Page 11 of The Last Close Call

She nodded. “I have certain methods I’ve developed, and I don’t want to be tripped up by someone else’s mistakes. So I start each case from zero. Just give me the data and I’m good to go.”

“What about payment? Are you planning to work pro bono?”

She tipped her head to the side. “Nice try.”

He smiled.

“I charge by the hour. Some jobs are fast, some aren’t, but I work as efficiently as I can.”

Damn, she was really doing this. She’d thought she’d gotten away from police work, yet here she was about to take on his case. She picked up her purse and set it on the table. The detective watched her as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a business card.

“Send me an email, and I’ll get you my rates and bio,” she said, handing him the card.

“I don’t need all that.”

“No?”

“I already know I want to hire you.” He glanced at the card, then slid it aside. “Ric tells me you’re a wizard when it comes to genealogy.”

“I don’t know about ‘wizard,’ but... I have a strong track record. How long until you can get me that info?”

He pulled the fat brown accordion file toward him and unhooked the rubber band holding it closed. She watched with interest as he thumbed through the file and tugged out a slim manila folder.

He pushed it across the table toward her, and she was surprised to see R. Healy scrawled across the tab.

She looked up at him accusingly. “You assumed I’d say yes.”

He smiled, laying on the charm again.

“I didn’t assume—I hoped.”

***

Bryan watched Jack return to his desk.

“Who was that?” he asked as Jack sat down.

For a moment his partner didn’t respond. He seemed deep in thought as he jotted something on a notepad. Then he looked up.

“Rowan Healy.”

Bryan frowned.

“The genealogist I told you about.”

“That was her? I was picturing an old lady.”

Jack scooted in his chair and tapped open his email, clearly not wanting to acknowledge the fact that the pretty young genealogist had come to visit him at work.

“Well, what’s the deal? Is she going to help us?” Bryan asked.

“Maybe.”

“Why ‘maybe’?”

“She agreed to try.”

“Which is huge, right? Ric said she’s amazing. If she agreed to give it a look—”

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