Page 6 of Call Back

“I don’t know. I was just a kid when Daddy left.”

“You were fourteen,” he said, watching me closely. “Brady said you and your father were very close.”

I tilted my head. “Sounds like you and Brady have been talking about me more than you let on.”

He ignored my statement. “Your father didn’t tell you?”

“Why would he? Looking back, I’m sure he tried to keep as much from me as he could.”

“So why would Lopez think you had it?”

“Because he was desperate? He had to be to fake his own kidnapping and kill people.” I narrowed my eyes. “I thought this wasn’t an interrogation.”

He looked momentarily startled, but the next second he sat back and smiled. “Sorry. Habit.”

“If you question your girlfriends like that, it’s no wonder you’re currently single,” I said with a playful grin. I truly deserved a Tony nomination for this performance.

He laughed, but it sounded forced. “There’s probably truth in that.”

Since he was so hell-bent on continuing our chat, I decided to go on the offensive. “How did you get to my apartment so quickly that night?” I asked. “I’d just called Brady before Dr. Lopez broke in my door. Then the next thing I knew, you were there to save me.”

He shrugged. “The police station isn’t too far from your house.”

According to Brady, Owen hadn’t been on duty that night, which only made me more suspicious. “Thank goodness you showed up, or I might be dead.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Well,” I said sincerely, “Thank you.”

He nodded. “But you know full well what happened when I shot Lopez. Why didn’t you tell Brady?”

I hesitated, wondering how to answer.

His face became a blank slate. “Let’s make a deal, okay? Let’s be as honest with each other as we’re able to be.”

I tilted my head—the qualifier he’d tacked on worked to my advantage, but it also worked to his. If he stuck to the arrangement, at least I could trust he wasn’t lying to me. But could I really trust that? I’d have to hear him out and decide later. “Okay.”

“Why are you staying at Brady’s apartment?”

That wasn’t the question I’d expected from him. “Because you said I couldn’t stay in my apartment while you were collecting evidence.”

“Why not stay with your mother?”

I studied him for a moment, then gave him a demure smile. “My mother and I don’t get along very well, which is why I’m working at Alvin’s boutique and not full-time in her catering kitchen.” While all of that was kind of true, it wasn’t the real answer to his question. I didn’t want to put my mother in danger.

“So you’re using him.”

This conversation was not going the way I’d thought it would. “I’m not using Brady.”

“I know for a fact that you’re not sleeping with him.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, outraged. “He told you that?”

“He didn’t have to. I know.” He squirmed in his seat, suddenly looking like he regretted starting this conversation. “There are other ways of knowing, Magnolia. I’ve been friends with him for eight years, and it’s my job to read people.”

“I like Brady. A lot. However, I just jumped out of a disastrous relationship in New York, and it’s not fair to him if I jump into something before I have it all sorted out.”

“So why are you staying with him?”

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