“So you’re not here to make nice, and you’re not here to introduce me to your woman. Why don’t you tell me what’s brought you to my neck of the woods?”
It was time to dive into the reason he’d come, to find out what the hell Rex Bransom had been up to in Serendipity. “Now I think I will sit.” Mike pulled out a chair for Cara before easing himself into a seat beside her.
Rex did the same, settling back into his chair.
“Why the hell are you bothering Ella?” Mike hadn’t planned on saying that either.
&nb
sp; Rex blinked, appearing stunned and even a little hurt. “Is that what she said? I’m bothering her?”
A steady throb began in Mike’s left temple. “That’s my interpretation.”
Rex leaned forward.
Mike angled back.
“Did it ever occur to you that I might want to know how my family’s doing?” Rex asked.
Damned if he didn’t sound sincere, and that more than anything made Mike sick to his stomach.
Beside him, Cara let out a small sound of disbelief. Mike ground his back teeth together, as surprised as she was.
“Family doesn’t disappear for decades.” And Mike didn’t want to prolong this agony any more than necessary.
If tortured, he might admit to having been curious about his old man, but as he’d suspected, he didn’t like what he’d found. “I’m here for one reason only. To ask you what you know about money still lying around the evidence room in Serendipity from a case you worked back in 1983. Marked bills ring a bell?” He watched the other man closely, wanting to catch both the shock—which was obvious—and any other emotion that crossed there.
“Is crime down so much in that podunk town that you cops have nothing better to do than chase down old cases?” Rex asked with disdain.
Podunk town? There was no better description to indicate that Rex was happy to have left Serendipity and the people in it behind. And hadn’t Mike felt the same way? And hadn’t he ended up in Atlantic City, a place not too dissimilar to Vegas? Mike had a job. According to his P.I., Rex did occasional work with the local PD. In other words, he was a snitch who got paid for his observations. Mike’s stomach clenched some more.
You traveled all the way here for that?” Before Mike could answer, Rex turned toward the bar. “Sal, get me another scotch. Neat.”
Mike narrowed his gaze. Talking about the family he’d abandoned hadn’t driven Rex to need another drink, but the old case had.
Rex refocused his gaze on Mike. “You got so many questions, why didn’t you just ask the man you call Dad?”
Mike straightened his shoulders. “You mean the one who did your job for you? Who stepped up when you couldn’t be bothered? There’s no way I’m going to upset him now, not with what he’s going through.”
Rex jerked as if Mike had gutted him. “What’s wrong with Simon?” he asked, suddenly sounding as if he cared.
Cara shifted in her seat, and Mike answered before she could offer up anything. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
He hadn’t meant to slip and give Rex any information about his family. “Tell me what you remember, and I’ll get out of here and you’ll never have to see me again. I’m sure that’s what you want anyway.”
Rex scowled, his expression turning dark. “You have no idea what I want. Not now and not back then.” He paused, and the silence between them grew heavy. “Sometimes we do things because we have to. Want has nothing to do with it.”
Mike rolled his eyes. He’d flown cross-country only to have him speak in riddles. If he’d wanted to waste his time, he could have stayed at the casino and dropped money at the tables.
But he’d try one more time. “Money?” he reminded Rex. “Marked bills found in the trunk of a car you stopped for speeding? Does any of this sound familiar?”
Rex slammed a large hand against the table, causing it to shake under the force. “Leave it alone, son.”
“And I told you not to call me that.” Just being in Rex Bransom’s presence made Mike feel like a small, unwanted boy. There were too many times he hadn’t appreciated what Simon had done, focusing instead on what this man hadn’t. At the moment, Mike resented the hell out of having had to track him down.
He’d had enough and rose from his seat. “This was a waste of time. Come on,” he said to Cara.
She dutifully rose from her chair, and Mike knew she was doing what he asked in order to make this as easy as possible on him. He appreciated it more than he could express.