“Are you sure?” Zachary asked. He sounded even younger than his twenty years.
“I’m positive,” I told him. “Go home. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Should I go straight to the Body Shop?”
He sounded half wistful, half pleading, like he thought I was going to tell him he had failed and would have to stay at the office as punishment. “Sure,” I said. “Although park out of sight if you can. If Megan noticed you following her tonight, she’ll recognize the car tomorrow, too.”
He sounded relieved. “OK. Thanks, Gina.”
He hung up. I let my head fall back against the headrest. At the rate we were going, I was going to have to give Jacquie her money back and tell her to hire a professional.
Except I was supposed to be the professional. That was the whole point of getting licensed.
And it wasn’t Zachary’s fault. He didn’t have a PI license. It was my responsibility to make sure he knew things like this. I was supposed to be training him.
I resisted knocking my forehead against the steering wheel and turned my attention back to the papered-over storefront. By now it was five thirty-five. Rachel, Daniel, and Kenny had been inside for almost twenty minutes. How long does it take to look at an empty bar?
Apparently longer than I thought, because another ten minutes passed before the door finally opened again. I sat up straight and eyed them in the mirror, searching their expressions for signs of trouble.
But there was nothing to see, or nothing that stood out, anyway. Kenny was grinning as they emerged onto the sidewalk, talking animatedly and gesturing with his hands, while Daniel nodded along. And Rachel, who was more of a barometer for me than either of her two male cohorts, looked cautiously pleased.
Something loosened it my chest as I realized that things could probably be worse, then. The location was good, and I hadn’t noticed any particular red flags anywhere. It was possible that Daniel had finally found his calling. And maybe Kenny had grown up enough to make a smart investment.
Or maybe they were both high on the fantasy of owning a bar in Five Points, and Rachel had been swept away by whatever charms Daniel must hide from me, and reality would come crashing down in six months when the rent came due and the profits didn’t materialize.
But either way it wasn’t going to be my problem. It wasn’t my money they were using, and I wasn’t going to be involved. Rachel was, or so it seemed, but she was an adult, and while I could try (again) to talk her out of throwing in her lot with Daniel, was it really any of my business who or what she got involved with?
The answer to that was ‘no,’ and I knew it. I also knew that my business partner wouldn’t thank me for treating her like she couldn’t take care of herself.
No, best to just leave well enough alone and let her—or them—deal with whatever fallout happened.
Decision made, I turned my attention back to the mirror.
Outside the bar, Kenny said something that made Rachel laugh, before he slapped Daniel on the shoulder and headed for his Bronco. Daniel put his hand on Rachel’s back and steered her in the opposite direction, toward what looked like some sort of Asian restaurant on the corner.
It was time for me to leave. I’d seen what I came here to see. Rachel was fine, and the bar location was decent. There was no crisis to avert, at least not tonight.
I reached for the ignition.
And that’s when Edwina spotted Rachel. She moved onto my lap, where her sharp nails dug into my thighs, pressed her nose against the window, and let out a sharp, excited bark.
Rachel’s head turned. Her eyes found the Lexus. Found Edwina.
Found me.
I saw the moment recognition hit. Her expression shifted from curiosity to comprehension, and then to something more like disappointment mixed with exasperation. She said something to Daniel, and he followed her gaze. After a second he shrugged in a way that suggested he wasn’t surprised.
I felt my cheeks heat.
After a moment they turned away. Daniel’s hand stayed on the small of her back as they continued on their way toward the restaurant. Neither of them looked at me again, but I knew I was in for a conversation about stalking and a lack of trust tomorrow.
Edwina wagged her tail and looked at me expectantly.
“This is all your fault,” I told her.
She licked my chin. I nudged her over into the passenger seat. “Lie down, you little menace.”
She turned in a circle and curled up, and I started the car and pulled away from the curb.
