Page 78 of Over the Edge

She ought to report back to him about her session with Dr. Oliver—not that there was much to report. He hadn’t been able to help her remember more about the mark she’d seen.

But while she had Jack on the phone, perhaps she could summon up the forgiveness he’d asked for. His remorse seemed real, and it would be hypocritical to offer Dara advice she wasn’t willing to follow herself.

Yes, that would be the ethical and charitable course.

And she’d follow it.

As soon as she gathered up her courage—and corralled the butterflies that took flight in her stomach whenever an image of the tall, handsome detective flitted through her mind.

FILE FOLDERIN HAND,Eric stopped outside James Robertson’s office, where the man’s wife was waiting for him to discuss the pros and cons of the strip mall project.

Hopefully, he’d built a sufficient case to convince her it was a bad deal.

If he hadn’t, reporting back to Nolan wasn’t going to be fun.

Squeezing the folder, he knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He pushed through.

Heidi Robertson was seated behind James’s desk, glasses perched on her nose as she read a document in front of her. She spared him no more than a quick glance, then waved him into the chair across the broad mahogany expanse. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

He took the seat she’d indicated, waiting while she scribbled on a yellow legal pad beside her.

At last she looked up. “Sorry. I wanted to jot a few notes before I shifted gears.”

“No problem.”

“Let’s talk about the strip mall opportunity.” She pushed the folder in front of her aside and replaced it with another one. Flipped it open. “After our brief conversation in the hall on Tuesday, I gave these financials another review. I didn’t see any red flags.” She scanned the sheet he’d provided. Took off her glasses. “You mentioned liabilities. Tell me about them.”

Heart hammering, he opened his own file. “Location, for one. Crime statistics in that area have been trending upward for the past few years.”

She frowned. “I’m familiar with that part of town. It doesn’t trigger any alarm bells.”

“The numbers don’t lie.” Although data could be manipulated to support any position, if you knew how to frame it.

“You have reports to back that up?”

“Yes.” He withdrew a sheet and passed it across the desk, keeping his features neutral. Unless she dug in deep, they appeared to paint a less-than-rosy picture.

She put her glasses back on, and for two eternal minutes, while sweat trickled down the side of his neck, she pored over the sheet he’d handed her.

Finally she set the paper on the desk and removed her glasses. “I’m not certain this is worrisome. There’s been no increase in violent crime, just a bump in minor vandalism and shoplifting. From what I hear in the news, that’s happening everywhere. Crime is rising, period. How do these statistics compare to trends in other areas of town?”

The moisture in his mouth evaporated.

She was much shrewder than anyone in the company had given her credit for. Almost a clone of her husband.

“I, uh, was more focused on running the numbers in the vicinity of the mall.”

“Do the same for a few other similar areas and let me knowwhat you find.” She folded her hands on the desk. “Anything else?”

“Yes. The structure is overdue for cosmetic updates, and the systems are older.” He extracted another sheet from his file and handed it to her. “I ran a few of the costs we could expect to incur over the next five years.”

Once again, she settled her glasses on her nose and examined the paper. “Is this based on a physical inspection of the property?”

“Yes.”

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