Page 57 of Played by Him

“I said that I felt like someone was watching me,” I corrected. “But when I looked, I couldn’t see anyone specific. There were other people on the sidewalk, but no one looked suspicious.”

“Would you be willing to work with a sketch artist?” The kid’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I mean, if you think that would help you remember.”

I gave him a tight smile. “I was hit from behind, then fell forward. I didn’t see anyone until Patty helped me up. A sketch artist won’t be able to do any good with that.”

“Miss Quick, can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you?” The other detective broke in, giving his partner a sharp look. “As a private investigator, I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of unhappy clients.”

Evan Lee’s face flashed into my mind. “A couple,” I admitted, “but no one’s threatened me. They’ve called me incompetent, that sort of thing, but no one said they were going to hurt me.”

“No unhappy ex-boyfriends?” the kid asked. His cheeks suddenly flushed. “Or ex-girlfriends?”

“No.” Jalen didn’t count. He might’ve been pissed when he left after our fight, but he wouldn’t have come after me like that. He wasn’t that sort of man.

A little voice in my head whispered that I never would’ve thought my father was that sort of man either, but I ignored it. Even if I’d misjudged Jalen’s character when it came to his willingness to commit violence, I couldn’t see any scenario – even revenge – where he’d follow me, hit me over the head, then steal my purse. It would’ve been…pointless.

“Is there any reason why you think this wasn’t some random mugging?” I asked. “My purse was taken off of me on the street. I wasn’t assaulted. I mean, no more than what was needed to knock me down. It didn’t happen at work or at home or even someplace like a bar or restaurant where I might’ve been followed. I was looking for a lost dog, and I’d only been hired an hour or so before.”

The two men exchanged the sort of look that made me want to snap at them to stop treating me like a child, but I knew that what usually happened when a young woman told two adult men that she didn’t want to be treated like a child, they did just that, even if they didn’t seem to mean it.

Fortunately, I was saved from needing to find a way to get them to tell me what was going on when the door to the tiny room opened, and two more people walked in.

Clay was with a dark-haired man in his early fifties, a man I assumed was Agent Raymond Matthews. Considering that I’d never met the man before, the fact that he was here with Clay now told me that they were here on official business. I just didn’t understand why.

“Since when are muggings under the FBI’s jurisdiction?” I picked at the tape holding the medical gauze onto my palm.

“Detectives, thank you for getting Miss Quick’s statement,” Agent Matthews said gruffly. “Unless we find evidence to support a connection, we won’t be interfering in your investigation, but you’re welcome to ask for our assistance.”

A connection? What the hell did that mean?

“We’ll be in touch, Miss Quick,” the older detective said, “if any of your property is found or if we need your help with identification.”

I doubted either of those scenarios was likely, but I nodded anyway. As soon as the door closed behind the younger detective, I turned back to Clay and Agent Matthews.

“All right, what are you two doing here?” I pointed at Clay. “And don’t give me some bullshit about wanting to make sure I was okay. Checking in on me doesn’t require your partner to come with you, no matter how much you’d argue to the contrary.”

Agent Matthews cracked a smile. “She knows you well.”

“You’re right,” Clay said to me, his expression still somber. “I’m not here as a friend. Or, at least, not only as a friend. It’s business, and not anything to do with getting mugged. Probably.”

My insides squirmed. “What’s going on? Stop beating around the bush and just tell me.”

Clay looked at his partner who nodded. “There’s no easy way to say this, Rona, so I’m just going to come out with it.”

I braced myself, but nothing could have truly prepared me for what came out of his mouth next.

“Your father’s escaped.”

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