“Oh, they didn’t damage the place on purpose. Only because they happened to be in danger and kept getting found.” He glanced at Lucy, then hastily added, “They’re fine now, though. No injuries or other problems.”
“I see.” Except she really didn’t. It seemed strange that his friends would borrow his house while knowing they were in danger. She couldn’t imagine doing something like that here. She’d heard rumors of lack of lawlessness while living in the Wild West, but she had assumed they were grossly exaggerated.
Apparently not.
She’d thought Grady’s military experience would come in handy. Maybe his life in Wyoming had contributed to his confidence too.
When they’d finished eating, she told Lucy to take her dishes into the kitchen before she made her video call. Lucy sighed dramatically but did as she was told.
Grady rose to stack his plate too. “Oh, you don’t need to do that,” she said.
“House rules.” He winked and carried his dishes into the kitchen. Flustered, she followed. Grady didn’t act like most men she knew. Maybe it was his western upbringing.
When the table was cleared, she watched as Clara pulled on her coat. “Did you need anything else, Ms. Lauren?”
“No, thanks, Clara. Have a good evening.”
After seeing Clara to the door, she pulled out her phone to call Lieutenant Olson. He answered on the first ring. “Ms. Chandler? Is everything okay?”
“Not exactly. I, uh, need to report another incident that involves me and my good friend. I’d like you and Detective Kramer to come here to take a report.” She’d planned to introduce Grady as her fiancé, but now she realized that was more difficult than she’d anticipated. She hadn’t been seeing anyone when she’d met with Lieutenant Olson and Detective Kramer the day before. Lying didn’t come easily to her, but she pressed forward. “His name is Grady McFarland. He’s in town from Cody, Wyoming.”
“I didn’t realize you had a friend visiting from out of town,” Lieutenant Olson said. “We need to make sure he’s not involved.”
“He’s not. But you can speak with him about that yourself.” She hoped the police would take her statement about being engaged at face value. She’d call the chief of police if necessary but decided to hold off for now.
“Barry Kramer and I will be there in twenty minutes,” Lieutenant Olson said. “And trust me, I will run your friend through the system.”
She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. If he wanted to spin his wheels, that was fine with her. “Thanks. We’ll see you soon.” She closed her eyes for a moment and then tossed her phone onto the table. “This is getting complicated.”
Grady arched a brow. “You’re the one who wanted to be engaged. We can stick with thewe’re just friendsangle if that’s easier.”
“No, this is better. Especially for the two charity events.” She forced a smile. Maybe it was selfish, but she was glad to have Grady attending the dinners with her as her fiancé. That should keep the jackals at bay, at least for a while. “I’ll arrange for a tux to be delivered.”
He shrugged but didn’t argue. “It’s more important that I pick out a ring.”
“Oh, well.” She flushed. “Don’t worry about that.”
“We’ll say it’s being sized for now.” Grady arched a brow. “But without a ring, nobody will take this seriously.”
Her head started to ache, mostly from the lack of sleep. She hated to admit he was right. “I’ll get a ring. In the meantime, I’ll show you to your room. I, uh, don’t know if you have much in the way of luggage.”
“Just a carry-on in my Jeep. I’ll grab it later.” He stood. “Show me where you and Lucy will be too.”
“Of course.” She led the way down the hall to the bedrooms. The master suite was on the other side of the penthouse apartment, where her father stayed when he was in town. “This is my room, and it’s next to Lucy’s.” She pointed to the door hanging ajar. Her daughter was already chatting with Ellie. “This is the guest room. Sorry to say the view isn’t as nice.” She didn’t know why she was apologizing. Grady wasn’t there for the view.
“It’s great, thanks.” He tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. “I’ll need one of your keycards.”
“Of course.” She ducked into her room to grab it. “Here you go.”
The intercom buzzed from the living room. She crossed over to answer.
“Detective Kramer is here.” The lobby attendant informed her.
“Please send him up, thanks.” She turned to Grady. “He must have been close by.”
Grady frowned and stood beside her. When she moved forward to answer the door, he held her arm and stepped forward to use the peephole. Then he opened the door. “Detective, I’m Grady McFarland.”
“Nice to meet you.” Detective Kramer turned to face her. “I was surprised to hear you wanted to talk to us, because it just so happens I planned to talk to you too. We have a man in custody by the name of Jorge Dombach. We think he’s the kidnapper.”
