Page 33 of Puzzle for Two

“What happened to you?”

“I followed the wife back to her lair.”

“Why? The job is Beacher.” Zach was frowning, and Flint frowned right back.

“Because I wanted to make sure she actually made it home.”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“Are you serious?”

Here was a new and startling idea. Zach said slowly, “You thought Zora might have been lying in wait to ambush Alton?”

“Huh?” Flint did a double take. “What?No.Are you kidding?”

“Isn’t that what you—”

Flint laughed. It was unexpectedly and even sort of boyishly attractive the way his eyes crinkled and his nose wrinkled just a smidge—or at least would have been attractive if the laughter hadn’t been directed at Zach. “You think she’s going to jump out of the bushes or roll a gigantic mirror across the road?”

Zach flushed hotly. “I’m asking whatyouthink!” But yeah, something like that had flitted through his brain—and thenkeptflitting, becauseof courseeither of those scenarios was bonkers, but that had seemed to be what Flint was suggesting.

Jeez. It waslate. He wastired. Okay?

He managed not to make that protest, though.

Flint was saying, “I didn’t like the fact that clearly someone tipped her off about your date or that Beacher’s bodyguard suddenly took off after dropping you two at the restaurant.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Zach said automatically.

Flint snorted. “Really? Well, you could have fooled me and everyone else at that restaurant.”

“My relationship with Alton Beacher is completely professional.”

“I’m not arguing. I just think you may be confusing professions.”

Zach turned red again. “Ha. Ha. HA. Look, I already had to hear it all from Ben. There’snothinggoing on between me and Alton. It was a job. Not a date.”

“Beacher thinks it was a date, and that’s all that matters from his wife’s point of view.”

“Whatever. I still don’t understand why you—” Zach recoiled as Flint snapped his fingers in front of his nose.

“Wake up, Zachariah!Did you even bother to read that file you copied for me?”

“Stop it. Of course I read it!”

“Then how the hell do you not see that the intended victim here isher, not him.”

“Her?” Zach blinked. “Her who?Zora?”

“Is there another woman in this case I’m unaware of? Yes. Zora.Of course,Zora. And, possibly, probably, eventuallyyou.”

“Me?”

Flint shook his head. “Yes,you. Wake up! You’re a born patsy if there ever was one.”

“Well, thanks a lot. And you’re a born asshole.”

“Possibly,” Flint said evenly. “Which doesn’t change the fact that I think your client is trying to kill his wife.”

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