Page 17 of Bad Mother

Gavin’s question from the restaurant came back to her. She hadn’t answered him because her phone had rung—and she’d considered herself saved by the bell, both because she didn’t necessarily want to prolong their interactionandbecause she couldn’t share information from an ongoing investigation.Except...

Gavin was good with card games. Some—like probably hisfan club—would argue there was no one better. They needed an expert in areas neither she nor Kat was an expert in. Maybe Gavin could shed some light, if there was any light to be shed. Sure, okay, she didn’t exactly relish the idea of seeing Gavin Decker again, but if it meant solving a woman’s murder and obtaining justice for an orphaned little boy, Sienna was mature enough to deal with it.

“Kat?” Kat looked up from the paperwork she’d gone back to. “What do you think about asking Gavin Decker to consult on this case?” The look on Kat’s face registered surprise, and Sienna understood why. She’d recently expressed interest in Gavin living a miserable life of poverty and shame in a van down by a river. “I could stop by his office in the morning. He might see something we don’t in the hand of cards Reva Keeling was posed with,” she said. “He might even see something in this letter.” She held it up and gave it a slight shake. “I don’t know,” she went on. “I just have a feeling we’re missing something. And he’s extremely suited to provide insight we might be overlooking or not equipped to see.” Not only had he been a professional poker player, buthe was in security. And he’d been in the military prior to that, which must mean he had a security clearance.

“We’d have to get sign-off from Ingrid, but I think it’s a decent idea. Especially since all we’re doing is waiting for a lead to materialize.”

Sienna stood, steeling her spine—more for herself than to prepare for her boss’s response—and headed toward Ingrid’s office.

CHAPTER NINE

“Gavin? There’s a detective here to see you,” Stef said through the phone speaker.

His hand paused and then took up again, finishing the signature he’d just been putting on the paperwork in front of him. “Detective Sienna Walker,” Stef clarified, and Gavin let out the breath that he’d held momentarily, annoyed with himself at the reaction.

Get a grip. It’s been eleven years. She has someone in her life. And she’s likely here on business.“Send her right in,” he said. Gavin stood and opened his door, waiting as Sienna rounded the corner from Stef’s desk just a short distance around the bend.

She looked surprised to see him standing there but recovered quickly, her features rearranging into a polite smile. He did a quick sweep of her body. She was wearing formfitting navy slacks, a pale-peach blouse, and a short pair of heels. There was a briefcase on a long strap over her shoulder. Her hair was swept back again, and she looked both casual and fresh. Young, but not the girl he’d once known. She was a woman now, but the lines of her body and the particular way she moved were still familiar. As he watched her walk toward him, he recalled the feel of her beneath him in that old pickup truck that had creaked and swayed—

He pushed those memories from his mind, clearing his throat and stepping back to give her room to enter. “I’m sorry to stop by withoutcalling,” she said, holding her hand out. He looked at it dumbly for a moment before realizing she wanted him to shake. He did so, feeling slightly offended by her obvious effort to pretend they were strangers who’d barely met, even though he’d thought they’d spoken as people who’d acknowledged having a history at the very least in the restaurant a couple of nights before. Well, if “strangers” was what she wanted, that was what he’d give her.

“It’s not a problem. I was just catching up on some paperwork.” He gestured to a chair in front of his desk, and they both took a seat. “What can I do for you, Detective Walker?” he asked, his tone formal.

Her smile slipped the barest bit. If his eyes hadn’t been focused on her mouth, he wouldn’t have caught it. When he’d sat down at the restaurant table across from her, her eyes had flashed with anger, and he’d understood that. He’d abandoned the girl he’d loved, leaving without a goodbye. He had no idea how long she’d be in Reno, but he did owe it to Sienna to at least apologize and explain his actions, if she’d allow it. Her anger had given him a small glimmer of hope that she felt something for him. And maybe she was angry on the surface, but if she still felt any emotion at all, he had hope that something more was beneath it. He felt that same flicker of hope now. Apathy would have extinguished it, but Sienna, as much as she might be trying, was not apathetic toward him. “Last night you asked me about the cards the victim from my case was holding. I needed permission to consult with you about the details of the case, and so I wasn’t prepared to share that information at the time, but I’ve received approval. My boss actually said the department has worked with you in the past on a few cases where the casino required police involvement. Anyway, I’m hoping you might be able to shed some light.”

Gavin sat back in his leather desk chair, steepling his fingers. “I’d be happy to.”

“Great. I appreciate that.” She leaned down, opening her briefcase and removing a stack of papers. She chose one and slid it across thedesk, faceup. He reached forward, only breaking eye contact with her once the copy of a photograph of a hand of cards was directly in front of him. “An eight of spades, nine of hearts, jack of hearts, five of diamonds, jack of spades, ace of clubs, and two of diamonds,” he read aloud, his mind arranging and rearranging them in the way that came naturally to him. He felt Sienna’s hopeful gaze on him, his brow furrowed as he considered. Dammit, hewantedto have something insightful to tell her. But he didn’t.

“A pair of jacks is a decent start if the game is just beginning and you still have a chance to discard,” he offered.

“What if you remove the jacks?”

“Then you better know how to bluff.”

She gave him a wry half smile.

“Not much help, huh?” he asked, hating the disappointed set to her mouth.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You confirmed what I thought. There’s not enough information to figure out what those cards mean yet, if anything. Hell, the suspect could have put random cards in the victim’s hand.” Her eyes flitted away and a frown tugged at her mouth as though she was saying that anything was possible, but her gut was expressing something different. He saw it. He knew it without her saying a word.

Gavin wasn’t a detective. He was good at cards but not necessarily at puzzles. But he could read people. It was why—in addition to his skill with cards and numbers—he was a damn good poker player. He saw minor twitches. He noticed tiny flickers and the smallest intakes of breath, even in his peripheral vision. Hecataloged. And he’d always read Sienna Walker better than anyone. At least once upon a time. Perhaps if that ability had changed asshehad changed and grown, it hadn’t been by much. Yeah, Sienna felt in her gut that hand of cards meant something important.

And she’d come to him for help.

“There’s one more thing,” she said, leaning down again and removing a few more pieces of paper from her briefcase. “It appears the person who killed our victim left a note, both at the crime scene and with Lucia Pechero.”

Gavin’s brows sank in confusion. “With Lucia? How’s that possible?”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s not clear.” She told him about the letter that was addressed to her and about Lucia’s surprise when she’d called. “Did you tell anyone you were sending me her information?”

“No. And I sent that to you from my home computer, using my personal email address.”

“Do you live with anyone?” He noted that she continued to look down at the notebook in her lap until he answered.

“No.”

“Then it appears as if this person is somehow one step ahead of us, and I have no idea how that’s possible unless this is all some elaborate setup. Can you think of anyone who might want to bring you into a police investigation?”

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