Page 72 of Cry Wolf

As she passed him, she said, “Hayley says she didn’t know the guy you encountered at Gran’s.” In a way, Dania felt relieved.

“Crud.” He huffed. “I’d like to question her some more. How long will it take her to feed the baby?”

“Half hour to forty-five minutes. It’s something that can’t be rushed. But there’s nothing stopping you from going in and questioning her now.”

“Not when she’s doing that.” He shuddered.

“What? Feeding her child the way nature provided?” She chuckled and opened the fridge. Retrieving the eggs and bacon, she added, “With all the awful things you’ve seen, a mother nursing her infant bothers you. Really?”

“No,” he scoffed. “It’s just common courtesy to wait.”

“Well, while we’re waiting, I’ll cook breakfast. This should give Hayley some strength. Wouldn’t hurt us either.”

Brett found a frying pan and set it on the stove. “It’s seven. When we’re done here, we should run by Gran’s and get Jasper; plus, I want to stop by the office and tell Gabe about the guy with missing fingers and that he tried to break in.”

“I could stay here and help Hayley.” She placed the bacon in the pan and looked at him. “You don’t want me to go to your office, right?”

“Of course not. I—” Brett’s cell phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he said, “It’s Vanessa.” He swiped his finger across the screen. “Hello. Just a minute. Let me put this on speaker.” He tapped the phone. “Dania is with me. What did you find?” He held his cell between them.

“I stopped by your grandmother’s house, and no one answered the door. Where are you two?”

“It’s only a little after seven. What time do you go into work?” Brett dodged her question.

“I’ve always been an early riser.” She didn’t give an exact time. “You know what they say about the early bird and the worm. My law firm didn’t become the most successful in the state with me sleeping in. And don’t worry, as soon as Sherry gets here, I’ll have her track down Skinner’s number. I’d try on my own, but she has a system.”

Dania looked at Brett. She’d let him handle this.

“Do you need me to do something?” Another artful sidestep to her question of where they were.

Dania turned the sizzling bacon while she listened.

“Yes, I do.” Vanessa paused a moment before going on. “I did some digging into Blue Skies.”

“The corporation trying to take Skinner’s land out from under him?” Brett asked.

“Yes. You won’t believe who holds a big share of the company.”

“Who?” Dania jumped in, forgetting the bacon.

“Your father-in-law, Walter Tyler.”

Dania stared at Brett, her mind ticking through what this could mean and unable to comprehend it. “Was Matthew going against his own father by defending Skinner?”

Even as the words left her mouth, she knew it had to be true. That was exactly what Matthew would do. Why hadn’t he told her?

She smelled something burning. Glancing at the bacon in the fry pan, she found it had turned a very dark brown but not quite burned. She grabbed a plate from the cupboard and, using a spatula, scooped crispy slices out of the pan.

Brett leaned against the counter again. “Seems like the attorney general owning a big share of a company trying to do a hostile takeover of property would be a conflict of interest.”

“It falls into a gray area.” Vanessa grew quiet, then added, “With that said, I think I’ll have a talk with the man and do a little more poking around. Is that okay with you, Dania?”

“Definitely. Thank you for doing this, Vanessa.”

“I’m happy to help.”

“Why don’t I call you early this afternoon so we can compare notes on what we find out?” Brett seemed to trust her more.

Dania scanned the counter, looking for a jar Hayley might save grease in.

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