Page 52 of Fatal Betrayal

"He could have hit us. Taking me out of the investigation could make a difference. Although someone else would take it over."

"Maybe not someone as good as you," he said. "But you're not out, thanks to my quick moves."

"How long are you going to hold that over me?"

"Probably a very long time."

CHAPTERTWELVE

After puttingSolange's address into the GPS, she pulled out of the parking lot. "What do you know about Solange and her family?" Andi asked.

"She makes great enchiladas and tamales. She's been working for Neil for ten years and has always been a hard worker." He paused. "I was actually surprised when she stayed with Neil's ex-wife Shana for a while after the divorce. Solange always seemed closer to Nick. But once Claire was pregnant, Solange thought Neil would need help with the baby, and he was thrilled to have her back."

"It's interesting that she returned when the baby was born."

"Is it? It makes total sense to me. She thought he needed more help than Shana, and she was right. From what Neil told me, Solange was a godsend when Claire was struggling with depression. She moved in for a month before they found Kristine. Solange loves that little girl."

"Have you ever talked to Daniel?"

"Once or twice. He never had much to say, but sullen and distant describes a lot of boys his age."

"That's true. I remember thinking that you'd gotten a little weird the last few months we were hanging out. You didn't have as much to say as you used to. It felt like things were changing even before Hannah disappeared."

"Maybe they were," he muttered. "You were changing, too."

She was afraid to ask what he meant by that and also sorry she'd brought their past back up. A phone buzzed from inside her bag—her personal phone. Her work phone was on the console between them.

She pulled out her personal phone and saw her father's name flash across the screen. She sent the call to voicemail and dropped the phone back in her bag. A moment later, it buzzed again. She ignored it. The third time it buzzed, Cooper shot her a questioning look.

"Someone is eager to talk to you," he said. "If that has to do with Elisa—"

"It doesn't. It's my father."

"Oh." He said nothing else for a minute, and she hoped he would drop it, but it was Cooper, so, of course, he didn't. "Why don't you want to talk to him?" he asked.

"I'm on a case."

"That's not the reason. What happened between you?"

"It's none of your business," she said, as she heard the ding of a text message.

"Looks like he's trying to get a hold of you another way."

At the next light, she took out her phone again and read the text:I know you're in LA. We need to talk. Please call me back.She shook her head in disgust. It was just like her dad to believe she'd drop everything to speak to him.

"Everything okay?" Cooper asked.

She set down her phone shook her head. "Nothing has been okay with me and my dad since I was a little girl. He found out I'm in LA. He wants to see me."

"What happened after the divorce? Did you continue spending time with him? I know you moved away, but I thought you'd come back in the summers."

"I'm sure you were relieved I didn't," she said sharply.

"So you didn't see your father at all?"

"I told him I didn't want to be at our old house, so he rented a house on the beach in San Diego for two weeks, and I visited him there. He was barely around except for dinner. I didn't realize he was turning our beach vacation into an opportunity to schmooze with some clients in that area. The next year I saw him for Christmas in Aspen for a week. Same thing there. Then he got married, and I guess he thought he needed to look like a better father, so the next few vacations were slightly better. Then he and his new wife started fighting, and I felt like I was back where I'd been. By then I was in college, so we stopped forcing time together."

"You said you haven't seen him in six years. What happened six years ago? You would have been twenty-six then."

---