“You know Darcy?” he said, trying to ignore the scrap of dog sniffing at his heels.
“She was a great student, always had her assignments in on time. Math wasn’t her strongest subject, but she studied hard and managed to pull As every time. I hope you find her. From what I know of her, it really isn’t like her to just take off like this. Crap. Where are my manners?” she asked. “Can I get you something to drink? Water, soda? Beer?”
“Water would be great.”
When she left, he rose from the couch and headed over to some pictures grouped on a shelf. His gaze fell first to the old picture of the two of them as kids, trying to smile against the bright summer sun. He was around ten. From the swimsuits, he guessed they’d been playing in the sprinklers that day, forgetting for that mo
ment the troubles that usually drew a shadow over their young lives, although he spotted a faint bruise under his right eye.
There was another photo of Claire and their mom at Claire’s college graduation. The love they had for each other was evident in their eyes and the warm hug they posed in. Mom looked frail, and he knew that within six months of that picture she’d be gone. Guilt assailed him, as it usually did. He hadn’t been around—had been serving his first tour.
The next photo, the one front and center, drew his brow in a frown. Some guy with a lopsided grin and a toothy smile with his arms wrapped around Claire. She was entirely too good for the schmuck.
“That’s Rick. I’ve written you about him. It was taken over Christmas break up at Deer Valley. He’d just proposed.”
He took the bottled water she was holding toward him. Yeah. She’d told him about the guy. And how he’d practically proposed right after their first date. Sounded hinky, if you asked Travis. Like if he waited too long she’d come to her senses and see something she didn’t like. Travis hated him already.
She held up her left hand and gave him a good look at the massive diamond perched there.
“The guy wanted to stake his claim on you pretty quick, don’t you think?”
She looked exasperated at him. “If you’d bother to come and see me every once in a while you’d have met him by now and you’d know what a great guy he is.”
Still skeptical, he asked, “What do you know about this guy? What’s he involved in?”
She rolled her eyes dramatically and dropped to the couch. “No. You’re not going to go all annoying brother on me, and you are not going to start any kind of background check on him. He’s a good man. Solid. And…he’s not like Dad. He would never harm me. More importantly”—she met his eyes—“I’m not like Mom. I would never accept it. Or forgive.”
“Sorry,” he offered and smiled. Lying was probably best, since as soon as he left he was calling Jace, the head of the security firm he worked for and also his friend, and starting a thorough background check on this guy. “Old habits die hard. If you’re happy and you say this guy is good—then I’m happy for you and I’ll leave it at that.”
“Thank you. You’ll like him. Really. He’s out of town right now at some horse racing event—he loves following the races—but he’ll be back tomorrow. I wrote you about the big centennial gala the school is having? Well, it’s Saturday—heck. What am I saying. You probably already know. I forgot you’re working with the wicked witch herself. Doubt she could let you forget that momentous occasion and all the work she’s put into it. Probably even warned you to have this wrapped up by then so as not to interfere with her plans.”
Travis took his seat on the couch again. Meredith had mentioned it—briefly. Almost as if she’d forgotten it. It didn’t seem to be a priority to her anymore. More carefully he said, “I caught wind of it, yes.”
“I bet.” She snorted. “I know she’s a client and all, but how are you handling working with her? Should I be digging a plot out back in case we need to hide her body? I’d totally understand if you snapped and dropped her off a cliff or something.”
“Well, she is Meredith. Likes to be in control. This thing with her daughter has her off her game a little. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still a bossy pain in the ass, but I can relate to her.”
“Huh. Well, glad it’s you rather than me. Do you have any leads?”
“Not really. Looks like Darcy was either drunk or drugged the last time her boyfriend saw her at some rave downtown, just before she slipped out with some other sketchy kid. Actually, the boyfriend said the kid had been a former student at St. Andrew. Matt or something. Dropped out a couple of years ago—or was kicked out? Do you know who he might mean?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. Not off the top of my head, but I’ll look into it. Maybe call Allie and see if we can figure it out. Do you think—is it possible that something’s already happened to her?”
“Can’t say. I’ve called in a favor with a friend. Someone who’s good at digging up stuff, finding patterns that no one else has seen, who might be able to offer some insight. But in the meantime, I still have some leads I’m tracking. Which reminds me. I need to borrow your car tonight.”
“My Bonnie?” He assumed she was referencing the twenty-plus-year-old baby-blue Oldsmobile out front. “I saw the car you pulled up in. What the heck would you want my car for?” When he didn’t respond, she added. “Only if you leave the keys to the Rover out there on the table. Allie and her grandmother Molly will get a kick out of being chauffeured in that tomorrow. We’re giving golf lessons a try. You can have it back by noon.”
He tossed her the keys.
Seeing Meredith’s reaction to the blue beast tomorrow was going to be interesting. Hell, just seeing her again was going to be interesting. Period.
Refusing to analyze this any further, he headed out, the sound of that pesky dog following behind him.
…
It was after ten and Meredith was on her third Diet Coke when the doorbell chimed, nearly knocking her off the bar stool where she’d spent the last hour researching things she probably shouldn’t have.
Like kidnappings.