Page 9 of Pay Dirt

“The crystal doesn’t lie. Give me a minute, and I’ll try to narrow it down.”

He nodded. This was worse than he thought. Cassie crossed the room and pulled a book off her bookshelf. She walked back over to the table and opened an atlas, flipping until she got to a map of Texas.

“This should point us to our mystery town. I don’t have any detailed Texas town maps that give us streets, but hopefully, wherever we land, we can find one when we get there.”

She did the same thing over again. Her crystal dangled over the map, and Nathan couldn’t watch. He turned his back to her and paced away while rubbing his jaw. When it landed with a thud, he turned around.

“Tell me it isn’t Millville.”

She leaned in to read it and met his gaze. “How did you know?”

“That’s where I grew up and where the robbery occurred.”

Her mouth parted, but she didn’t have to say a word.

“If you’re returning home and the robber is still there, you’re going to spook him.”

“No, I’m not. I return home once a month, and this month is special.”

“Why is that?”

“The annual domestic abuse ball. My mom was a major supporter of the cause, and my sister is competing in a rodeo. Double the reasons for a visit.”

“Okay, just one teeny tiny question,” Cassie said, holding up her pointer finger.

“What’s that?”

“How are you going to show up with me? A complete stranger.”

“That’s easy. You can be a girlfriend.”

“Do you bring many of those home to meet the family?”

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “No, but that’s the reason everyone in town will buy it.”

“And how do we explain this?” she asked, pointing to her busted lip and black eye.

“The truth. You were serving a subpoena and got hit by accident. We don’t need to alter your life at all. Just include me in it.”

“Are you sure the killer didn’t show up yesterday?”

He shrugged. “We’ve reviewed the footage and didn’t notice anyone familiar or suspicious.”

“If you’re sure he took the appointment information, then he has my name, and it wouldn’t be hard to find out what I look like.”

“You’re right. A hot beautiful blonde wouldn’t be hard to spot in a crowd.”

“You think I’m beautiful.” A smile claimed her lips and lit her eyes. “Don’t answer that.” Cassie rubbed her fingers together. “If we’re going to pull this off, we needed an expert in all things chameleon. My sister Gwen will help.”

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