Page 66 of Lost Hours
Nolan had once been very romantic under similar skies when she was involved with him. The more time she spent with him, the more she thought that could happen again. If she would only let it. But not knowing for sure that he’d followed up, she would keep him at arm’s length. If tonight’s meeting with the team didn’t go past her parents’ usual bedtime, she would stop by their house and ask if he’d visited and they’d sent him on his way without telling her.
“Before our dinner meeting, do you want to try to question Wade about what he’d argued with the mayor about?”
Right. He was thinking about business, as she should be doing. She nodded. “I doubt that he’s still on his boat at this time of night, so let’s go by his place.”
In her car, she got them on the road heading toward the ocean.
“Where does he live?” Nolan asked.
“He has a small cottage that his parents bought when he was a kid. It’s worth a considerable amount of money now due to its location near the beach. I know the mortgage is paid off, and he only has to pay taxes and utilities.”
Nolan swiveled in his seat to face her. “If he needed money, he could’ve taken out a second or even third mortgage on the place.”
“Can you ask Dylan or Hayden to look into that?” she asked. “All of Wade’s finances, for that matter?”
“Hayden has his plate full helping with Becca, so I’ll text Dylan.”
She glanced at him. “Before you do, can you look up the registration page for the mansion and send that to him too?”
“Sure thing.” Nolan got out his phone and tapped the screen. “Okay, here it is. Sending the link and request to Dylan now.”
“Perfect.” She thought ahead. “Maybe we should hold off on visiting Wade until we’ve had a look at his finances so we know if he’s lying to us about them.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Nolan’s phone dinged. “Dylan’s on it.”
She made a quick turn and pointed the car toward the inn. She still wasn’t comfortable at the inn or with Nolan, but she was getting there. Or maybe her mind was too focused on the murder and missing woman to think about her discomfort all the time. It was only in down times, like right now, that she allowed her mind to wander.
She had to keep them talking, but about what? They passed her church, giving her a topic. “Since my church is the only one in the area with a contemporary worship service, I figured I would run into you there.”
“I remembered you said you liked to go to the early service, so I go to the late one.”
She shot him a questioning look. “You were avoiding me?”
He curled his fingers into fists on his knees. “That sounds harsh, but yeah, I guess I was. I know I shouldn’t still be bothered by the fact that you didn’t reply to my note, but I am.”
Why had she brought this subject up? She could’ve talked about anything in town. Even the weather. But now she felt like she needed to defend herself. “I’ll try to stop by my parents’ house tonight after this meeting to ask them about your visit.”
She pulled into the lot and shifted into park.
His gaze locked on hers. “You’re going to see them because you don’t trust me.”
She killed the engine. “Yeah, that sounds harsh, too, but I guess you’re right.”
“I can see how that could be. You’ve spent five years thinking I’m the bad guy. It’s hard to change.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” Her voice was starting to give away her inner turmoil, so she took a breath. “Are you having a hard time accepting the fact that I never got the note?”
“Maybe,” he said and fell silent for a moment. “But the more time I spend with you, the more I know you wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Ditto for me.” She pulled the key from the ignition. “Maybe we can get through this together.”
“I’d like that.”
She considered squeezing his hand but pushed out of the vehicle instead. By the time they reached the conference room that smelled like tangy pepperoni, the rest of the team was seated, except El, who stood at the head of the table. A whiteboard behind her held the list of suspects in the murder investigation.
El turned to Mina and tapped the marker against the board. “Has this list changed since I spoke to you this afternoon?”
“It stands for now.” Mina shared their conversation with Daisy and Dylan. “I’m hoping Dylan is as good as he claims, and by the time we end this meeting, he’ll have given us something else to go on.”
