Deadly Questions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 8) (3 page)

Mandy sighed, relieved. “You’re sure?”

James glanced around the room. “You know what? Why don’t you guys go and throw the steaks on the grill and give us a few minutes? I’d like to celebrate with my wife, if you don’t mind.”

Grady made a face. “Everyone get out.”

Ally was confused. “Why?”

“Because they’re going to christen the pool table,” Grady said, tugging on his sister’s arm as he led her out of the guesthouse.

“How do you know that?”

Grady looked his brother up and down, his hand on the door. “Because they’re sick,” he said. “And because James is so touched right now he can’t think of anything to do but touch her back. I’m sure they won’t be long.”

James ignored his brother. “Just give us twenty minutes.”

“Thirty,” Mandy corrected, smiling as James reached for her.

“Thirty,” James agreed.

“Sick,” Grady said, shutting the door. Even he couldn’t hide his smile, though. Sometimes love – whether it was yours or someone else’s – was just contagious. Tonight it felt contagious.

“So, what are you working on?”

Sophie glanced up from her laptop, meeting Conrad Malcolm’s gaze evenly. Conrad had been Sophie’s boss since she joined the staff of Macomb County’s newspaper, the Daily Tribune, several years before. Since she was good at her job, he’d afforded her autonomy when she decided on her assignments. All he asked was that she keep him abreast of what her busy mind was investigating.

“I’m not sure if it will turn out to be anything,” Sophie warned.

“I’ve heard that before,” Conrad said. “With you, it’s rarely true. What is it?”

“Have you heard anything about working girls going missing at the border crossing?”

Conrad frowned, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. “No.”

“Well, it seems that at least five women have disappeared over the past few months,” Sophie said. “I’m trying to see what I can find.”

“How did you find out?”

Sophie stilled, shifting in her seat. “Someone told me.”

Conrad waited.

“Someone approached the Hardys to investigate,” Sophie said carefully. “I was just interested when I heard. I figure it could be a good story. There could be a predator out there that we don’t know about.”

“Wouldn’t there be five bodies instead of five missing women if there was a predator?” Conrad pressed.

“Not if they haven’t found them yet.”

Conrad pursed his lips. “You know, about a year ago, there was this woman in the Macomb County Jail who claimed that there was a group of people trafficking women between Canada and the U.S.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“That’s because I chose not to pursue the story,” Conrad said. “The story was so … fantastical.”

“Do you remember her name?”

Conrad shook his head. “I only remembered the call because you jogged my memory. I never wrote it down. I thought she was a loon.”

Sophie tapped her bottom lip with her ink pen thoughtfully. “Let’s say they were trafficking women, how would that work?”

“It depends on what they’re trafficking them for, and where they’re trafficking them to,” Conrad said.

“Well, we know why they’re trafficking them,” Sophie said. “They’re sex workers.”

Conrad nodded.

“I guess it’s too much to hope that they’re keeping them in Canada, huh?”

“I don’t think there’s a lot of human slavery going on in Canada,” Conrad said. “I’m sure there’s some, but Canada isn’t the market.”

“So, where is the market?”

“Everywhere that sex sells,” he replied.

Sophie was quiet for a few moments. “Where do you think I should start looking?”

“Where do you think you should start looking?” Conrad replied.

Sophie scowled. “I hate it when you do that. You’re like a psychiatrist or something.”

“You haven’t answered the question,” Conrad said, smirking.

“There’s only one place to start,” Sophie said. “I have to go down to the border.”

“Be careful down there,” Conrad warned. “That’s a dangerous area. Perhaps you should take Mr. Hardy with you.”

“I don’t need Grady to do my job,” Sophie countered.

“I didn’t say you needed him to do your job,” Conrad said. “I said you needed him to keep you safe, and I stand by that. Ultimately, though, it’s your decision.”

“WELL,
well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Grady plastered a fake smile on his face as he regarded the secretary in the front lobby of the Daily Tribune. “It’s good to see you, Marge.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Marge said. “I haven’t seen you in what seems like forever. I was under the impression that you’d finally wised up and dumped Sophie.”

Marge and Sophie had a tortured relationship. Actually, they hated each other. Grady still went out of his way to be nice to the plump receptionist. He figured, if he was nice enough, maybe Sophie would catch on to the proper way to deal with Marge. So far, his efforts had been futile.

“Oh, nothing will ever make me dump Sophie,” Grady said. “I’d be lost without her.”

“And homeless,” Finn teased, glancing between Marge and Grady curiously. He’d never been inside the Daily Tribune building before, so he was taking it all in.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Marge asked.

“Well, they live together.”

Marge made a face. “Since when?”

Finn shuffled uncomfortably. “Um … a month or so.”

Grady’s smile never wavered, even though he had the sudden urge to throttle his brother. “It’s been a great month.”

Marge pushed out a disgusted sigh. “She must have cast a spell over you,” she said. “That’s all I can figure.”

“She certainly did,” Grady agreed. “Is she here?”

Marge ignored the question. “Who is your little friend?”

Grady didn’t miss the predatory look on Marge’s face as she looked Finn up and down. When he’d first met the secretary, she had been crushing hard on James. She’d shifted that crush to him by virtue of proximity – and because it irritated Sophie. Now it seemed Finn was on the menu. “This is Finn.”

“Another brother?”

Grady pinched his brother’s cheek. “He’s my baby brother.”

“Good genes must run in your family,” Marge said.

“That’s what our sister says,” Finn said.

“Are you single?” Marge asked.

“No,” Finn said, oblivious. “I have a girlfriend.”

“And what does she do for a living?”

Finn wasn’t sure how to answer the question, but lying didn’t seem like a necessity. “She’s a model.”

Marge snorted. “Of course she is.” She turned her attention back to Grady. “And how is James? Is he single yet?”

“James is married,” Grady said, holding his hands out apologetically. “He’s definitely off the market.”

“He’s married? He married that … girl?”

“Mandy? Yes, he married her.”

“But … why?”

“I’m pretty sure he loves her,” Grady said.

“I just don’t understand you … Hardys,” Marge muttered. “You all keep getting bamboozled by looks and completely ignore a woman of substance.”

“We are men,” Grady said, playing his part to perfection. “Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves.”

“I guess not.”

“So, um, is Sophie here?”

“She doesn’t check in and out with me like she’s supposed to,” Marge replied. “I have no idea.”

“Can you call back into the newsroom and find out?”

“I suppose. Oh, look, I guess it won’t be necessary.”

Grady shifted his attention to the glass doors that separated the lobby from the inner sanctum of the newspaper. Sophie was moving through them before he got a chance to respond.

“What are you doing here?” Her face was a mask of confusion and pleasure.

“I came to get you,” Grady said.

“Why?”

“Because I know exactly where you’re heading right now,” Grady said.

“I’m going out to cover a story,” Sophie said.

“Where?”

“Just … out.”

“Where?”

“Across town, if you must know,” Sophie said, averting her gaze.

“You’re going down to the border crossing, aren’t you?”

“I … what makes you think that?” Sophie’s eyes were dark slits against her pale face.

“Because I know you, sugar,” Grady said, fighting the mad urge to laugh as Marge rolled her eyes at the term of endearment. “I know that you have to start investigating what we discussed yesterday. You won’t be able to stop yourself. That’s why we’re here. You can go down there with us.”

“Why are you going down there?” Sophie asked.

“For the same reason you are.”

“But … .”

“Sophie, it’s too dangerous for you to go down there alone,” Grady said. “I don’t want to get in your way, but I don’t want you to get hurt. I thought this would be a nice compromise.”

“What makes you think that I want to compromise?”

“Because you’d hate for me to sit home and worry about you,” Grady replied.

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” Sophie conceded. “I also don’t want you to boss me around.”

“Do I look like I’m trying to boss you around?”

“Your whole family likes to boss people around,” Sophie said.

“Don’t use James against me,” Grady said. “He’s more overbearing than I am. Just because he takes over and bosses Mandy around, that doesn’t mean I’m going to do the same with you.”

“Besides, I think Mandy secretly likes it,” Finn offered. “She likes to fight right back with him. That allows them to get hot and sweaty in the middle of a fight.”

Grady shot Finn a look. “Do you think that’s helping?”

Finn shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“It’s not,” Sophie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea.”

“Sophie, I try really hard not to get in the way of your job,” Grady said. “Last month, when this county was a war zone, did I go to every crime scene with you?”

“No.”

“I just want you to be safe,” Grady said, helpless. “Just … ride down there with us. I won’t get in the way of your interviews. I won’t follow you around like I’m your shadow. I just need to know you’re not wandering into danger.”

Sophie sighed, considering. “Fine.”

Grady arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Let’s go,” she said. “We’re wasting daylight.”

Grady smirked, shooting a triumphant look in Finn’s direction. Even though her back was to them, Sophie straightened. “I saw that.”

“You saw what?” Finn asked.

“Just for that, I’m riding shot gun,” Sophie said.

“Hey, wait a second,” Finn protested, turning to his brother for support.

“She called it, dude,” Grady said. “You know the rules.”

“You’re just as lovesick as James is these days,” Finn grumbled. “Displacing me for a girl … that’s just wrong.”

“And for
that
girl,” Marge grumbled.

“Have a nice day, Marge,” Sophie sang as she coasted out the door.

“WHERE
did Sophie go?” Finn asked, looking over his shoulder as he leaned against an abandoned building.

“She wanted to talk to some of the working girls,” Grady said. “She promised not to go far.”

“I’m impressed,” Finn said. “You’re letting her wander around down here, and you have no idea what she’s doing.”

“I trust her.”

“I didn’t say you didn’t,” Finn said. “I’m just surprised that you’re not worried about her in this neighborhood.”

“This neighborhood is crap,” Grady agreed, glancing at his watch. “What time did Sean tell us he would meet us here?”

Sean Dean was an old Navy buddy of Finn’s who now worked border patrol. He’d agreed to meet the brothers close to his workstation before his shift began. That’s why they were standing on the corner of a street that wasn’t fit for human occupation.

“He should be here any minute,” Finn said. “I can’t believe how bad it is down here. You keep hearing about the city getting better – but that’s pretty hard to believe when you look at this area.”

“It’s sad,” Grady agreed. “The architecture is still great, but there’s not enough money in the world to fix all of the problems down here.”

“I can see how easy it would be to grab someone from here,” Finn said. “There’s no one around who would report a crime. They’re too busy committing them to want to call the cops.”

Grady fixed his attention on the two men openly dealing drugs a block away. “Yeah. It’s ridiculous.”

The Hardy brothers looked up as a car pulled into the spot next to them. Finn broke into a wide grin as he greeted the man exiting the vehicle. “Hey, Sean.”

“Hey, Finn.”

Finn introduced Grady to his friend, and after the pleasantries were exhausted, he got straight to the point. “Have you heard anything about women disappearing in this area?”

Sean shrugged. “You hear a lot of stories in this area.”

“Like?”

“I heard just last week that aliens were taking over the city.”

Finn made a face. “Um … .”

“We’re talking about real stories,” Grady said, cutting his brother off.

“I know,” Sean said. “The problem is, every story I hear seems like the person telling it to me believes it. This isn’t the suburbs. There’s so much sadness around her, so much desperation … everyone is self-medicating down here. Everyone. All that self-medication makes for some interesting urban myths.”

“But have you heard about women disappearing?” Finn pressed.

“Yeah,” Sean said. “I didn’t hear five, though. I heard fifty. You just … you can’t believe what you hear down here. It’s awful, and it’s sad, but those are the realities.”

“Do you think there’s any truth to the stories?” Grady asked.