Shakedown (Diamond and Diamond Private Investigators 1)

“Well, come inside. Tell me anyway.” She waved him in. “Did you want a drink?”

Mike considered, and then said, “Water would be nice.” He watched the sway of her hips as she left the room. He knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn't help himself. She was impeccably put together.

“Here you go,” she said, passing him a cold bottle of water.

He cracked the lid and said, “Well, I've done a lot of digging today. I found out quite a bit about your ex. You seemed to think that was the place to start, and frankly, I agreed. He's a real dirtbag, Cassidy. Three ex-wives including you, a kid he doesn't support. He was physically abusive with both of his exes.”

She noticeably paled. “I'm number three? And he has a child? How could I have been married to him and not known any of this?”

“I'm sorry. That's not all I found,

but I thought you should know about that. You made the right call, dropping that loser. I know it's not my place to say, but... that's never stopped me before.”

She gave him a wan smile and murmured, “I just bet it doesn't.”

He could pretend she'd meant it as a compliment, right? Instead of dwelling on it, he said, “I managed to find out he once worked at a golf course from one of the ex-wives. That gave me a lead as far as a job went. I narrowed it down to Hidden Pines, but he suddenly stopped showing up the other day. His supervisor was none too pleased about that.”

Her eyes widened and she asked, “How will we find him? Work was the only lead you had, right?”

His gaze was steady when he said, “Something will shake loose. It always does. He's off the grid now, but if he's planning on showing the dog, he's going to have to register him at some point. Roddy won't be worth nearly enough of a payday if he just sells him.”

She took a deep breath and agreed. “You're right. We'll find my baby.”

“I'm going to come tomorrow when it's light out and take a look around the doors and windows, see if there's anything the cops missed. It doesn't sound like they took anything too seriously. I'd do it tonight, but it's dark. You gonna be around?”

“Nothing else to do,” she said softly.

“We'll find him,” Mike promised. “We'll keep looking until we find him.”

Chapter Four

Cassidy woke up feeling hopeful. He'd been an ass when they'd first met, but Mike had more than made up for it since then. He seemed to genuinely believe they'd find her dog. She had to believe that then, too, right?

After breakfast, she decided she'd tackle the mounting pile of mail. It had been days since she'd done anything but toss it on the desk with a cursory glance. As she pored through it a small blank envelope caught her attention. There was something hard inside. Her heart in her throat, she carefully tore it open and read.

A ransom note. It was printed from a regular printer on plain copy paper. Her hand shook as she read.

Thirty thousand in cash. Place it in locker 467R at the Toronto Coach Terminal and then call (416) 555-0157 to let me know when it's been done. You have until Friday at 9pm. No cops or the dog dies!!!

A sob caught in her throat as she turned over the envelope to dump the metal out. In her palm laid a key and Roddy's dog tags. Her poor baby! She had almost gotten him killed inadvertently by not checking the mail. Thank God today was only Thursday. Hands shaking, she texted Mike. He would know what to do.

She could certainly come up with thirty thousand dollars. She had more than that squirreled away in her savings account. Thank God she'd never let Roger know she even had it. He'd have tried to take that too. And he was threatening to hurt her dog. When she found him, he'd pay.

Her phone buzzed back. She briefly read and then let out a sigh of relief. Mike was on his way. If anything happened to her poor baby, she'd be heartbroken. Would Roger really hurt Roddy? God, she hoped not.

Finally, she gave in to the tears that were threatening. She sobbed until she could hardly breathe. She had barely managed to mop her face by the time that Mike arrived.

He took one look at her and then pulled her into his arms for a much needed hug. Poor Mike, he just let her cry all over him. He did nothing but steer her to the couch and rub a comforting hand over her back. When a new wave of tears hit, he stroked a hand through her curls and said, “It'll be okay. We'll find him.”

“But, I— I…” She tried to speak, but the words came out as a stutter.

“Deep breaths, Cassidy. Roddy will be okay. We're going to find him.”

“I almost got him hurt because I didn't bother to check my mail. I've probably had this for days,” she said, sobbing against his shirt.

“Shh.” He stroked a hand over her hair.

Eventually, when she was able to breathe again, she leaned back, absolutely mortified. Face flaming, she apologized. “Jesus. Mike. I am so sorry. That was clearly not in your job description.”