Page 41 of July’s Cowboy Dallas

Ruby's smile tightened just slightly. “Addison's handling some last-minute chaos with the junior contestants.”

“Where?”

“By the rodeo queen’s trailer. Or the main arena. Or maybe the vendor check-in.” Ruby waved her hand. “She'll turn up.”

That was the first problem. Threatened clients who “turned up” instead of staying where they were supposed to be rarely stayed alive long enough for me to fix the situation.

Orville must have read my face because he cleared his throat. “Let's go over what we know.”

He handed me a printed sheet full of messages, dates, and screenshots.

The first one was dated mid-July:

You looked beautiful in the parade. Next time, I'll be closer.

Then another from late July:

The crown suits you. But you should be careful who you trust.

And the most recent, dated almost a month ago:

Smile pretty, Addison. I'll be watching in August.

I set the paper down. “She reported these?”

“No,” Ruby said. “She mentioned them to me last week. Casually. Like they were fan mail.”

“They're not fan mail.”

“We know.”

Ruby leaned forward, resting her palms on the table. “That girl smiles too pretty when she's scared.”

I looked at her.

“She does,” Ruby insisted. “I've known Addison since she was sixteen. When something's wrong, she gets polite. When something's really wrong, she gets perfect.”

Orville nodded. “She dismissed the messages until the last one mentioned August. Then she agreed to let us bring you in.”

I scanned the schedule again. Addison was due at the queen trailer in fifteen minutes for a pre-event briefing. Then junior contestant photos. Then vendor meet-and-greet. Then opening parade rehearsal. Then arena walkthroughs. Then a sponsor dinner.

Every event was public. Every location was exposed.

“She agreed to change her schedule?” I asked.

“No,” Orville said.

“Limit her appearances?”

“Also no.”

I closed the folder. “Then what did she agree to?”

Ruby’s mouth twitched. “You.”

Great. It pissed me off when my clients didn’t take things seriously enough. “Where is she now?”

Ruby checked her phone. “She said she'd be at the queen trailer twenty minutes ago.”