Page 12 of Colton Family Bodyguard (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Kerry made a disgruntled sound. “No. I found a Gelman living in Mountain Valley, but they aren’t related to Nan. No one in that family worked at the hospital.”

Maybe he’d see what he could dig up. “I might be able to help. My company has resources that you may not have access to.”

She brightened. “That would be great.”

“Detective Wilder?” Callum looked up and saw an officer in the doorway. “We have a body. It might be related to the near hit and run.”

Kerry indicated for Callum and Hazel to follow.

Hazel looked at Callum. “Evie should probably have a tour of the station or something.” She should not hear about a dead body.

An officer approached at Kerry’s gesture and Evie happily went off to resume her fun-filled day at the police station.

Callum and Hazel went into a conference room, where other detectives had gathered.

“Kerry’s here now,” the chief of police, Al Barco, said. Fifty-two, mostly bald and with a slight paunch, he had calm, kind green eyes, despite his commanding nature.

And a man started talking through the speakerphone on the long table. “Hi, Kerry. It’s Dane Howman.”

“Hey, Howman. What have you got for me?”

“A hiker found a body on the banks of a river a few miles from where Evie saw him put in the trunk. Preliminary forensics suggests the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. He had a wallet and an ID. It’s Nate Blurge.”

“I know that guy,” one of the other officers in the room said. “He’s a wild twenty-six-year-old, been arrested three times for drunk and disorderly conduct. Practically lives at Joe’s Bar and always gets into fights.”

“Could one of the people he crossed have killed him?” Hazel asked.

“That’s a possibility,” Kerry said. “It’s where we’ll start in the investigation.”

Hazel looked over at Callum and he could feel her worry. How long would the investigation take? How long would she have to be on high alert?

“I’ll find the killer as fast as I can so you and Evie can have your lives back,” Kerry said.

Hazel answered with a slight smile that was more of a silent thank-you than anything else. The reassurance didn’t alleviate the fear, and Callum’s determination to protect them with all the skill he’d gained over the years redoubled.

* * *

Rejoining Evie, Hazel flashed back to Callum’s reaction when she had asked him about his past relationships. Clearly something bad. It bothered her that he had trouble talking about something personal like that and also made her doubly curious.

Again, both she and Callum added what little information they could to the description of the killer. Right now her daughter was transfixed by Kerry’s badge.

“I’ve booked out one of the two-bedroom suites at the Dales Inn,” Callum said.

Hazel looked at him, startled. “You mean...you and me and...” In one suite? “I can’t afford that.”

“I can. Don’t worry.”

She kind of did worry, but she decided not to argue. Keeping Evie safe was most important to her. He put his hand over his chest. “I’m a bodyguard. Consider this a professional courtesy. No charge.” Now he opened his arms in offering, and oh, what an offering.

She stared at him for long seconds. “Oh, I don’t—”

Hazel felt some trepidation at staying with a man she had only just met. Nearly being killed had frightened her but this was all happening so fast. Her routine had been disrupted.

“Actually,” Detective Wilder said, removing her badge and handing it to Evie, who took it and felt the top, “Until we find Blurge’s killer, I think you should stay at the Dales Inn with Callum.”

More than one night? “I don’t—”

“I’ve already offered my services as a bodyguard,” Callum cut in again.

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