Page 15 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

“Like I said, you didn’t hear it from me. Anyhow, Reed Cullen’s good as long as you can put up with him running off to Virginia or Pennsylvania or Delaware whenever he gets a message from Emma.”

“Why? Isn’t she a grown-up?”

“Yes, but she’s also his little sister, and he’s felt responsible for her ever since their mom left.”

“What about their father?”

“No longer around, as far as I know.” Just like mine. “But I really shouldn’t discuss his personal matters. Do you want Cullen’s number or not?”

“Uh…” I glanced over at the big screen where Maria was busy scrolling through a website on which every candidate looked like a bad cliché, from the sunglasses to the hands-on-hips postures to the all-black attire. “Yes, please. I’d like the number.”

CHAPTER 6 - REED

“HELLO?”

ONE WORD from the woman’s mouth and I swallowed back a groan. Words that sprang to mind from her tone? Entitled. Confident. Bitch.

“Yes?”

“Reed Cullen?”

“That’s me.”

Three guesses: cheating spouse, one of the household staff was stealing shit, or she’d lost a pet. Probably a cat. Women like that always had cats.

“Good. A mutual acquaintance suggested you might be able to help with a problem.”

“Which mutual acquaintance?”

“Officer Leopold with the Montgomery County PD.”

Jerry Leopold? I hadn’t seen him for over a year now, but I liked the old guy. He’d been as disillusioned with the department as me, although he’d decided to stick it out until retirement.

“Go on.”

“My friend needs to find a man.”

“This friend have a name?”

“Kimberly Jennings.”

Nope, never heard of her. “And who are you?”

“Maria Fitzgerald.”

“Conrad Fitzgerald’s wife?”

“Ex-wife.” An uncustomary pause. “You know who I am?”

“Lady, the whole of Bethesda knows who you are. You make the gossip pages every week.”

Not to mention the fact that Congressman Fitzgerald had engaged me in an attempt to prove his wife was doing the dirty after getting caught with his own pants down. I was ninety percent sure she’d been faithful, although I’d long suspected the devious ex-Mrs. Fitzgerald had hired the call girl her husband was found with.

Tread carefully, Cullen.

On the plus side, the bitch—I’d been right in my initial assessment—had money, and I sure needed some of that.

Maria laughed, loud enough that I held the phone away from my ear. “I suppose I do get photographed a lot.”

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