Page 317 of Love Bites

CHAPTER26

Icalled Detective Cooper with Aunt Zoe’s cell phone on my way to Calamity Jane’s. “You have some questions for me?”

“Yeah. You said something about Mr. Hessler having traveled to San Francisco last week.”

“Right.”

“Did he ever mention his departure airport?”

“No. I just figured it was Rapid City.” Public airports didn’t exactly grow on scrub bushes on the prairie. The next closest was four hours away.

“Hmmm. Did he mention a particular airline?”

“I didn’t ask. Why?”

“We’re having trouble finding any record of him flying out of the area.”

Maybe he hadn’t left. I thought about Sherry Dobbler, the girl in Spearfish who’d escaped a kidnapper’s clutches. Had Wolfgang stuck around and tried for one more girl? Or had that been his way of distracting the police, like Aunt Zoe had predicted, keeping the heat off him for a while longer?

“You said you’d talked to him once while he was in San Francisco.” Detective Cooper’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“Yeah, he called from his cell phone just to see how things were going.” Also, to offer to take my kids on a date. Thank the stars that never happened.

“That was it?”

“Yes.” No need to expound on my gargantuan gullibility to the detective.

I pulled into the parking lot behind Calamity Jane Realty, parked three cars down from Doc’s Camaro (parked in my spot, as usual), and killed the engine.

“Did you remember any background noise during that phone call with Mr. Hessler? Any city sounds? Anything at all?”

I remembered the beep-beep-beep of something backing up. “Just some construction sounds. Can’t you check his cell phone records?”

“We’re looking into that.”

“Did you ask Ray Underhill why he had all of those Missing Girl signs in the back of his vehicle?” I’d tattled on Ray during the post-inferno interrogation.

“Yeah. He claims they were detrimental to his realty business, so he took it upon himself to remove them before they scared off buyers.”

Damn. Ray had to be the biggest asshole this side of the Mississippi.

“Are you available tomorrow for lunch?” the detective asked.

My breath caught. “Are you asking me out on a date, Coop … I mean Detective Cooper?”

Christ!Was I in heat and didn’t realize it?

His laughter left my cheeks burning. “No, Miss Parker. I’m thinking about relocating and need a real estate agent. Uncle Willis says you’re helping him sell his ranch.”

Uncle Willis? Oh, right, Harvey. “Of course, an agent. Sorry.” I pulled out my organizer and flipped to tomorrow’s page. Where had all of these wanna-be clients been a month ago back when they could have saved my job? “Do you want me to meet you at the station?”

“No, I’ll pick you up in front of your office at noon.”

“Okay, noon it is.” I penciled him in and realized he’d already hung up on me. Nice. He’d learned his manners from his uncle.

I locked the Bronco and crossed the heat-soaked parking lot to the back door, my headache easing as the tag-team of caffeine and aspirin beat it into submission. Jane’s office door was closed when I passed, light spilled out from under it. I paused inside the office long enough to drop my purse on my desk and wave at Mona, who pointed at me and frowned while she talked on her phone. She must have heard about last night, too.

I heard the toilet flush behind me and beelined out the front door before Ray saw me or Mona had a chance to corral me.

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