Page 24 of Wanted by the Lawman

“Cade.” Rudy dipped his hat.

“Are you here about the door being ajar?” Wynn asked. She met Zander’s gaze and he shook his head.

“A door ajar?” Rudy looked semi-confused. “No, Miss Makelti. Agent Gaines stopped by my office this morning doing some investigative work on a case out of New York. He has a couple of questions he’d like to ask you, ma’am.”

The flush in Wynn’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed to Zander. He stepped up to her side, hoping to offer some support. The mere mention of the two words “agent” and “investigation” tended to make citizens anxious. “What’s this about, Rudy?”

“I have a few questions for Miss Makelti regarding Rory Salvano, her boyfriend—”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she clarified.

Gaines gave her a look of indifference. “Fine. Your ex.”

From Zander’s peripheral, he could see her work her lip. Maybe his instincts about her had been wrong. It wasn’t everyday a fed showed up on a woman’s doorstep. And a boyfriend—or ex-boyfriend? Damn, he knew Wynn spelled T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

“Okay...I don’t know what I can tell you…”

Zander took a small step. “Wait, before you ask any questions, I have a few of my own.”

“Are you Miss Makelti’s attorney?” Gaines used the tip of his pen to scratch his temple.

“No. Does she need one?”

“We haven’t gotten that far yet. If she chooses not to cooperate, we can do a formal interview—”

“I’ll cooperate.” Wynn gave Zander an assuring look.

“Why are you here all the way from New York? That’s an awfully long way just to ask a couple of questions.” Zander felt some explanation was needed.

With an irritated sigh, Gaines crossed his arms over his chest. Apparently, he was a man who didn’t like being grilled. “Mr. Salvano had been under investigation with the FBI for several months. Our current situation is that he is missing, and we need to find him.”

“Missing?” Wynn’s face paled.

“Yes, Miss Makelti. He’s missing. When he didn’t show up for work three days ago, his secretary was worried and called the local authorities. They found his condo empty and we were notified.”

“Still doesn’t seem worthy of you making a trip all the way out here to the mountains. You could have had Sheriff Graham ask Miss Makelti about Mr. Salvano,” Zander said.

Gaines’ jaw tightened in agitation that he wasn’t bothering to hide. “Right. There was evidence of a possible crime.”

Zander heard Wynn’s gasp.

“Why are you here? Am I in trouble?” she blurted.

Rudy scraped his palm down his jaw. “He’s only here to ask questions, ma’am. This is routine protocol when someone goes missing. There were drops of blood on the carpet that were tested and matched Salvano’s.”

“When was the last time you saw your boy—ex?” Gaines directed his question to Wynn.

“Nine days ago. When I left him he was fine, and not bleeding,” Wynn answered.

“Mr. Salvano’s secretary told local authorities that you and her boss were having…” he stopped as if he searched for the right word, “problems. Can you explain?”

Wynn tilted her chin. “Rory’s “secretary” was actually his “sexual partner”. So, yes, I guess you could say we were having problems, enough that he handcuffed me to him and blocked the door to my closet to keep me from leaving. Because he has a drinking problem, all I had to do was wait until he passed out before I unlocked myself from him. Yet, why do I get the feeling that since you were investigating my ex you already know most of this, and much, much more than I ever knew about a man I spent three years with. All I can say is that when I left Rory, he was alive and asleep.”

Zander clenched his hands into fists at his sides. He knew there was much more to this woman. And he liked how she didn’t wither under the agent’s overbearing attitude.

“You were Mr. Salvano’s assistant, was it?” Gaines continued.

“In name only.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Outside of running some errands and decorating his office I wasn’t much use.”

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