any of them, for that matter. Whoever is responsible for the thefts isn’t going to turn around and offer up their wrists for a pair of handcuffs.”
“Well, it’s a little too late for that. Everything is set up for this weekend.” She turns to Truman. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
Truman, who’s watched our exchange with rapt interest, rests his forearms on the desk with his hands tented together. “Lola, I have no problem with my agents doing legwork before running things past me. Feel free to make those types of decisions.”
Motherfucker. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I draw in a ragged breath and hold it while slowly counting to ten. The vein in my temple pulses as I listen to the rest of her plans.
“He’s going to meet me for a preliminary discussion at my father’s residence. Then, if we hit it off, he’s agreed for us to meet at his house or office, whichever is convenient for him. Wherever we end up, I’m going to think up a distraction and snoop around if I don’t catch the culprit red-handed at the event. The other three were already planning to attend, so it won’t be difficult to maneuver a conversation with them and monitor their activities. If I suspect any one of them is responsible, I’ll figure some way to invite myself to their place to snoop around and opt out of the meeting with Randall.” She pauses. “I’ve researched all of them, but something feels off about Randall. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
