“Ex-husband, boyfriend, anything?”
“Nothing. Her background is spotless, actually.”
“Too clean?”
“Kind of,” Vortex says.
“Do I need to get a fingerprint?”
“Not yet. If she’s in hiding, do we really want to alert whoever she’s hiding from?”
“You got a point. But no ties to Aaronov?”
“Not that I saw. She’s in a rundown apartment, drives an old Jeep Grand Cherokee that’s on its last leg, and that’s about all I could find. No debt. Rent paid free and clear for a year.”
“She has money?”
“I don’t know where. Her bank account has about two K in it, and the checking has another one K. No credit cards, nothing like that.”
“She’s in hiding. Don’t dig any deeper, or we’ll alert her or someone else. I’ll try to get Harlowe to get some information for us.”
“Got it.”
I hang up as I arrive at the site. The apartment complex we’re working on will be low-income housing, so it’s Davis-Bacon wages. I also have a site that Aftershock is leading in a new subdivision on a private airstrip. All the houses are hangers, built of metal structures, which is Shock’s specialty. My crew is working on the interiors while I run a general contracting company that handles both residential and commercial projects. We’re called in on a lot of jobs, and combined, all our businesses are premier builders of Alaskan-style homes and barndominiums.
Acouple of hours later, I pull up to my house and see my sister’s truck is already here. She must have had an early class. She’s still trying to get her schedule worked out. Some of her credits won’t transfer, and she’s frustrated. I’m just glad she’s still making school a priority.
I step into the house. Harlowe is cooking in the kitchen, and my cousin Loki is stretched out on the sofa, watching a show on TV.
“Get your boots off the coffee table, asshole,” I snap. He chuckles and drops them to the floor.
“Hey, LowLow,” I call, using the nickname I’ve had for her since our parents brought her home from the hospital. “How was your day?” I stride over and kiss her cheek.
“It was good. Marnie almost sold out of everything. She’s going in early tomorrow to bake, and I’m going to help her.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
We get seated at the table after I wash my hands and drop my ball cap on the side table. It’s a habit Harlowe’s mom, Charisma, started when I was a boy. No hats at the table. We start to dig in, and that’s when I decide to begin the line of questioning I need for Vortex.
“So, tell me about your boss.”
“Why? You like her?” She waggles her brows.
“I want everyone around you researched. Tell me.”
Harlowe cocks her head to the side. “Well, she just moved here from Northern California. I don’t know much more than that. She doesn’t talk about herself, and when I ask, she changes the subject.”
“Do you think we need to dig harder, or do you think she’s hiding?” I ask. My sister should be excellent at reading people. Our father would have taught her for her protection.
“No, don’t. I think she’s on the run from someone. She jumps if I sneak up on her, and you’re the first man she’s been around who she didn’t cower from. Even Jerry intimidates her.”
“Yeah, I went in one day, and she practically ran from the room when she realized she didn’t have to wait on me,” Loki adds.
“I accidentally snuck up on her one day, and she about came out of her skin.” Harlow pauses. “Please don’t push her away. I like her, and Oly is so sweet.”
“I don’t plan to. I just need to decide whether I should lift her prints and run her.”
“Don’t.” Harlowe is adamant, and I’ll give her that for now.
