you excuse us a minute, Rand?”
“Certainly.”
She didn’t trust Rand’s pleasant smile. It was about as benign as a quiet summer morning before an earthquake.
As soon as she and Roman had moved out into the hall, he put a steadying hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at him. “He walked in here this morning out of the blue. For the record, I’ve never met or spoken to him until a half hour ago. No one, not even Diana, knew he was that Dunbarton.”
Roman was an honorable man. His explanations relieved her more than he would ever know. “Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“You’re welcome. Now that we have that out of the way, you must realize Rand has a serious problem on his hands. He obviously came to us because he needs the best person to help him crack this case and he knows you work for me.”
Roman was a legend with the police force, both locally and nationally. He didn’t hire people for his agency who weren’t the top in their field. She knew he didn’t pay compliments he didn’t mean.
His unstinting praise of her was humbling to say the least. But this was Rand they were talking about, the man who had turned her world inside out.
“You’re a natural for this assignment, Annabelle. I don’t have to point out the reasons why. What he’s hoping is that you’ll put all personal feelings aside. I realize that’s pretty well asking the impossible. I understand if you can’t deal with it, but it might be the best therapy in the world if you did.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been hurt by your relationship with him. Perhaps if you faced him head-on, you would exorcise the ghosts haunting you. I speak from personal experience. Because I waited so long to realize what was most important to me, I almost lost Brittany.” His voice rasped.
She nodded. Roman’s wife had told Annabelle their story in confidence. When they’d first met, Roman had been working as a CIA agent, a dangerous job which prevented him from getting married and putting down roots. The struggle between duty and his growing love for her complicated their relationship and took its toll on both of them. But in the end he gave up his job because he loved her too much to lose her. That was their destiny.
Rand’s and Annabelle’s case was different. He’d never really loved her. All he’d done was make demands. They had no destiny.
“You know what they say about the truth. It will make you free. Maybe you ought to think about that in terms of your own future. But whatever you decide, I’ll stand behind you.”
Annabelle closed her eyes for a moment. She was thinking. If Rand could treat her like this, then maybe it was time for her to take action and show him the same indifference back. Maybe it was the only way to get over him.
Slowly she expelled a sigh. “All right. I’ll take his case.” If my hunch is right and Bryan Ludlow is involved in some way, I’ll solve it so fast Rand will be back in Phoenix and out of my life before he knows what hit him.
Roman’s compassionate smile actually hurt. He saw too much. “You’re stronger than you know, Annabelle. I’ll be behind you all the way.”
Having Roman on her side meant everything. “Before I go back in there, I need to discuss something with you first. It’s about the disappearance of the Ludlow boy.”
“His parents have already asked me to look into it.”
Annabelle blinked in surprise.
“What do you know about it?” he asked in a wry tone of voice.
In a matter of seconds she related the crux of her meeting with Trina, and the possible link to Rand’s problem.
He grinned. “This is one for the books. Technically speaking, our hands are tied because of FBI involvement. Unofficially however, you can stay her confidante and continue to probe, in case you should find a connection to Rand’s crisis which would be a real coup.
“We’ll both keep the lines of communication open with Trina and the Ludlows and see where things lead. If you can prove a tie-in, you’ll actually be helping two people without getting your hands slapped by the authorities for withholding evidence.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Triple kudos for tracking down that Honda. Someone downtown called me on my cellular this morning. Apparently Mr. Vanderhoof has been singing your praises. You’ve made quite a conquest there. Better be careful. He’s a widower, and thinks you’re the most adorable creature to come along since Marilyn Monroe.”
Annabelle groaned.
“As I’ve said before, it’s good to have you on the team. Rand knew where to come to get results, Annabelle. Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
“Any time you want to talk, I’m available.”
“I know that.”
“Good. So I’ll leave you to deal with him.” There was a slight pause. “It isn’t often that a PI and her client have already made a connection which is so vital in our business. Because the ice has already been broken, so to speak, let it work for you, Annabelle.”
She nodded. In Rand’s case it was more like an iceberg that had been split apart by nature’s force. What you saw jutting above the surface of the water was pure camouflage for the huge mass of indecipherables below.
Praying she could carry this off so he would never know what his unexpected entry into her life had done to her, she walked back to Roman’s office where Rand lounged indolently in a chair, waiting...
She refused to look him in the eye. “Roman has asked me to take your case and I’ve agreed. Leave a number with the receptionist where you can be reached. Before the day is out, I’ll make contact with you. Goodbye.”
On that succinct note she hurried to the back room, pulled her cropped jacket from the rack and slipped it on over the fluid jersey top, both in a claret color. It was a good thing she didn’t pause for a bagel from the kitchen on her way out. Even if she had wanted one, three of the PI’s had already shown up for work and the food was fast disappearing.
The guys tried to get her to hang around and talk to them, but she told them she was working on a new case. Her best strategies for cracking one usually came when she went for a long ride on the old BMW. She had inherited the motorcycle from her dad. He’d died of a heart attack four years ago last January.
Annabelle had never known her mother, she had passed away following complications in childbirth. Her dad had chosen not to remarry. It had been the two of them all the way. Many was the time they’d ridden in tandem. She felt close to him whenever she got on it, like they were still a team, like he was whispering ideas to her, watching out for her.
It was Spring now. She always started to feel a little better by then. But come September and the blues attacked. By December she was in a dark funk. She couldn’t tolerate the blackness of January.
That’s when she went on vacation. She saved up all the time coming to her, then flew
