Page 39 of Cold Vengeance

“Not this late, thanks.”

“I’m not sure what you want us to do, Jeffrey,” Tony said.

“I want to know what’s going on,” he said, his tone a little menacing.

River cast a quick look at Tony before saying, “Nathan is our client. I’m afraid there’s not much we can tell you.”

“I’ve tried to call him, but he doesn’t answer his phone. I really need to talk to him. He only told me he was coming to see you, but he didn’t tell me why he decided to seek your help after all this time. I’d like to know more.”

“We certainly can’t force him to respond to your phone calls,” Tony said. River knew he was trying to match Jeffrey’s forcefulness, but that didn’t seem to impress the man. River was grateful all of April’s things were in the tote bag behind Tony’s desk, out of sight. If Jeffrey had noticed and recognized the bag, she felt strongly he would have asked for his daughter’s property. Since Arnie wanted the items, they could say no, but she had a feeling this man could become even more unpleasant than he’d already been.

On a whim, River reached into her drawer and took out a copy of the picture someone had left for them. She got up from her desk and put it in front of him.

“Did you take this picture?” she asked.

His eyes widened. “Of course not,” he said, angrily. “I don’t need to rely on cheap tricks or threats to get what I want.” He stood up. “Look, you need to look carefully at Nathan Hearne. He’s the only person who gains from April’s disappearance.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony said, also getting to his feet.

“Oh, I guess he didn’t tell you?” Jeffrey’s laugh was nasty and spiteful. “April has a very large trust fund. She told me she didn’t want the money because I disagreed with her engagement to Nathan. Of course, I knew that someday she’d change her mind. It was important to her mother. But Nathan kept trying to talk her into taking the money now and giving it to him. If she disappeared against her will, you should look at him.” He removed a card from his wallet. He hesitated a moment before slapping it down on Tony’s desk. “I’d like to know if you learn anything about what happened to my daughter. I was convinced that she left on her own, to get away from Nathan, but now I’m not so sure. I’m truly worried. I’m her father, you know. Nathan Hearne doesn’t love her, and I do.” Then he turned on his heel and headed for the door without another word.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

After Jeffrey left, Tony sat down and sighed. “Did we miss something? Could Nathan really be behind April’s disappearance?”

“Then why come to us?” River asked. “It doesn’t make any sense. I thinkJeffreyjust doesn’t like Nathan. Maybe he was jealous of their relationship. A lot of fathers have problems with their daughter’s boyfriends.”

“You noticed that he likes to be called Jeffrey too, huh?” He shook his head. “I don’t see any reason for Nathan to come to us. I mean, kidnapping April so he can get to her money? How would that work? I’m just not buying it.”

The door to their office opened again and a police officer came in. “Chief Martin sent me to pick up some evidence.”

Tony got up and handed him the bag. The officer took out a piece of paper that Tony signed. Chain of evidence. Crucial when passing off items that could end up as evidence in a courtroom.

“Hey, hold on just minute, okay?” Tony said. He pulled his pad of paper over and quickly wrote something. Then he removedthe paper and slid it into an envelope. He handed it to the officer. “Please give this to Chief Martin, okay?”

“Sure. Not a problem.”

River watched Tony hand the envelope to the officer, but she was still thinking about Jeffrey Bailey’s accusation. She had confidence in her ability to read people, but she wasn’t perfect. Could Nathan have fooled them?

“River?”

She looked up to find Tony staring at her. The officer had left.

“You’re still thinking about what Bailey said, aren’t you?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“I thought we already decided that Nathan wasn’t involved in April’s disappearance.”

“You’re right,” she said. “Sorry. I just want to make sure we’re not dismissing the possibility out of hand.” She met his gaze. “Why did Nathan tell Jeffrey that he was coming here?”

“Didn’t he say something about trying to keep in touch with April’s father?” Tony asked. “I’m guessing he thought it was the right thing to do.”

“I guess so.”

“It’s getting late. I don’t want your mother and Mrs. Weyland delaying dinner for us. Did you let them know I was coming?”

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