Operation Blind Date. Justine Davis

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      Chapter 6

      “I’m not sure of Edward’s last name. His aunt’s name was Reed. Nancy Reed.” She grimaced. “I always thought it was nice he was willing to help her out picking up her dog at my old shop. Not every guy’s secure enough to be walking around with a three-pound Yorkie with a pink bow.”

      “I’d be afraid I’d break it,” Teague said. “Or drop it.”

      “He was always very gentle with her. I think that’s why I...”

      Her voice trailed off.

      “Trusted him?” Quinn asked.

      She looked miserable as she nodded.

      Teague couldn’t think of a thing to say that would make her feel better. Nothing had ever really made him feel better about Terri, so maybe the words didn’t exist.

      “Can you tell us anything else about him?”

      She’d already given a good description of him to Tyler Hewitt, their tech genius, who had used his own software, tweaked even further by former Foxworth client Dane Burdette’s company, to produce a very lifelike image of the man. Two, actually, one with and one without the ball cap with a boat on the front that Laney said he’d been wearing that day at the mall; people tended to focus on things like that. Printed on photo paper, you’d swear they were actual photographs of him. She’d been more observant than she’d realized, once she got into it, Teague thought. She’d remembered not just the cap but a mole behind his right ear and a small indentation over his left eyebrow.

      “And I think Peachy may have bitten him once,” she’d said. “He had a couple of little scars on his right hand.”

      “I wish I could be more help about him,” Laney said now, sounding upset with herself.

      “You gave a great description,” Teague said.

      “I feel so...self-absorbed. I never really noticed him that much at all, until he asked me out. Colleen, my boss and trainer at the shop there, usually handled the drop-offs and pickups, because she knew all the customers.”

      Teague’s gaze flicked to Quinn, who gave him a barely perceptible nod. He was clearly giving Teague the lead on this, and Teague wasn’t sure how that made him feel.

      “Did she ever say anything to you about him?”

      “I’ve been trying to remember,” she said. “She never gossiped, said it wasn’t good business. The only thing I can think of was that once after he picked up Peachy for his aunt, I said how thoughtful that was. She laughed, and said something about him knowing where his bread was buttered. I’m not sure what she meant.”

      “How about the aunt? Ever see or meet her?”

      “Once. She was older than I expected, he’s only in his thirties. I think she might be Edward’s great-aunt, really.” She started to go on, then stopped.

      “Laney?” Teague prompted.

      “I don’t want to be mean,” she said. “And it doesn’t have anything to do with Amber.”

      “We need everything you can tell us. For Amber’s sake,” Quinn said. “Let us decide if there’s a connection. It’s what we do.”

      Laney sighed.

      “She was older than I expected, but trying to hide it. I think she’d had surgery on her face. It had that kind of tight, wide-eyed look. But her hands...they were old.”

      Teague flicked another glance at Quinn, saw he’d picked up on the two things Teague had.

      “What kind of car did he drive?”

      Laney blinked. “I... Uh, a racy little import. You know, one of those classics-brought-back kind of things. Red.”

      Something in her tone made Teague ask, “You didn’t like it?”

      “A bit much for me. I’m more of a utilitarian kind of person.”

      “Did the aunt impress you as well-off?” Quinn asked.

      Laney frowned “Wealthy, you mean? I suppose. She lived in a nice neighborhood. She did have diamond earrings, and a big ring on her right hand the one time I saw her, but it’s not like she was dripping in them. Nice clothes. I didn’t see her car. And if she did have plastic surgery, I suppose she must be. Why?”

      “Diamonds, nice clothes, nephew drives a fancy car and knows where his bread is buttered.”

      Laney’s eyes widened as Teague ran through the list. “You think he was just helping her out because he gets money from her?”

      “Or plans to,” Teague said. “If she’s older, he may be playing a long game.”

      She got there quickly. “Expecting to inherit?”

      “It’s been done.”

      Her nose wrinkled in distaste. Teague liked her for that. Or he just liked the cute way she did it.

      Slapping that thought back, he made himself focus. “Anything else about him? Did he live with his aunt?”

      “I’m not sure. She lived near the U-District.”

      “The СКАЧАТЬ