Jennifer touched my arm. “I’m sorry. Anyway, we’d better go back in. Corbin knows me, so he knows that I’m trying to give you the hard sell. If we’re out here too long, he’ll intervene, and I don’t want to go home hungry.”
I laughed, and she chuckled, too, but we both knew Corbin wouldn’t hesitate to kick her out if he thought she was upsetting me.
But she wasn’t. Corbin and I had been through trial by fire. We’d been to hell and back, several times. I didn’t have a damned thing to worry about.
“And here I thought I was too early.” Rob’s voice floated from behind us.
Jennifer and I turned together.
The collar and top button of Rob’s shirt were unbuttoned, and he hadn’t bothered with a tie, but he was wearing a suit. I stared. I hadn’t seen him dressed up since… high school graduation?
“Look at you, all spiffy-like,” I said as I walked past him. His eyes were on Jennifer. I mentally shook my head. Even if she managed to get free of the guy she’d been dating off and on for years, I didn’t know how she and Rob were going to find a relationship. She was too deep into her career and wouldn’t be pulling out anytime soon. It wasn’t a lifestyle I would wish on anyone, especially my brother.
Corbin came out of the kitchen carrying two open bottles of wine and a glass. “Anyone?” he asked. He gave Jennifer a chilling look.
“Red,” Rob said. He tapped my elbow with his. “I have an idea about Massimo. A plan, actually.”
“No talking about work.” Corbin set down the bottles before slipping his arms around me. “That’s the rule. Anyone who talks about work will be thrown off the balcony.
Catching my lower lip between my teeth, I wondered how long I would have to wait before I could corner my brother and hear his plan.
Not long, as it turned out. I was a terrible hostess, and Jennifer was forced to open another bottle of red wine herself.
The second she disappeared into the kitchen, I was on the balcony, closing the door. “Talk,” I said.
Rob grinned. “Maybe you’re not worried about taking the fast route to the ground floor, but I know better than to get on Corbin’s bad side.”
I blinked. Jennifer wouldn’t have said anything about Henry… would she? No, Rob was joking around. I smiled. “If you don’t tell me, you won’t have to worry about Corbin—I’ll toss you off the balcony myself.”
Rob brought his flattened palm next to my forehead, measuring my height. He floated his hand up and down a few times. “No,” he said finally. “Even with the high heels, I don’t think you’re big enough to make good on that threat. But I’ll tell you anyway. Neil.”
“Neil?” I threw a glance back. Jennifer had come out of the kitchen and was studying a vase of irises that Rob must have brought. Corbin wasn’t in sight.
“We get Neil to bluff, to tell Oswald that he’s starting to remember,” Rob said. “I already talked to him. He was reluctant, but once I convinced him it’s the only way to help Massimo, he got on board.”
I didn’t have to think about it for long. “Sadly, that’s the best plan we’ve come up with so far,” I said. “When?”
“Tonight. Oswald leaves in the morning.”
Prickles of worry heated my cheeks. “Corbin’s been cooking for two hours.”
“After dinner.” He looked over his shoulder. “Uh-oh. We’ve been caught. Tell Millie I love her, and make sure she gets a doggie treat every night before bed.”
The balcony door slid open. “One night,” Corbin said. “Is that too much to ask?”
“Yes,” I said, too excited to pretend otherwise. “We finally have a chance to get somewhere with Massimo’s case. You asked me to come to the mountains for two days. I’ll gladly come for three if you give me tonight.”
Corbin looked unimpressed by my offer. He probably wasn’t going to take it well when I told him I was doing this regardless.
“We’ll eat dinner first,” Rob said. “Also, we’d appreciate your help.”
“Four days,” Corbin said, staring at me. “And you will completely disconnect from work while we’re gone.”
Rob thrust out his hand. “It’s a deal.”
“Ew,” I said, swatting at my brother. “You don’t get to negotiate for me.”
“Sure I do. I’m six minutes older and six times wiser.” He leaned toward Corbin and said, “If you ever want to marry her, we’re prepared to go as high as four goats.”
I felt my cheeks heating at the mention of marriage. “Four days works for me. Need to use the ladies room,” I blurted, and I pushed past them.
Chapter 27
Despite the evening’s rocky start, dinner went smoothly.
Jennifer transitioned into civilian mode, and I watched her flirt shamelessly with Rob. It seemed a lot had changed since the days when being near him was enough to turn her into a red-faced, tongue-tied mess.
Rob flirted back, though I couldn’t help noticing he was keeping a distance. Protecting himself, but protecting her, too. He knew she wasn’t ready for a relationship, but instead of punishing her, he was giving her what he could.
My brother was a good man.
“Delicious,” Jennifer said, setting down her fork. “I don’t even like squash, so I never would have agreed to squash lasagna. That said, I hope it’s the last course because I’m about to explode.”
“My dessert,” Rob said. “You have to try it.”
I almost choked on my water. My brother had made a dessert?
“I’m sure I left a little room,” Jennifer said. She started to gather her silverware, but Rob and Corbin both stood.
“You two relax,” Corbin said.
“But I should help,” I protested as he pulled my plate out of my hands.
“No. You’ll start trying to clean up.”
Jennifer caught my fingers. “I love your nail polish.” Her own nails were short, neatly kept but unpolished.
“Guess what color this is.”
She shook her head and released me. “I’m the wrong woman to play that game.”
Before I could answer, Rob carried in two plates with slices of coffee cake, delicately swirled with what looked and smelled like cinnamon. “Our grandmother’s recipe,” he said, setting the plates down in front of us.
“Whoa. Cinnamon roll coffee cake!” I leaned forward to inhale. No one had made it since we were in high school. “Impressive.”
Rob went back into the kitchen and emerged with two more slices of cake and four forks.
Corbin followed with a large bowl of fruit salad and a smaller bowl of freshly whipped cream.
I dished up fruit while Corbin and Jennifer showered compliments on my brother. “You should have taken the bet,” Rob said to me. “This is but the tip of the iceberg.”
“So you admit I was right, that Neil was hiding something important.”
“Nobody likes a gloater, Audrey.” He then proceeded to fork up cake and close his eyes as he savored it.
“What’s this bet?” Corbin asked.
“I’ll tell you later.” I dropped a wallop of whipped cream onto my fruit.
“Audrey never gambles anymore,” Rob said. “She’s become too much of a control freak.”
“Is that so?” Corbin leaned back in his seat, a smirk playing lightly on his lips. I knew what he was thinking. The weekend we’d met, I’d taken a bet. And I’d lost, but only because Corbin had hustled me.
“What’s the color?” Jennifer asked. We all looked at her. She looked down at my nails.
“Bowlst Me Over,” I said, holding my hand up for everyone to see. “It’s not bad, but it’ll start flaking off in a day or two.” Frowning, I lowered my hand again. “So we’re thinking that Oswald killed JD for no reason even though Congressman Bowlst is the one who had the secret affair with him?”
“Very secret,” Corbin said. “I looked again but still couldn’t find proof that he’s ever cheated on his wife. Obviously an affair can be concealed, but there’s no ema
il or phone trail, no unexpected trips to LA, and no rumors. Bowlst is a recognizable public figure. If he pulled that off, he should be working for the CIA.” He stood. “There should be an update on Neil’s cousin by now.” He headed toward his office.
The moment he was gone, I cut off a chunk of Corbin’s coffee cake. The mix of cinnamon and cloves took me back to my childhood.
“There’s more,” Rob said, looking pleased. “You don’t have to deprive the man.”
Jabbing my fork toward my brother, I said, “Martin confessed about the whiteboard. Dirty cheaters.”
Rob threw back his head and laughed. “I’d forgotten about that. Don’t blame Martin. It was my idea.”
“Oh, I know.” I took a sip of water. “Martin isn’t so bad.”
“Really? Does this mean we can pair you with him?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. Because why not?
Corbin returned. “The cousin checks out. He’s even more of a quiet family man than Neil suggested, and he doesn’t have any shady acquaintances. In any event, he was at church that morning, about ninety minutes from the hotel. Sorry, no lead there.” He sat down, cut off a chunk of cake and slid it onto my plate with a knowing smile.
Rob cleared his throat. “Corbin, I don’t want to challenge your work, but we have several people linking JD and Bowlst. Like Sara, and JD’s neighbor. And some of the neighbor’s friends?” He looked to me for confirmation as I’d been the one to question them.
“Impossible,” Corbin said.
I shook my head. “JD’s neighbor actually saw them together—” I bolted to my feet. “Oh my god.”
“Audrey?” Jennifer sat up in alarm.
I patted my hips, searching for pockets, for my phone, but I was wearing a dress. I was vaguely aware that everyone around the table was staring at me in surprise. “Oh my god,” I repeated.
Shoving away the chair, I kicked off my shoes and sprinted for the bedroom.
My hands shook as I rifled through the bedside table, looking for my phone.
“Baby?” Corbin stood in the doorway.
“I need my phone. I have to see the picture.”
“Your phone is still at the office,” he said gently. “But unless you disabled the auto backups, you can access your files.”
I stared at him. “Can I use your laptop?” Then I remembered: his office. He didn’t want me going in there.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll bring it into the living room.”
Trembling from excitement, I changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Before dinner, I’d spent half an hour turning my frizz into soft curls. Yanking them into a ponytail felt sacrilegious.
When I returned to my guests, Rob and Jennifer were seated on the sofa.
“Thinking ahead to Neil and Oswald,” I said to explain why I’d ditched the dress and heels.
Rob stood. “Why did you run off? What’s wrong?”
All the words wanted to come out at the same time. After two false starts, I said, “JD’s neighbor had seen the boyfriend. I wanted confirmation. I couldn’t get a signal, so I showed her a photo I’d downloaded onto my phone. You know what she said?” I took a deep breath, trying in vain to remember the exact words. “They should name a nail polish after his eyes,” I paraphrased.
“I’m not following,” Rob said.
“Two things. First, this girl dyed her hair… silver. Silvery gray. What I mean is…” How could I have missed it? “Bowlst wasn’t the only one in the picture. When she made that comment about the nail polish, I thought she was being funny or a little coy. I heard what I expected to hear. But she was talking about the other guy, the guy with the gray eyes. She wasn’t trying to avoid saying Bowlst’s name. It probably never occurred to her that I was asking about the congressman.”
“Oswald has freaky gray eyes,” Rob said slowly.
Jennifer frowned. “Blue or gray?”
“Gray,” Rob and I said together. “They might seem blue from a distance, but they’re gray,” I added. They weren’t exactly pretty, but to someone who loved grays and silvers, sure, they’d be appealing.
And I had to admit… The hue would have made for an interesting shade of nail polish.
“That speaks to motive,” Rob said. “Having an affair with his brother-in-law.”
“Here you go,” Corbin said. He had the laptop balanced on his hand, and he turned it my way. “Log in, find the photo.”
I didn’t need the picture to know I was right, but I brought it up anyway, then turned the screen so everyone could see. “Congressman Bowlst and Oswald touring one of Oswald’s factories together. That’s the photo I showed the neighbor. Goddamn. It’s so fucking obvious.”
“It’s obvious because you have distance,” Corbin said. “You were verifying information. Don’t beat yourself up.”
That was easy for him to say. An innocent man wasn’t languishing in handcuffs because Corbin had confirmation bias. “Wait… Oswald said he was in San Francisco with his family the day of the murder,” I said, my heart sinking.
“Maybe he lied. I’ll call Sara,” Rob said, reaching into his pocket. “What’s next?”
“Your plan,” I said. “We brief Neil, then send him to Oswald’s hotel and see if we can get him to talk.”
Rob nodded. “It’s ringing,” he said, the phone to his ear. “Voicemail.” He hung up.
“Text her,” I said.
“Do you know where he’s staying?” Jennifer asked.
“We’ll sort the local hotels by price and start at the top,” I said. “Oswald has money and likes the finer things.”
“I’m not sure that sending Neil to the hotel is ideal,” she said. “Oswald tried to kill him once before. In a hotel. Assuming it really was Oswald.”
Rob’s phone buzzed. He read the message and shook his head.
“Dammit,” I said, the energy draining out of me.
Rob shook his head more vehemently. “She didn’t answer about Oswald. She wrote, I’m drunks as skunks, ha ha ha. Who is this? I doubt we’ll be getting anything useful from her tonight.”
“Have Oswald go to Neil’s home,” Corbin said. “That condo doesn’t lack for hiding places. We’ll get situated ahead of time and will be ready to move if Oswald tries anything.”
We.
I could have kissed Corbin, but he was already unbuttoning his shirt and heading to the bedroom to change.
Chapter 28
I leaned forward in the silent SUV to peer up at Neil’s condo.
His unit was on the second floor, in the rear of the white stucco building. Corbin had parked far away enough that we had a good angle and could see how dark Neil’s place was, lacking even the flicker of a TV.
I hit redial on Corbin’s phone and went straight to Neil’s voicemail. Again.
The sick apprehension brewing in my stomach turned sharper. “You know how people say they have a bad feeling about something, and then it ends up being even worse?” I asked. “I’m not saying I have a bad feeling, but… yeah.”
From the back seat, Jennifer said, “Neil’s probably out, being social.” She’d borrowed a pair of my stretch pants and a sweatshirt. Despite our height difference, we wore the same size shoe. Rob had changed, too, swapping his suit for a spare set of clothes he kept in his trunk. Both of their vehicles were at Corbin’s condo.
“Given his tearful reunion with Massimo, I doubt he’s out partying,” Rob said. “We should check it out.”
“Agreed,” Corbin said. “I’ll do it.”
“I’ll come with you.” Jennifer unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Me, too,” I said.
“Then I’ll just hang out over here by my lonesome,” Rob said.
“No one needs to stay,” I pointed out, opening the door.
Corbin was already jogging across the street, his graceful movements stealthy. I loved the way that man moved.
He returned rather quickly, waving for us to join him.
“We should hire him,” Rob w
hispered.
“We can’t afford it,” I pointed out.
“That’s not an obstacle, and you know it.”
Pulling on my backpack full of gadgets that we probably wouldn’t need, I ignored my brother. All four of us reached the front of the condo at the same time. The gate was closed.
“Tools, please,” Corbin said. “So you know, Neil’s car is in the back.”
“White convertible?” I asked as I searched for Corbin’s lock-picking set in my bag.
Corbin nodded. “Let’s hope he just went to bed early.”
I handed him the small pouch and wondered if he was thinking about the day I’d broken into his office. Well, at least I hadn’t done it a second time, hadn’t made Rob do it, either. External circumstances were the reason, but I was glad I hadn’t gotten the chance. I would have regretted it. Maybe that counted for something.
Corbin had the gate open so quickly it made my head spin. I’d known he was good from when he’d worked cases with me, but somehow I’d forgotten just how good. He made it look effortless.
He went past the manicured bushes and up the stairs at the rear of the courtyard. I followed. When I caught up, I tapped his shoulder as he bent toward Neil’s lock.
Because of the cramped quarters, he brushed up against me as he turned. I felt my face heating. “Aren’t you going to knock?” I whispered.
He shook his head. “If Neil’s in trouble, we’ll need the element of surprise. I’m going in alone.”
“But—”
“Today of all days, don’t argue with me about keeping you safe.” He unlocked the door as easily as if he had a key, then disappeared into the darkness. I’d broken into Neil’s place when I was investigating for Frances, and while the lock wasn’t an extremely complicated one, it had still taken me several minutes.
Jennifer pushed on my arm, trying to hurry me inside. I shook my head.
“Then let me go,” she whispered. “He shouldn’t be in there alone.”
“He usually works alone,” I whispered back. “Isn’t that part of the reason he’s so valuable?”
Protected by a Dangerous Man Page 17
