Dead Right

“That I think you might be right about the Montgomerys.”

Madeline forgot about Kirk and the skier. “In what way?”

“Maybe they aren’t to blame for…whatever happened.”

Last summer, when the district attorney had dropped the charges against Clay, the Vincellis hadn’t hollered as loudly as Madeline had expected them to, but this was a complete reversal. “Are you serious?”

“Would I joke about something like that?”

Definitely not. Elaine Vincelli didn’t joke about anything. “Joe and Roger still think Clay’s guilty,” Madeline said.

“Have they been causing trouble?”

The ominous note in her aunt’s voice suggested there’d be repercussions for Joe and Roger if they had—and Elaine could definitely make good on such a threat. Although both men were in their early thirties, Roger lived at home, and Joe, divorced twice from the same woman, lived in a house near Stillwater Sand & Gravel, the business owned by his parents. Joe and Roger worked for mom and pop, too. Madeline doubted anyone else would hire them. They spent too much time drinking, gambling, fighting and chasing women.

“They were pretty adamant at the quarry,” Madeline said.

“I’ll talk to them,” she promised. “But I, for one, hate to see you disrupt your life yet again with all this business about your father. I’m your aunt.” She waved imperiously. “You should allow me to advise you. And I think it’s time we all moved on.”

Now? When the Cadillac had just been found? This was the first break they’d had. “What about the things in his trunk?” Madeline asked. “We can’t shrug our shoulders and walk away.”

“Let it go!” Elaine nearly shook a finger in Madeline’s face.

“Why?” Madeline asked.

Her aunt wrapped her coat tighter around her and headed for the door. “Just listen to me, for a change.”

Let it go…

Madeline tried to throw off the foreboding caused by her aunt’s words as she stood at the airport in Nashville, waiting for Hunter Solozano. She was late but, fortunately, so was his plane. The storm had been responsible for a lot of delays. She was surrounded by crowds of people, many of whom shifted restlessly, shook off their wet umbrellas or held up signs designating the name of the person or party they’d come to meet.

She wished she’d taken the time to make a sign. She had no idea what Hunter looked like. From his grouchy voice, she imagined an overweight middle-aged man with a receding hairline, saggy jowls and thick, sausagelike fingers. But when Hunter’s plane finally arrived and the passengers streamed into the baggage claim area, the only person she saw who even remotely resembled that mental picture was immediately approached by someone else.

As the passengers found their baggage and drifted away, Madeline began to worry that Hunter had missed his flight.

It wasn’t a pleasant thought after driving three hours in the pouring rain.

She got her cell phone from her purse, checked her signal strength and punched in his number. Who needed a cardboard sign in this day and age? She’d simply call him. If he’d actually arrived, she’d tell him to meet her at the fifth carousel. And if he hadn’t—

For all her aunt’s dire warnings, she didn’t want to even think about the fact that he might not have come. She was counting on him to put an end to the doubt and conjecture.

“I’ve got to catch a break eventually,” she grumbled and put the phone to her ear. But then she spotted a man striding purposefully toward her from the lost luggage counter and hung up. She’d seen this guy walk past her before but…He couldn’t be her investigator, could he?

“Hunter Solozano?” she said tentatively.

His eyes swept over her, his expression revealing little except annoyance. “That’s me.”

He was carrying a guitar…A lot of country-star wannabes came through the Nashville airport, but he didn’t look anything like a cowboy. He was definitely West Coast.

“Is that all your luggage?” she asked. Other than the guitar, he had a small carry-on bag that appeared to contain a computer.

He raked his fingers through blond hair that was a bit too long and beginning to curl at the ends. “They lost the rest.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He had to be kidding—about more than his luggage. He looked like a…a surfer. About six feet tall, he had icy blue eyes, a lean, rugged face and a great tan. Worse, the hint of beard covering his jaw made him appear too lazy to be cunning or perceptive. And his rock-hard body indicated he spent more time swimming in the ocean than sitting behind a desk.

“No joke,” he said. “But they told me they’d drive it to Stillwater as soon as they find it. Hopefully, it’ll get here sometime tomorrow.”

What have I done? She’d been expecting someone driven, maybe even ruthless. Someone capable of solving a mystery that had stumped Stillwater’s best and brightest for twenty years. Instead, she’d hired a beach bum with a guitar—for one thousand dollars a day!

“Right.” She barely managed to stifle a groan. He was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt over another T-shirt, a pair of faded, holey jeans and…flip-flops.

Flip-flops! Frowning, she rubbed her forehead.

“I said they’d drive it out,” he repeated, watching her curiously.

“I heard you.”

He hiked up the computer bag he carried on one of his impressive shoulders. “So…what’s the problem?”

Dropping her hand, she decided to be honest with him. “Tell me your father or your older brother is here somewhere.”

One eyebrow, much darker than his sun-streaked hair, slid up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re too young,” she complained.

“Too young for what? I’m thirty-two. How old do I have to be?”

“Older than that. I’m thirty-six and I certainly don’t feel equipped to handle this…this mess. Besides, you’re too—” she motioned to his guitar “—God, you could pass for Keith Urban. I don’t need someone who’s drop-dead gorgeous. And I sure as hell don’t need someone who can sing. I need a P.I. who’ll take my problem seriously, who’s so dedicated and tenacious that he won’t give up, no matter what.”

His scowl darkened. “I liked the drop-dead gorgeous part, but I’m more offended than flattered by your other remarks.”

“I don’t care. This isn’t fun and games to me, Mr.—Hunter. See? Now that I’ve met you, I can’t even call you Mr. Solozano. Mr. Solozano would be your father.”

“I could go out and buy some wing-tip shoes, a magnifying glass and a trench coat. Would that help?” he asked sarcastically.

“So now you’re a comedian, too.”

“Should I have taken you seriously? How does my appearance preclude my ability to do my job?”

“Every available woman in Stillwater will be coming on to you, wasting your time—which is really my time, since I’ll be paying for it.” She couldn’t admit that she might be tempted to come on to him herself, that he’d be a distraction she didn’t need. Especially since she still wasn’t over Kirk.

“It doesn’t matter who comes on to me. I’m not interested.”

“On the phone you mentioned an ex-wife.”

“And now you know why.”

When she hesitated, he said, “So where do we go from here, Ms. Barker? Can you get past your attraction to me? Or do you want to sacrifice your retainer to compensate me for my trouble and send me home?”