Page 32 of Puzzle for Two

Alton patted his knee. “Ofcoursenot. I wanted—needed—to have my suspicions confirmed by a professional. But themostimportant aspect of the job was this.Yes. I’m sure I made that very clear.”

Zach pointedly moved Alton’s hand off his knee, twisting his wrist away when Alton tried to clasp his hand. He did not want to get rough. Not least because he was afraid Alton might enjoy that.

“What isn’t clear—please don’t do that—is how this helps anything.”

Alton made a sound of impatience and, to Zach’s relief, scooted an inch or two away. He stared pointedly out the window.

Zach had a younger sister prone to dishing out the silent treatment. He was a master at ignoring being ignored. He said, “It’s obvious Zora already knows you’re bisexual. She already knows you’ve had affairs with men. It’s pretty clear she doesn’t feel any more kindly about giving you a divorce now than when you first showed up on Thursday morning. So what’s the point of all this?”

“Because now it’s real,” Alton snapped. “Now others know about it, too.Nowthe threats won’t be enough. Zora will certainly try to kill me.”

As Zach gazed in disbelief at what he could see of Alton’s shadowy features, Alton added unemotionally, “And probably you as well.”

Chapter Nine

What a god-awful evening.

Between Ben’s unexpected appearance, Zora’s unexpected appearance, and Flint’s unexpecteddisappearance…

Would Flint even show up for their “debriefing”?

There had been no response to Zach’s text, and Zach had his doubts, though this late-night meet had been Flint’s idea.

He stared out at the empty shopping center parking lot. The night sky was starless. Tall silhouettes of palm trees swayed in the wind. Rain peppered the windows and glass door. The other businesses were shuttered and closed.

No question, the world felt like a dark and unfriendly place.

The odd part was, the thing most bothering him was his fear that Flint was working against him. That he had so misread Flint, so misjudged the situation. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know Flint was his business rival. Hell, not just his rival. Flint actively, openly wanted to take over his business.

Zach knew that. Yet he had somehow thought asking Flint for help, sharing the confidential details of his biggest and most important case with a competitor, was a good idea.Brookethought it was a good idea. That alone should have clued him in to what a bad idea it was. So really, if he was upset with anyone, he was upset with himself. Flint was just being Flint.

You couldn’t fault a tiger for preferring gazelle over the salad bar.

Zach smothered a yawn, wiped the fogged glass of the front door. He really needed to get some sleep. How long was he planning to wait here under the glaring fluorescent lights when Flint was probably tucked up in bed dreaming of…whatever Flint dreamed of. Hot chicks in red Ferraris?

Yeah, a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast, a million cups of coffee, and he’d be back to his normal optimistic, confident—delusional, in Ben’s opinion—self. And then he could figure out what the heck he was going to do about Alton. Because he really, really,reallyhated to lose this gig. But he’d already earned that advance on the weekend, and maybe he needed to be satisfied with that. Alton was a handful, and while Zach felt fully capable of fending off his awkward advances, the unsettling suspicion that Alton just might be off enough to eventually try drugging him persisted.

Alton did increasingly seem like the drug-your-drink-when-you-weren’t-looking type.

Not that Zach had experience with that type, but the more time he spent with Alton, the more he suspected Alton was a genuine, bona fide creep.

In fact, he was starting to wonder if there had ever actually been any real death threats. Alton himself could easily have manufactured those toys bearing ominous messages. Who better? Maybe this was a stunt Alton pulled on a regular basis.

Although to what end? It seemed a little elaborate if the goal was just to find guys to hook up with.

The twin dots of headlights appeared at the shopping center entrance, and Zach’s heart sprang awake. He watched as the white beams swept down the drive. A silver Ford Explorer cut across the empty lot, speeding toward Davies Detective Agency.

Flint.

He was startled at the rush of relief that washed over him. Was he really that afraid Flint might be working against him?

Come to think of it, did Flint’s showing up prove that he wasn’t in cahoots with Angelique—er, Zora?

The SUV came to a stop catty-corner across two empty parking spaces. The lights blinked off. The car door opened, and Flint, in a hooded parka, got out and loped across the oil puddles and gleaming asphalt to the sidewalk.

Zach unlocked the door and held it open.

“Hey,” Flint said, pushing back the hood of his coat. His expression was unexpectedly bleak.

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