“Maybe a little of both, but I think we need to find Mindy and Patrice and start asking some serious questions.”
“I think we need to ask Harlan Sloan a few serious questions, too, starting with that text.”
Kylie slumped against the back of the love seat. “Wish I could ask my mom some serious questions, too.”
“Looks like this report raised as many questions as it answered.” Matt flicked the laptop with his index finger. “Let’s finish lunch and get busy.”
* * *
TWO HOURS LATER, Matt and Kylie stood at the hostess stand of the Whole Earth Café. Kylie nudged Matt in the ribs. “There she is.”
Matt turned his head toward a waiflike young woman with wispy, light brown hair, juggling four plates laden with food. Coincidence that she worked in the same restaurant where someone had left a photo of Bree on their table?
Matt watched her buzz between two tables in the half-empty dining room, noticing an empty table for four between the two. He pointed at the table and asked the hostess. “Is it okay if we sit at that table?”
“Sure, go ahead.” She waved them into the room.
As they slid into the booth, Mindy Lawrence glanced their way and her eyes widened. Matt whispered to Kylie. “Oh, yeah, we got the right girl.”
Mindy crept toward their table, clutching a couple of menus to her chest. “Hello, welcome to the Whole Earth. My name is Mindy and I’ll be your server.”
“Hi, Mindy. When do you get a break?”
Her doe eyes got even bigger. “E-excuse me?”
Kylie shot him a look from beneath her lashes and put on a big smile. “Hi, Mindy. We’re looking into the disappearance of Bree Harris, and we know she stayed with you when she was here for the concert. Can we ask you a few questions about that time?”
He had to learn not to be so abrupt in his questioning. He was a P.I. with no rights to this information, not a cop with every right.
Mindy’s eyes darted to the right and to the left. “I guess so. As soon as these two tables finish up, I can take a break. Meet me at the benches behind the restaurant.”
Matt smiled, too. “Thanks. We just ate, but you can bring us a couple of iced teas, and we’ll wait for you.”
When she scurried away, Kylie patted his hand. “That’s better. You ever hear that expression ‘You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar’?”
“I don’t want to catch any flies, but I get your point.”
A busboy instead of Mindy dropped off their drinks.
Kylie’s eyes followed Mindy. “Why do you think she’s so nervous?”
“Anyone would be nervous about questions regarding a disappearance and possible murder…especially if it involves the chief of police’s son.”
The people at one of Mindy’s tables finished and left, and the people at the second table were paying their bill.
Matt left a few bills for the iced tea and a big tip, just so Mindy got the hint.
They left by the front door, and Matt steered Kylie around the corner of the building. An alley ran along the back of the building and across the alley, two benches faced a small street.
Kylie claimed the one awash in sunlight, and Matt stood in the shade next to it.
Ten minutes later Mindy rounded the corner, her elfin face sharp with worry.
Kylie patted the bench beside her. “Have a seat, Mindy.”
The young woman perched on the end of the bench, looking ready for flight.
Matt shoved his hands in his pockets, determined to let Kylie handle the interrogation…or rather the questioning, or maybe just a conversation.
“Bree Harris stayed with you and your friend, Patrice, when she came to the festival, didn’t she?”
“Yes. Patrice and I had met her when we all went to the Burning Man Festival in the desert.”
“Burning Man?”
Matt cut in. “It’s a concert with a bunch of indie bands out near Death Valley.”
Mindy’s pale brows jumped. “Yes, that’s right. We’d met out there in the spring and we told her about Rockapalooza here at the Cove.”
Kylie asked, “How long was she here before the concert started?”
“Almost two weeks. She was about to start her second year at UO—University of Oregon.”
Matt cleared his throat. “She met a lot of people while she was out here?”
Mindy’s gaze shifted to the side as she lifted a thin shoulder, her spaghetti strap slipping off. “Everyone meets a lot of people during the concert.”
That small glance of Mindy’s spoke volumes. Matt cleared his throat. “But Bree met a lot of people, didn’t she? A lot of men.”
Kylie’s chin lifted, but Mindy nodded.
“Bree was really pretty. If you’ve seen her pictures, you know that. She attracted a lot of attention wherever she went and the guys really liked her.”
“Did she have a lot of hookups when she was in Coral Cove?” Matt held up two fingers. “Not judging.”
“Yeah.”
Kylie blew out a breath. “Harlan Sloan? Eric Evans?”
“Those two definitely, but there were others. Bree partied hard and she had all the guys buzzing around her like flies.”
Matt glanced at Kylie. Bree must’ve used a lot more sugar than vinegar.
Matt took off his sunglasses and wiped them on his T-shirt. “Again, not judging here, but did Bree do drugs?”
“She didn’t use, but she definitely liked her booze.”
Matt winced. “Could Bree have had an accident? Too much booze? Midnight swim in the ocean?”
Mindy’s cheeks flushed. “She wasn’t drunk that night.”
“The last night of the concert?” Kylie hunched forward. “You and Patrice were the last to see her.”
“She got a text and took off. That was it.”
“Did you put that picture of Bree on our table yesterday with the note?” Matt kept the note of accusation out of his voice. After all, Mindy had been trying to help them with that message.
She lowered her lashes. “Yes. I’d heard that you were investigating the case.”
Kylie put her hand on Mindy’s arm. “Bree’s body has never been found. Why do you think she’s dead?”
Mindy lifted her head, her gaze darting from Matt to Kylie. “I just know she’s dead. Sometimes you just get a sixth sense. You know what I mean?”
* * *
KYLIE STRETCHED OUT on her bed and flexed her toes. After questioning Mindy, she felt more like a P.I. than a psychic. She’d been on low ebb since that second night in Coral Cove when she fell from the balcony at Columbella. Since the night she’d run into Matt. She had no concentration. And she needed to get it back.
Matt grabbed on to the doorjamb of the adjoining door, and leaned into the room. “I suppose the Harrises didn’t know their daughter got around so much.”
“I didn’t get the impression from Mrs. Harris that she knew, but that’s not something a mother is going to blab about her daughter.”
“She might want to if it would help solve the mystery of her disappearance.”
“About that.” Kylie crossed her arms behind her head. “I need to get my mojo back. I’ve been hanging out with you so long I’m beginning to rely on facts rather than feelings to investigate this case.”
Without moving into the room, Matt crossed his arms, his large frame filling the doorway. “I thought you needed both. Isn’t that how you’ve worked with police in the past?”
“I do need both, but investigative work is beginning to dominate the psychic connection I have with the victim.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed, feeling vulnerable stretched out on the bed. “And I don’t think I’ve ever worked so closely with a cop on a case…definitely no adjoining rooms.”
“But I’m not a cop.”
“Right, but I still need to get back to what I do best, or what I used to do best.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’m going bac
k to my mom’s old house.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I haven’t been there since I got to Coral Cove.”
“You’re still looking for answers to your mother’s suicide, aren’t you?”
“Now I have an excuse. It looks like her suicide had something to do with Bree’s disappearance.”
“Bree didn’t tell Mindy or Patrice what your mother said to her.”
“No, but after Mindy made that comment about having a sixth sense, she did bring up Bree’s visit to Mom. It must’ve made an impression on her.”
Matt shrugged. “It’s not every day people visit fortune-tellers, is it?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“I know you don’t like being joined at the hip with me—” Matt smacked the wall “—but I don’t want to leave you on your own—not after that warning on your mirror and the incident with the lights…unless you want to go for another massage. At least you were safe there.”
Remembering the uninvited masseuse, Kylie pursed her lips. Had it been safe?
“What’s wrong? You didn’t like the massage?”
Kylie bit her lip. The man had more heightened senses than she did right now. “The massage was great....”
“But what?” His sharp tone made Kylie sorry she hadn’t marshaled her automatic response to his comment about the massage.
She swept her hands across her face. “I thought my masseuse had come into the room, and then there was a knock on the door and my real masseuse came in and the mystery masseuse left through the other door.”
Matt’s jaw tightened. “Mystery masseuse? There was someone else in the room with you?”
“I was facedown. I didn’t see the person. I just assumed it was my masseuse.”
“What did your real masseuse have to say about it?”
“She said it could’ve been someone who’d left something in the room. She didn’t seem worried about it.”
“She didn’t have a pair of klieg lights tipped over on her.”
She put her hands on her hips to appear stronger than she felt because if she believed someone was stalking her, she’d never get her mojo back. “How would anyone else know I was having a massage?”
“I don’t know, Kylie. How did someone break into your room? How did someone get up on that scaffold to dump those lights?”
“That could’ve been an accident.” She threw her arms out to push away the idea that someone meant her harm.
“I don’t like it.” Matt squared his shoulders like he really meant business. “For sure, you’re not going out to your mom’s old place by yourself. Does anyone even live there now?”
“Oh, God, no. After my mother’s suicide, it turned into a mini Columbella. People think it’s haunted out there.”
“Who owns it?”
“Technically, my father—wherever he is.”
“They held the title as joint tenants?”
“Yes, and when he took off, nothing changed. My parents never got divorced and never changed the title to the house. With the community property laws in California, my father legally owns the property.”
“Who pays the mortgage and property taxes?”
“My father paid off the house years ago. He may still be paying the taxes, or they’re in arrears.” She brushed her hands together. “Not my concern.”
“Except now the haunted house is vacant.”
“Exactly.”
“Which means you’re not going out there by yourself.”
“Don’t you have to find out where Eric Evans is and have another chat with Harlan Sloan?”
“Why are you so anxious to get rid of me?” His lips twisted into a smile and the thought crossed Kylie’s mind that no other woman in Matt’s life had ever shot him down before. How could she explain to him that his presence scrambled her mind and destroyed her concentration? Other than that, she wanted to keep him as close as he’d allow.
“I’m not trying to lose you, but you need to keep on top of the other aspects of this case and let me worry about my mother’s involvement.”
“I’m a multitasker. Trust me.”
Oh, she trusted Matt all right. It was herself she was worried about.
When they were making their way through the lobby, Matt poked her in the back. “Look, two o’clock.”
“Huh?” Kylie swiveled her head around. What the heck was he talking about?
He bumped her shoulder and said, “Ahead, to your right.”
She glanced to her right and picked out Harlan Sloan in the middle of a tight knot of people. “He’s staying here?”
“Makes sense. It’s the nicest hotel in town.”
“I figured he might be staying at one of the hotels along the coast, even though this one’s closer to the concert grounds.”
Matt’s breath touched her ear. “I think it’s a good time to ask him a few questions, don’t you?”
“Now?” Kylie choked. Matt had conducted a halfway decent questioning of Mindy earlier today, but interrogating Sloan in front of all those people didn’t seem like a great idea to her.
“Maybe you should…” She was talking to thin air. Matt was already striding across the lobby.
She scurried after him and reached him just as he joined the group.
“Mr. Sloan? Matt Conner. We met yesterday at the concert venue.”
Sloan raised his light blue eyes, which flicked to Kylie’s face before returning to Matt’s. “Ah, yes. We met and then there was the accident. Are you okay today, miss?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” Kylie had slipped her hand in Matt’s arm and was pinching the inside of his biceps.
“I’d like to ask you a few more questions, Sloan. We can meet in the bar later.”
“You’re a private investigator…not a police officer?”
“Yes.” Matt’s biceps tightened beneath Kylie’s fingers.
“Since you’re not a police officer, I’m not required to answer any of your questions, Conner.” Sloan sealed his words with a thin smile stretching his lips.
“That’s right, Sloan.” Matt stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and planted his motorcycle boots about a foot apart, right in front of Sloan. “But it’s always better to get your story out in your own words, instead of someone else’s.”
The icy eyes seemed to pale. “I’ll meet you in the lobby bar at five o’clock.”
Matt grinned and his tough-guy persona melted in an instant. “See you then.”
Kylie kept hold of Matt’s arm as he strolled out of the hotel. When they hit the sidewalk, Kylie spun around. “Are you nuts? Why did you antagonize him?”
Matt lifted his brows. “He started it.”
“You didn’t have to get all large-and-in-charge and threaten him.”
Matt widened his dark eyes. “Me? Threaten?”
“All that stuff about telling his own story.”
“It’s true. Most people would rather give you their version of events than have you depend on hearsay about them.”
“Do you think he’ll admit to an affair with Bree?” Kylie took the helmet Matt offered and pulled it onto her head.
“Probably, if he thinks we have a reliable source.” Matt tucked some strands of her hair into the helmet and her face warmed beneath his touch. “But he’ll put his own spin on it. That’s the opportunity I’m offering him—his own spin.”
“You’re really good at this, aren’t you? You must have some very satisfied clients.”
“Let’s just hope we can satisfy the Harrises.” He straddled his bike and kicked up the kickstand.
Kylie climbed on the back, wrapping her arms around Matt’s waist for support. Beneath the cotton of his T-shirt, his abs felt like steel to her sensitive fingertips. The summer day was warm enough for T-shirts and no jackets, but Matt insisted she wear jeans on the bike…and his helmet. He went without, but no law enforcement in Coral Cove had pulled him over yet for not wearing a helmet, despite the law against it. And yet he wouldn’t allow her to jaywal
k.
He revved the engine of the bike and they took off with a jerk. She directed him off the Coast Highway inland, and pointed him down a one-lane dirt road that led to the home where she’d grown up and learned to harness her strange abilities.
The loud engine of the bike cut through the stillness of the trees. Nobody lived out here when Kylie had grown up and nobody lived out here now.
Matt cut the engine and planted his feet on the ground, walking the bike up the path to the house.
“It’s isolated out here. How’d you get to school every day?”
“Shh, don’t tell anyone, but I started driving my mom’s beat-up car to high school when I was fourteen. Before that, I walked down to the school bus, which stopped at the foot of the hill.”
“What is it you hope to discover here, Kylie?”
She pressed her fingertips to her temples where a dull ache had started as soon as the house came into view. “I want to get in touch with my mom. I want to get a sense of what she saw when Bree came to see her.”
“And you can do that here?”
“It’s where her presence is the strongest. After she killed herself, I was too afraid to come here. Too afraid of what I might discover.”
Matt tugged the helmet from her head and brushed the hair from her forehead with one hand. “What did you think you’d find?”
“My future. A future where I’d find it impossible to live with myself. A future full of regrets and mistakes.”
Matt hung the helmet from the handlebar of his bike and cupped her face with both of his roughened hands. “Then don’t live in a way that could cause you regret later. Grab life with both hands. Nobody can know the future, Kylie.”
Her nose stung and her lower lip trembled. Was he giving her an invitation?
He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. She wanted to kiss him back. She’d wanted to kiss Matt Conner for a long time. And she didn’t want any regrets.
Standing on her tiptoes, she curled her arms around his neck. And kissed him back with all her might.
He swayed under her assault, and then stood firm, cradling the back of her head with one hand and tucking one arm around her waist. He dragged her close, sealing the length of his body against hers.
When he deepened the kiss, his tongue finding the warmth inside her mouth, he crushed her closer. Her toes left the ground and for a minute, she thought the sheer power of their connection had sent her airborne.
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