Love Finds You in Carmel by-the-Sea, California

by Sandra D. Bricker

  Marcus DeLeon

  Marcus Leonard

  Mark DeLeonardi

  Mark Lyon

  Nick began clicking on the highlighted links, one at a time, viewing the pictures associated with each name on the list.

  “Have you met him?”

  “No,” she told him. “I just know he’s African-American, about thirty-five, and works for a cruise line as a tour guide.”

  Nick clicked on the last entry and smiled, turning the screen toward her. “Could that be our boy?”

  “Maybe.”

  Within the space of about five minutes, Nick generated pages of information on Mark Lyon, and his rap sheet read like a Who’s Who of America’s Most Wanted. He’d done three chunks of jail time for fraud, and he’d been investigated enough to warrant about twenty lines of information links.

  “Do you know Tyra’s e-mail address?”

  Annie leaned over him and typed it into the blank e-mail box on the screen.

  “Go call her. Tell her I’m sending over a photo. Have her take a look.”

  Spinning the phone around, Annie quickly dialed Tyra’s number and then pressed the speaker button so Nick could be in on the conversation.

  “Hey, girl,” Tyra answered on the first ring. “What’s going on?”

  “Can you pick up e-mail while you’re on the phone?”

  “I can now. I just got broadband.”

  “Welcome to the universe, Ty. Check your e-mail, would you?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “Nick was helping me do some final checks on your mom’s admirer, and—”

  “You found something! I knew it!”

  “Well, we don’t know. I want you to take a look at the photo and tell me if it’s him.”

  A few seconds later, Tyra gasped. “That’s him.”

  She mouthed the words to Nick as if he hadn’t heard them. That’s him!

  “It looks like he’s going under an alias, Ty. His real name is Mark Lyon. He’s been in jail three times for fraud.”

  “What kind of fraud?”

  Nick took it from there. “He’s written a half dozen bad checks. Also stole someone else’s checks and cleaned out their accounts for over ten grand. He’s been investigated for embezzlement and racketeering. This is a very bad guy, I’m sorry to tell you.”

  Tyra remained silent for a very long moment before they heard the telltale sniff-sniff-sob that betrayed her.

  “Tyra? Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I knew it, Annie. I absolutely knew it. And no one would believe me. When you came up empty, I just figured—” After another moment, she continued. “Thank you so much.”

  “If you want something to show your mom when you talk to her,” Nick said thoughtfully, “I can e-mail you something you can print out in the next few minutes.”

  “That would be great.”

  “He’ll send it right away, Ty.”

  “Annie, you are the best.”

  “No, I’m not. But Nick is.”

  “Thank you, Nick.”

  “Welcome, Tyra.”

  Annie flicked the button on the phone and collapsed into the chair at the outside corner of the desk.

  “What’s wrong?” Nick asked after hitting Send on the e-mail to Tyra.

  “I feel sick to my stomach, Nick. There I was, telling my friend she had nothing to worry about and even getting a little irritated with her for not believing me. I could have really made things worse, if not for you.”

  “Well, Annie, I’ve been a cop for a lot of years.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, angel. You’re doing a great job here. You have some things to learn, that’s all. In time, you’ll be cracking cases right and left.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I do. I think you’ll be a great investigator. And having Deke to show you the ropes, you’re way ahead of the game. He’s one of the savviest PIs around.”

  “You’ve known him a long time?”

  “A few years. But more important than how long I’ve known him is that I know him really well. He has great intuition, which, of course, makes an exceptional investigator. You either have that or you don’t. And you have it, Annie. Your instincts are good. You just need to polish them a little.”

  “That’s a nice thing to say, Nick.”

  “Well, I can be nice when it’s warranted.”

  “Apparently,” she said with a grin. “Color me surprised.”

  “I’ll color you sarcastic.”

  “That too. I’m a rainbow.”

  “You said it, angel.”

  This might be the warmest moment I’ve had with Nick.

  It was a little annoying, the way the thought lit up her heart and set the butterflies to fluttering around in the pit of her stomach.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “There are four ways of doing things onboard my ship: the right way, the wrong way, the navy way, and my way.”

  Humphrey Bogart, The Caine Mutiny, 1954

  “Annie, sweetheart. It’s so good to see you again.”

  Nick listened carefully as Annie greeted someone in the front office.

  “Mrs. Armbrewster! And Mr. Armbrewster! How are you both?”

  “Just dandy,” came the reply.

  “How was Italy?”

  “Oh, it was downright beautiful,” the woman replied. “I meant to bring the photographs along today, but we left the house in such a hurry that I completely forgot. I’ll have to bring them by another time.”

  “Oh, please do,” Annie told her. “What can I do for you today?”

  “Is Mr. Heffley around?”

  “He’s been out for a while after heart surgery,” she explained. “But Nick Benchley has been filling in for him, and he’s here. Would you like me to see if he’s available for a meeting?”

  “Would you, dear?”

  “Sit down and make yourselves comfortable,” Annie told them. “I’ll just go and see what Nick’s schedule looks like today.”

  When she entered, Nick waved them all in.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Armbrewster? Come on in and meet Nick Benchley.”

  When the pleasantries were exchanged and the parties seated, Mr. Armbrewster cleared his throat in a transparent announcement that said “Ready to get down to business.” Nick stifled a chuckle at the remembrance that this man’s wife had suspected him of infidelity.

  “Your colleague, Mr. Heffley, and Miss Gray here did a wonderful job for my Marion when she came to them.”

  “I have no doubt,” Nick returned with a smile.

  “I especially liked the way Miss Gray kept my little secret. Do you know about that?”

  “In fact, I do,” Nick told him. “I read the case file.”

  “Because of that, Marion and I wanted to do something to thank them both.”

  You paid your bill in record time. That’s all the thank-you they need!

  “That’s certainly not necessary,” Nick said instead.

  “I was going to make you some of my famous pecan tassies,” Marion advised Annie. “But I think we’ve got something even better.”

  The two of them looked as if they might burst from the pressure of holding the secret. Then, almost as if they’d rehearsed it, they both started to spill the beans.

  “Over at the—”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Marion said. “You tell them, dear.”

  “Well,” he started with a smile, “we were having lunch over at the golf course where I was working when we ran into Franklin Usher.”

  “He’s the gentleman who owns that course and about six or seven others throughout the country,” Marion explained. “Lovely man. Four grown children and eight grandchildren. He attends our church.”

  “He happened to mention that he’s working on a special project right now, which led us to thinking about you and Mr. Heffley, Annie.”

  “Oh?”

  “He’s in the process of screening investigation agencies to find
someone he can put on retainer to do background checks for his golf courses…and some of his other businesses besides.”

  This sounds promising.

  Annie’s gaze dragged toward Nick, who had a smug grin waiting.

  “Every one of his courses is first-rate,” he continued. “And they have restaurants and a pro shop and the like. So they have a lot of employees turning over. Every time they interview, they have to screen those applicants.”

  “And he has how many golf courses?” Annie asked, and Nick could see her effort to keep her enthusiasm down to a manageable, professional level.

  “Eight, including the one here. And he has some other interests too. Do you think that would be something Mr. Heffley might be interested in entertaining?”

  Nick let out a slight chuckle before replying. “Absolutely.”

  “We were hoping you would say that,” Marion added.

  “We told Mr. Usher all about you,” her husband continued. “That you’re a small agency, like what he was hoping for. You’re local, which is a requirement because this is where he’s headquartered.”

  “I appreciate your thinking of us, Mr. and Mrs. Armbrewster,” Annie told them. “It’s very generous of you.”

  “I told him I would touch base with you and just inquire about your interest.” He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and produced a linen business card, which he handed to Annie. She looked it over before passing it to Nick.

  “If you could just call him at this number, he’d like to set up a meeting with you to discuss the details.”

  Nick eyed the business card before setting it down on the desk and reaching over it to offer his hand. “Thank you.”

  “You’re quite welcome. We were happy to do it. You were all so kind to Marion and me.”

  “We’d love to have you both to tea sometime if you’d like to come,” Marion offered hopefully.

  “I’d love to come,” Annie told her. “And I can see your Italy pictures then.”

  “You are such a dear,” she told her, and Marion gave Annie a hug before she led the way out to the reception area.

  Once they’d gone, Nick and Annie looked at one another in frozen silence for a long moment before Nick began to laugh.

  “This is good, right?” she asked him.

  “Yes,” he stated firmly. “This is very, very good.”

  “Deke will be happy.”

  “If we can set this up, Deke will be downright ecstatic, Annie Gray. Franklin Usher is to golf courses what Donald Trump is to resorts. His courses are first class all the way. Putting this place on retainer with him will change everything for you and Deke.”

  Nick suddenly realized that, with Deke’s return, he would be faced with the very unappealing idea of not seeing Annie every day, and that left him a little cold. When served alongside that reality, the good news, while still good, tasted a little sour.

  Dinner with Merideth always played out like an event. Just the two of them getting together at her place for a meal equaled an elegant dinner party with five-star cuisine and decadent dessert. No casual, everyday dishes on this girl’s table. Instead, Royal Albert bone china and Waterford crystal glasses graced two place settings while hand-embroidered Battenberg lace place mats and napkins adorned center-pieces of deep burgundy dripless candles atop fine silver candlesticks. Never a get-together when Merideth played hostess—a happening.

  “I’m so glad you could come tonight. Frank is traveling, so it’s a perfect time for a night with my girl.”

  Over spinach-and-mushroom salad with hot bacon dressing, they chatted about Frank’s work and the background check Nick saved for Tyra. And over a gorgeous grilled-chicken entrée, the conversation took a natural swing toward the opening of a new restaurant her firm promoted. That’s when Annie saw it coming before it ever left the ground.

  “So Colby told me the split between you two is pretty firm.”

  “I don’t know how a non-couple can really split up, but I’m not seeing him anymore, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Annie, he’s a wonderful guy.”

  “Have you dated him, Mer?” The words popped out on a tone far more hostile than she’d intended.

  “No, but I work with him every day at the agency. He’s just—”

  “Not the man for me,” she completed for her. “Maybe if you weren’t married to Frank, he’d be the perfect man for you, Mer. But he’s not the one for me. Can we talk about something else?”

  “I just want to know why you’re so unforgiving with him,” she said, ignoring Annie’s request. “That’s not your usual way, and I want to understand.”

  Annie sighed and glanced at Merideth. Hair that stayed in just the right place, turquoise blue eyes that sparkled when she smiled, a tiny turned-up nose, and full lips that were always smartly outlined and stained in some wonderful shade. And cleavage. Whether she wanted it or not, Merideth rocked some girlish curves. But remarkable in every way, not just physically. Intelligent, assertive, and, at times, downright hilarious to be around.

  This was not one of those times.

  Annie set her fork on her plate and wiped the corner of her mouth with the beautiful cotton napkin before drawing in a slow, deliberate breath.

  “He is a very forceful person, Merideth. And he doesn’t show his best light when being refused something he wants.”

  “Well, how forceful was he?”

  Their eyes met for a moment, both unwavering. Finally Merideth blinked and frowned. Could it be that she finally understood?

  “Annie. He didn’t hurt you, did he? Tell me the truth.”

  “He didn’t hurt me, Mer. He scared me.”

  She thought it over for a moment. “Like when you were in college?” she asked. “That kind of scared?”

  “Those memories were right at the surface in a heartbeat and a half,” Annie told her.

  “And you’re sure it’s about Colby and not about the past?”

  “It’s about both. He’s not the man for me, Merideth. Can you trust me on that?”

  She pondered that before shooting Annie a luminous grin. “I can do that.”

  “Thank you. Now let’s not talk about Colby Barnes anymore, okay?”

  “Okay. Who would you like to talk about now?”

  “Marion Armbrewster,” Annie stated firmly.

  “Who?”

  “I’ve never told you this story, but she was my first case when I started to work for Deke. Mer, she’s adorable.”

  Annie unraveled it all for Merideth, from their first meeting to following the woman’s husband, even about finding Sherman eye-deep in lettuce leaves inside a produce delivery truck at the course. And then she shared the exciting visit from the Armbrewsters the previous afternoon.

  “It’s really funny how things work, isn’t it?” Annie commented. “I thought that lovely old couple was just nothing more than the first of many cases I would work on in my new career. And now they could be the catalyst to taking Deke’s business up a notch.”

  “When will you know?”

  “Nick is meeting with the guy tomorrow.”

  “I hope it’s good news.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears.”

  Waiting for Nick to return from his Friday afternoon meeting with Franklin Usher presented an exercise in patience that Annie simply didn’t have. She wanted the deal so much for Deke that she could hardly stand just twiddling her thumbs in anticipation of the answer. When she finally saw the black Jeep pull into the parking lot, she couldn’t even stay put until he came through the door.

  Annie rushed out to the lot and leaned on the open window on the driver’s side. She clutched Nick’s arm. “Well?”

  “Better than well.”

  “What! Tell me.”

  “He’s willing to pay an obscene monthly retainer, with an additional fee per background check. There are a few stipulations, of course, but as long as Deke is agreeable to them, it’s a done deal.”

  When he climbed
from his Jeep, Nick bear-hugged Annie before closing the door behind him.

  “Details,” she said. “I need details.”

  “Well, the primary condition of getting the business is that Deke moves his office.”

  “Move? Why?”

  “Not upscale enough, I guess,” he told her, leading the way toward the office. “But the good news is, he’s willing to foot the bill for the move and put the office in one of the buildings he owns.”

  “Do you think Deke will go for that?” Annie asked as they filed through the front door.

  “I don’t know. It’s a leap of faith to take for a new client. But Deke will make the right decision. We’re having dinner tonight at his place, and I thought I’d tell him then. Do you want to join us?”

  “If I’m not intruding.”

  “You, Annie Gray? Intruding? Get outta here.”

  He grinned at her and tweaked her shoulder before disappearing into Deke’s office.

  Annie heard him push-dialing the phone and then heard, “Deacon, my man. I’ve invited Annie to dinner with us tonight so we’ll have something better to look at than each other…. Yeah, I thought so too.”

  Deke met them on the front porch of his small brick house in worn blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a long, white gauze shirt. He looked healthy and well-rested, which was a relief to Annie.

  “Welcome, welcome,” he greeted them. “Perfect timing. Supper’s just about finished.”

  They followed him through the clean and inviting house of minimal furnishings tastefully coordinated in deep blues and resonant browns. Following a path of large white stones, they made their way toward a lovely wooden pergola hanging over a small picnic table at the center of the backyard. Three enormous ham steaks sizzled on a grill off to one side.

  “There’s an ice chest over there with soda,” he told Nick. Then he winked at Annie and added, “There’s Diet Coke for you, Miss Annie.”

  “Bless your brand-new little heart.”

  “Speaking of your brand-new heart,” Nick teased, “is all this meat going to be good for it? We want it to keep beating, after all.”

  “You worry about getting the drinks. The Lord and I will worry about whether my heart keeps beating.”