Trapped by Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (26 page)

At least she was focusing on Jim and not me. “Um… tell Jim “hi” for me,” I said.

“Oh, I’ll tell him more than that. I’ll tell him you solved the case!”

On that happy note, Dimples walked her out and I slouched against the couch, totally drained. “It looks like I’m officially off the hook, right?” I said to Chris.

“Pretty much,” he agreed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they drop all charges.”

“Phew! You don’t know how happy that makes me feel.”

He gave me that sexy smile of his and, careful with my arm, pulled me close until I was basically sitting on his lap. “You scared me to death, by the way.” He kissed my lips, then trailed kisses across my face to my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “But I’m not going to ask you to stop doing what you do.”

“You’re not?” That surprised me, and I pulled back to look him in the eye.

He chuckled and then bent over to nuzzle my neck again. “That would be like asking a river to flow backwards. Nope. You are like a force of nature, and there’s nothing to do about that but go with the flow.” His desire washed over me, sending threads of longing straight to my heart, and my body hummed.

“So, you’re really okay with it?” I had to ask.

His kisses stopped, but then started up again. “Yes.” He was thinking about the little talk he’d had with Manetto and how they’d worked things out.

“You talked to Uncle Joey?” I squeaked.

Chris blew out a breath and pulled away. “Yes dear, I did. And I found out that he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to you either.”

“So does that mean he won’t ask me to work for him anymore?” Instead of relief, a sense of loss filled me. How crazy was that?

He chuckled. “Are you kidding? No, but he’s going to be more careful about the assignments he gives you.” Chris was also thinking that as soon as I felt better, he was going to sign me up for Aikido classes with Billie. She’d offered when he’d talked to her last night, and he’d taken her up on it real fast.

“Hmm…” I said. “I think Aikido’s a great idea.”

Chris resumed kissing me, determined that if I was going to listen to his every thought, he’d really give me something exciting to think about. Something that would make me forget everything else but this moment with him. He was right. After that, all thought went right out of my head.

***

Friday afternoon I was on my way to lunch with Holly to celebrate my status as an ‘acquitted of murder’ suspect. Because of my arm she drove, and after parking the car, we started toward the restaurant. The rumbling of a motorcycle brought us to a stop, and there was Ramos, pulling into the parking lot and stopping a few feet away.

He tugged off his helmet, looking incredibly sexy in his black leather jacket, tousled hair, and unshaven face. “Babe,” he said. “How’s the arm?”

“Uh… doing better, thanks.”

“Good. I have a little something for you.” He took a small leather notebook from inside his jacket pocket and handed it to me.

“Oh… the ledger… thanks.” I eagerly took it from him. “Chris will be happy to see this.”

He nodded and, after a quick glance and nod to Holly, said, “Later,” and slipped his helmet back on. Right before he drove away, he gave me a quick wink, and I couldn’t help the smile that widened my lips.

He’d called me earlier about picking up the ledger, and I’d told him about my lunch date with Holly. He was happy to agree to give it to me in the parking lot of the restaurant, especially after I told him about Holly wondering if he was real, or if I’d just made him up. The timing couldn’t have been better.

“Wowza!” Holly said, fanning herself with her hand, her breathing fast. “You weren’t kidding.”

I laughed and tugged her toward the restaurant.

“Wait,” she said, wanting to keep her eye on him as long as she could.

As we watched Ramos drive away, I grinned and let out an appreciative sigh that matched Holly’s. She believed me now and couldn’t wait to hear all the juicy details about my latest adventure.

THE NEXT SHELBY NICHOLS ADVENTURE

NOW AVAILABLE

DEEP IN DEATH

By

COLLEEN HELME

(read on for a sample)

A twinge of pain burned through my arm, and I gently rubbed the spot where I’d been shot nearly three weeks ago. Getting a shot in the arm may sound like a simple thing for most people, but when it’s done by a bullet, it’s a whole different story. At least it was healing nicely, and the scar wasn’t too big, but every once in a while my arm ached like it had happened yesterday, probably because I was overdoing it again. After a few seconds the pain subsided, and I finished pulling on my shirt and got dressed.

Today was my first day back at work since the shooting, and I was ready to take on a new project. This time the job was a client from my consulting agency, which suited me just fine. My last job for Uncle Joey, the local mob-boss, had gotten me both arrested for murder and shot by a bullet in the arm, so I was a little nervous about doing anything for him again.

A few months ago I had to tell Uncle Joey my secret that I could read minds so he wouldn’t kill me. We’d worked out a compromise, and over the course of our association, we’d even become close. Crazy as it sounded, I’d started to think of him as my real uncle, even though he wasn’t. Since most of his errands seemed to get me into trouble, he’d also saved my life a few times. Well, to be honest, it was his hit-man, Ramos, doing most of the saving. But it was Uncle Joey who’d told him to watch out for me.

I sighed every time I thought of Ramos. He had a troubled past which only I knew about, and I’d helped him come to terms with it. Besides saving my life several times, there was also a physical attraction that I only dared admit out loud to my best friend, Holly. Of course after seeing him, she had a crush on him too, and since we were both happily married, I had to think it was all right. But with all of that going on, I had to wonder about myself. I mean, Uncle Joey was a big, bad mob-boss who had threatened to do me bodily harm, and Ramos was his hit-man. They were the bad guys and I had a soft spot in my heart for them. Was something wrong with me?

My husband, Chris, had no qualms about severing all ties with Uncle Joey, and it put me in a hard spot trying to please them both. But since the last job, things had changed. After I got shot, Chris had a long talk with Uncle Joey, and I hadn’t heard from him in three weeks. In some ways it was a relief, but in others, I kind of missed him… and Ramos… well… mostly Ramos. Still, I wasn’t about to call and offer my services. Not considering what had happened last time. Nope. I wasn’t ready to get shot again. In fact, I would be pretty happy if I never saw another gun in my life.

I took a deep cleansing breath and checked the time. I had an appointment with my client at ten this morning, and it was time to go. Her name was Tiffany and this was her senior year of college. Since I didn’t have a real office, I’d told her we could meet at the campus library in-between her classes, and with her busy schedule, meeting on campus worked out great for both of us.

I drove through town with my windows down and breathed in the crisp fall air. It was the first part of October and the sky was the perfect color of blue. The trees were just beginning to change into brilliant autumn colors, and framed against the blue sky, the pure beauty and serenity lifted my spirits. With everything I’d gone through lately, I knew I was lucky to be alive.

I parked at the visitor parking meters near the library and headed toward the front of the building. It had been several years since I’d been there last, and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I’d only been to one year of college before I’d talked Chris into marrying me. It was love at first sight for me, but it had taken some gentle persuading on my part to help Chris see how perfect we were together. Right after our marriage, we’d gone off to law school in another state. Josh had been born exactly nine months later followed by Savannah two years after that. There were times when I regretted not finishing college back then, but I wouldn’t trade the life I had now for anything.

I loved my family and, as it turned out, I had a pretty good career without a degree, and I was proud of what I’d accomplished. Of course, if I hadn’t gotten shot in the head during a bank robbery, which left me with the ability to read minds, it might be a different story.

It was still hard for me to believe how my life had turned upside down simply because I’d stopped at the grocery store for some carrots. Who would have thought? Now I had my own consulting agency where I could get paid for helping people, and most of the time, all I had to do was read their minds. Not that it was always that easy, but after getting shot, I’d take some simple cases for a while.

A young woman sat on a bench near the fountain where we’d planned to meet. Her gaze caught mine and her eyes widened slightly before she recognized me. As I approached, she smiled and gave me a quick wave. She had long blond hair and a sweet face, but her somber eyes seemed out of place for someone her age, like she’d gone through some hard times.

Since she was a college student, I was a little nervous that she couldn’t afford my one-hundred-and-fifty-dollar-an-hour fee. But we’d talked about that before I had agreed to meet her, and she’d seemed fine with it then. She stood to greet me.

“Shelby Nichols? Hi. I’m Tiffany Shaw. Thanks for meeting me.”

“Hi Tiffany, nice to meet you in person,” I answered.

“I know this is kind of informal, but it’s such a beautiful day. Do you mind staying out here in the sunshine?”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“Good.” She resumed her seat on the bench and I sat beside her. She was thinking that she wasn’t sure how to start. What she needed might not even be possible, but she’d read about me in the paper and figured if anyone could help her, it was me. She’d been saving up for years to hire a private investigator and wanted the best. After a little digging, she’d heard rumors that I had premonitions. It didn’t faze her in the least. In fact, after all this time, she thought it might be the only thing that would solve the case. She just had to make sure her dad didn’t find out, since he was the over-protective sort. He’d tell her she was throwing away her money, and probably accuse me of taking advantage of her.

That certainly put a lot of pressure on me, and my stomach tightened with dread that her father would disapprove. But since she was thinking about not telling him, maybe he’d never need to find out. Considering her age and circumstances, I had hoped she’d hired me for something easy, like finding out if her roommate was after her boyfriend. But no, she was thinking about her mother, and that she was probably dead, and I knew nothing was ever as easy as I wished.

“I’d like to hire you to find my mother.” Her lips tightened and pain flashed through her eyes. “You see…I’m getting married in a few weeks and I really want her to be there.” She didn’t add ‘if she’s still alive’ like she was thinking.

She’d always imagined her mother would be at her wedding, and now that it was actually happening, she couldn’t stop wondering where her mom was and what had happened to her. The day her mother had gone missing was the worst day of her life, and thinking about it brought all the horror back, but she knew she would never move on unless she had some answers.

“Tell me what happened,” I said gently.

She took a deep breath. “It’s been nearly six years, and I know that’s a long time, but just hear me out before you decide if you can take the job or not.”

“Okay.” I encouraged her with a smile. “Go on.”

“Like I said… it will be six years on the twenty-eighth of October since she went missing. That night, she drove to the office where she worked to drop something off and never came back. They found her car parked in the parking structure with the keys in the ignition. Her purse was on the passenger seat. Nothing was taken, and there was no sign of a struggle. It was like she just disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“What did the police tell you?”

“Well… they dusted for prints, checked her office, put out a missing person’s report, questioned her colleagues at work, and brought my father in for questioning.” She hated that they had suspected him. He was innocent. He had nothing to do with it. He loved her mom. It still made her angry. It was part of what had made the day so bad. She not only lost her mother, but her father was never the same after that.

“What happened to your father? Did they charge him with anything?”

Tiffany shook her head. “No. They had no evidence that he was involved, but the police always suspect the husband first. So it was bad enough that my mom disappeared, but the fact that they thought my dad had something to do with it made it ten times worse.”

She sighed, wondering for the thousandth time what kind of person she would be right now if she still had her mom. She’d probably be a lot happier, that was for sure. “My dad’s doing better now. He even got married a couple of months ago.”

“That’s good,” I said.

“Yeah.” She was glad he had finally moved on, and wished it was something she could do. But the ache just wouldn’t go away, especially with her upcoming wedding. This was the most important day of her life, and her mother should be there. So where was she? What had happened? Who had taken her? Why hadn’t she come home?

In her heart, she knew her mother never would have left unless she was forced into it. Speculation from the police and others of affairs, with her mom running off with another man, only deepened the wound, and she wouldn’t believe any of it. That’s why a small part of her had to believe her mom was dead, but what if she wasn’t? What if someone was holding her captive? It could happen, and she just couldn’t give up until she knew for sure.

“What did the police decide about the case?” I asked.

“Officially, she’s missing and presumed dead. At least that’s what they declared so my dad could re-marry. I don’t know what happened to the case files. But I’m hoping you can dig them up and maybe find something that got passed over. I know it’s a long shot, but I’ve never had the resources to hire a private investigator until now. Do you think you could look into it for me?”

I bit my bottom lip. The chances of finding out what happened at this point were pretty slim. My mind-reading ability wouldn’t be of much use, although I could still question her dad. Even though she didn’t think it was him, I’d learned that some people were really good at keeping secrets, and I wasn’t about to rule him out. I could probably get my hands on the police file and talk to the detectives who handled the case, but beyond that, I didn’t have much hope.

She was thinking that I was going to say no and she was starting to feel stupid that she’d even asked. No one in their right mind would think they could solve the case after six years. But even if she was throwing away her hard-earned money, she still had to try.

“It’s okay if you don’t find her,” Tiffany said. “I just want someone to take one more look at the case. Maybe there’s something you’ll see that they missed. Don’t worry about the money. I’ll still pay you, even if you don’t find anything new. Just…please say you’ll take it. I have to do this one last thing before the wedding. Maybe then I’ll know I’ve done everything I could and I can finally let her go.”

“It sounds like you’ve thought this through,” I began. “So you know the chances of finding anything are pretty slim?” She nodded, and I continued, “My rates are negotiable in certain cases, but I still need to be paid for my time.”

“I’ve got five thousand dollars. Is that enough?”

I glanced at her and raised my brows. “How about we take it an hour at a time? I’ll get the police files, talk to a few people, and let you know what I’ve found. That shouldn’t take long. We can decide after that if it’s worth pursuing.”

Her expression cleared. I was really going to do it. “Yeah… okay. That sounds good.” She grabbed her backpack from the bench and unzipped it, pulling out a manila folder crammed with papers. “I saved everything. There’s newspaper clippings, notes, a copy of the police report they gave us, and a picture of my mom. That should help you get started with dates and things.”

“This is great,” I said. I took the folder and slid it into my bag. “I’ll get started right away.”

“Wait, you’ll need this.” She opened her purse and pulled out a wad of cash. “How much do you need up front?”

“Oh… I’ll just take a retainer for now. Say… five hundred dollars? Once it’s gone we’ll talk again.”

“Are you sure?” She had brought eight hundred, and was thinking she didn’t want me to do a crappy job since five hundred would only cover a few hours.

I tried not to be insulted, but couldn’t help raising a brow. “You’d be surprised at how much I can get done in an hour or two.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh… well… good.” She quickly counted out five hundred dollars and handed it over.

I tucked it into my purse and stood. “I always keep a detailed summary of my time which I’ll give you when we meet next, along with a receipt for the money.”

She shrugged. “Okay.” Her hopes soared, bringing a smile to her lips. “Thanks so much. You don’t know how much better I feel about all this.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied. “I hope we find something… but to be honest… it’ll be a longshot.”

“That’s okay. At least we’re doing something.”

“I’ll be in touch.” I smiled and turned to leave, knowing she was watching my every step. She was thinking I was cool, and the fact that I was a real private investigator filled her with awe. I also hadn’t told her I felt sorry for her, or treated her like a kid, and that went a long way. It was just the sort of thing she needed, and if I could find out what had really happened to her mom, she’d gladly fork over every penny of that money.