The Ex

“Yes, that’s what I want.” Quinn thought Powell had brass balls for even recommending such an odd proposition. Selling Annabelle on this unholy alliance wouldn’t be easy.

“I believe one of us should simply hire another agency,” Annabelle said.

“Griffin Powell is the best.” Quinn looked her square in the eyes. “I hire only the best.”

“Are you suggesting that I look elsewhere?”

“Yes, I am. Unless you’re willing to work with me.”

She stared at him quizzically and he caught a glint of something peculiar in those cool blue eyes. Did the lady want to be persuaded? Was that it? Did the thought of their working together intrigue her as much as it did him?

You’re a fool, Cortez. The very last thing you need in your life right now is a personal relationship with Lulu’s cousin, a woman who thinks it’s possible you might have killed Lulu.

“I believe we have a stalemate,” Kendall said. “Apparently neither Quinn nor Ms. Vanderley is willing to accept second best.”

“I’m flattered,” Griffin said. “But I think you should know that unless I can take you both on as clients who have consented to work together, I won’t take this case.”

“What!” Annabelle whipped around and glared at Griffin. “You can’t mean that.”

“If you knew me better, you’d know that I always mean what I say.”

“And say what you mean.” Quinn made an instant decision, one that surprised him as much as it did everyone else in the room. He motioned to Kendall. “Let’s go. I withdraw my bid to hire you, Mr. Powell. Feel free to take on Ms. Vanderley as your client.”

“What the hell—” Kendall gasped when Quinn grabbed her arm and led her toward the door.

“Wait!” Annabelle rose from the sofa. “Please, Mr. Cortez, don’t go.”

Quinn stopped, but kept his back to Annabelle and Griffin.

“What are you pulling?” Kendall spoke to Quinn so softly that only he could hear her.

“Why should I stay?” Quinn asked Annabelle.

“Mr. Powell is right—we do want the same thing. If you can accept the fact that I don’t trust you completely, then I believe we might be able to work together.”

“Hmm…” Kendall grinned at Quinn before he turned around to face Annabelle.

“You don’t know me well enough to trust me. Not yet,” Quinn said. “I’m willing to wait and earn your trust. I didn’t kill Lulu and I want to find her murderer as much as you do.”

Annabelle looked at Griffin. “Let’s set up some ground rules.”

“All right,” Griffin said, then glanced at Quinn. He nodded.

“First and foremost, Mr. Cortez and I share all the information,” Annabelle said. “You will be working for both of us, so what you tell one of us, you tell both of us. No secrets. No hidden agenda.” She glanced at Quinn. “And we share all the expenses, fifty-fifty. Are you in agreement, Mr. Cortez?”

“Yes, I’m in agreement. And since we’ll be working closely together, don’t you think you should call me Quinn?”

“If that’s what you want.” “It’s what I want.”

“Fine. And you may call me Ms. Vanderley…because that’s what I want.”

Chapter 7 (#ulink_513fdc15-9a1f-5696-a54a-1ff24a04f113)

Jim had taken Sunday off, despite his boss’s recommendation that he not take any downtime right in the middle of a high profile case.

“Look, Ted, I’ve made plans with my son that are important to both of us. It’s not as if I get a chance to be with Kevin very often. Besides, Chad’s on top of everything. If he’s going to get all the glory for breaking this case wide open, then let him do the work.”

Inspector Ted Purser, who was the head of homicide, had grumbled a little, but in the end he’d allowed Jim to take the day off. Ted knew as well as Jim did—as well as everyone in the department—that Chad George was on his way up. By hook or crook. And it was also a well-known fact that Jimmy Norton was on a one-way street to nowhere. He’d be lucky if he could hang on to his job long enough to draw his pension.

On his own, Chad was bound to screw up. Not because he was stupid. Quite the contrary. The guy was highly intelligent. Nah, he’d screw up because he was an inexperienced homicide detective who was too damn cocky to realize he had a lot to learn. It was Jim’s opinion that Chad was a know-it-all who needed taking down a peg or two. Not that he’d intentionally do anything to bring that about himself. Nah, he figured all he had to do was wait around and sooner or later Chad would shoot himself in the foot. Figuratively, of course.

Jim chuckled softly.

“What’s so funny, Dad?” Kevin asked.

Jim glanced over at his eleven-year-old son sitting in the passenger seat of his battered, old truck and grinned. Kevin was the one good thing that had come out of his marriage to Mary Lee. He might regret all the wasted years he’d spent hung up on a woman who hadn’t loved him enough to stick with him through the bad times and had repeatedly betrayed their marriage vows, but he’d never regret fathering Kevin. On the really rough days, when nothing in his world seemed right, all Jim had to do was think of Kevin and he remembered he had a very good reason for living.

“Just thinking about my partner,” Jim told his son.

“Chad George?”

“Yeah, you’ve met Chad. I introduced you to him a couple of months ago.”

“I know Sergeant George.”

Jim picked up on something in his son’s voice before he glanced at him and noticed Kevin had his head hung low and was staring at the floorboard.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Is it something about Chad? Did he say or do anything that—”

“I’m not supposed to tell you.”

“Who told you not to tell me?”

“Mom did.”

Don’t lose your cool. The last thing Kevin needs is to feel he’s caught between you and Mary Lee, even if he is. Whatever she told him not to tell you, don’t press him about it.

Jim kept the truck on Highway 78, heading straight toward Holly Springs where his sister and her family lived. He’d planned this trip so they would arrive at Susan’s just about the time church let out and right before Sunday dinner. He needed to concentrate on the positive—on sharing a family day with his son. Grilling Kevin about Mary Lee’s secrets would ruin not only their day together, but also injure their already fragile relationship. Even though he couldn’t prove it, he knew his ex-wife worked at undermining his relationship with Kevin. And she did it just because she could, wanting to hurt Jim and not caring that their son was the one who’d be harmed the most.

“Dad?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t care who Mom dates, do you?”