The din of conversation rose around him as he headed into the departing crowd. By avoiding the crush in the middle, he made it to Eve before Stryker did, meeting her just as the woman who’d come up to her moved off to flag down a lady in a pink lace hat.
Eve’s smile for him was wary. “What are you doing here? You’re not covering this for the paper, are you?”
“Somebody from Social is supposed to be doing that,” he returned, referring to the section of the paper that handled the human interest stuff. “I’m looking for your brother. His assistant said he’d be here.”
Eve’s smile, strained as it was, faded with her disappointment. “I had understood he would be. I’d hoped he would, anyway.” Seeing the man heading straight for her, concern slipped over her expression. “Why? Has something happened?”
Curious himself about the detective’s presence, Rio’s voice dropped. The room was clearing rapidly, but there were still several pockets of people lingering between the tables. “Not that I’m aware of. I’m just looking for Hal. I don’t know why Stryker’s here.”
“Miss Stuart. Redtree.” Straight Arrow Stryker, as he was known by those who knew him best, gave them an acknowledging nod, then swung his attention back to Eve. “When you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you. No cause for alarm,” he added, obviously aware that his presence could mean just about anything to her. “I just have some routine questions. Finish with the reporter. I’ll wait for you over there.”
Clearly thinking that Rio wanted an interview with her, he indicated a side door to let her know where he’d be.
“We can talk now,” she told the man, over the clatter of tables being cleared. “What kind of questions?”
“I need to see you alone, ma’am.”
His polite but unbending tone made the reason for his insistence clear. He was a cop on official business. Rio was a reporter. He didn’t want to see whatever it was they said in the newspaper tomorrow.
Rio took no offense at the man’s tacit position. They were each just doing their jobs. But Rio was truly torn at the moment. He knew that Jack Stryker was working hard on the investigation, and he wanted badly to know what the detective wanted with Eve. More important than that, he wanted to make sure Eve would be all right with whatever it was. After giving that speech, she was probably running on nothing but reserves.
He didn’t have to ask. Eve’s hand had closed around his forearm. Though he met her eyes for only a moment, he caught her quiet plea. Not knowing what was coming next, she didn’t want to hear it alone.
Don’t go, she seemed to say, though it was to Stryker that she spoke.
“Rio is a friend,” she said, staking more of a claim to him than he would have expected, given the shaky ground of their relationship. “He knows as much as I do about this investigation, so I’d prefer that he stay. I’ll probably wind up telling him whatever we talk about now, anyway.”
Stryker conceded, but only because he knew of Rio’s agreement with Stone to keep certain information confidential. It was imperative that what he asked Eve remain confidential, too, for now. So, with that understanding between the three of them, they left the surreptitious stares coming their way and moved through the side door.
The sound of dishes being cleared could still be heard through the wall. But the narrow hallway, its pearl gray paint waterstained and peeling in sections, was deserted.
“I’d like to know what you know about Josephine Reynolds.”
The soft wings of Eve’s eyebrows arched. “Josie?”
“She goes by that name,” the stone-faced detective allowed. “She worked with your mother.”
“I know. Mom talked about her all the time. But why are you asking about her?”
“For starters, she’s the one who found your mother.”
In other words, she’d been first on the scene. Making a mental note to start cruising back files for anything he could find on the town’s beautiful treasurer, Rio watched confusion wash over Eve’s delicate features.
“I’d like to know what you can tell me about your mother’s relationship with her,” Stryker continued. “Were you aware of any rivalry or competition between them? Any disagreements?”
“Heavens, no. Mom’s attitude toward Josie was almost maternal. From what Mom said, they sounded very close.”
“Close enough for her to be named in your mother’s will?”
Eve’s expression went blank. Then, apparently realizing Josie was under suspicion and that the detective was searching for a motive, she scrambled to the woman’s defense.
“She is not named in my mother’s will,” she told him, looking at the man in utter disbelief. “And I can’t imagine what she could have possibly gained by my mother’s death. You don’t actually suspect her, do you?”
“Is she a friend of yours?”
The fact that he hadn’t answered her question was answer enough.
Seeming to sense a trap with his last question, Eve glanced to Rio as if looking for help, then back to the man who seemed as uncompromising as a preacher on Judgment Day. “I’ve only spoken with her a few times. But she was a good friend to my mother, and someone I hope to know better. She seems like a genuinely nice person.”
Rio couldn’t help but think that if Josie were ever arrested and the defense needed a character witness, they could do worse than Eve. But the look Stryker gave her made it apparent he thought her either extraordinarily unobservant or awfully naive, and he called it quits after a few more questions that yielded nothing but more of the same. Since the detective wasn’t getting anything from Eve that would help him build a case, he impatiently thanked her for her time, reminded Rio of their agreement and left the hall the same way they had entered.
Had Rio thought he could get a thing out of Stryker, he’d have followed the guy out himself. But there were certain members of the police department who were more cooperative than others, and Stryker wasn’t usually one of them. Instead, he turned to the woman whose color appeared marginally better, thanks to the agitation she’d felt on behalf of her mother’s friend.
“I can’t believe he actually suspects her.”
“I told you before, Eve. They’re checking out everyone.”
“He didn’t sound as if he was just checking her out.”
Unable to disagree, Rio shrugged. Jo Reynolds was as good a suspect as any.
When Rio mentioned that to Eve, she simply stared at him.
“You know,” she finally said, her voice as weary as the shake of her head. “I think I’m at the point where I no longer know what to believe. Or who to believe in. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t check me next.”
He could have told her that she could believe in him. But then, he thought she had. Once. “They did.”
What little color she’d gained, drained again.
“You were the last person to see her alive,” Rio explained, wondering how much more she’d be able to take before that surprising iron will of hers finally snapped. “You said yourself you’d given a half-dozen statements. Didn’t you wonder why so many different detectives and officers talked to you?”
She shook her head, the motion as much an answer as a statement of how bewildered she was by all that was going on around her.
“I can’t think about this now,” she said, backing away as if she were closing herself off. Or shutting down. “I have to go. Molly went home with one of her friends after day camp and I have to pick her up.” She started past him, only to turn when she reached the door. “I left a message for you…about some papers of my mother’s you might want to go through. I didn’t know if you’d want to wait until the weekend, or look at them sooner. Or let me know if you’re not interested in them at all and I’ll pitch the works,” she added, her voice too passive for his liking.
He’d picked up the message a couple of hours ago. Ever since, he’d been vacillating about whether or not to go over tonight. When he’d come back from the res, he’d found it easy to
stay away from her. Seeing her now, sensing how far she had just pulled into herself, his resolve to keep contact with her to a minimum didn’t seem quite so important.
“Will you be home tonight?”
She said she would. So he told her he’d be over later, then felt his concern kick up a notch when she gave him a too-weak version of her brave little smile and walked out the door.
A moment later, she was gone—and he was on his way to track down the Honorable Hal Stuart, Mayor Pro Tem.
There was something corrupt going on with that guy and the reporter in him couldn’t let it go. Rio would get the answers from Hal…one way or another.
Rio’s gut instincts keep telling him that Hal is up to no good. But after getting close to Eve after being apart for six years, how can he accuse her brother of having something to do with their mother’s murder? But the feeling keeps nagging at Rio. Hal has too much money, too suddenly. If Rio pursues this, he can make his career and head to a big city newspaper, fulfilling his dream. But he’ll crush Eve in the process and his worst nightmare will come true: Eve will run again, this time taking their daughter with her. In the conclusion of Part 3, Rio must decide: dig for the truth or ignore everything to finally find that happiness he’s been longing for.
A pounding rainstorm hits the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, causing blackouts and mudslides. As the people of Grand Springs are forced to come together, find out who will find love, family and each other.
Be sure to check out all the titles in Harlequin E’s first serial, 36 Hours, a story told in 36 parts, by these bestselling authors:
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Strange Bedfellows: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Kasey Michaels
Ooh Baby, Baby: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Diana Whitney
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Cinderella Story: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Elizabeth August
Father and Child Reunion: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Christine Flynn
The Rancher and the Runaway Bride: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Susan Mallery
Marriage by Contract: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Sandra Steffen
Partners in Crime: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Alicia Scott (April 2014)
Nine Months: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Beverly Barton (April 2014)
The Parent Plan: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Paula Detmer Riggs (April 2014)
You Must Remember This: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Marilyn Pappano (April 2014)
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ISBN: 978-1-4603-3095-1
FATHER AND CHILD REUNION PART 2
This is the revised text of a portion of a work first published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited in 1997.
Copyright © 1997 by Harlequin Books S.A.
First part of revised text Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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Father And Child Reunion Part 2 (36 Hours Serieal Book 6.2) Page 10