Page 37 of Art of Love

He rolled up his sleeves and started unpacking things, glancing in a few cupboards and then moving quickly.

God, he made the large kitchen feel small.

She watched him for a second, then shook off the lingering tension and joined him. The quiet between them was oddly comforting. No need to fill it with useless chatter. Just the rustle of bags, the opening of cabinets, the unspoken ease between them.

“You have a nice piece of property up here,” he said, and she got the hint that he was trying to keep the conversation casual.

“Twenty acres,” she said. “Half of it is hillside, but still…”

“Did I see a barn to the side?”

“Yes, that’s where we kept our animals and any my dad was boarding temporarily. It’s big enough for ten horses.”

He whistled. “My ranch in Cali only has six stalls. I’m thinking of adding more. After working with Stormy and Blaze, I really want to get my hands on a few more to work with.”

“You have four now, right?”

“Yeah, but,” he started and then sighed. “They’re all broken in.”

“Bored?” she asked as he handed her the last box of crackers. She put them in the pantry.

“Desperately,” he admitted, and she chuckled.

Abe leaned against the counter, arms crossed, and ran his eyes over her. Instantly, she could tell he was debating asking her something. It didn’t take a PI to see the questions behind his gaze.

“You up for dinner?” he asked instead of whatever was on his mind.

“Yeah,” she said after a moment. “Since my pantry is stocked, how about you help me cook something?”

His grin spread slowly, wickedly. “Tell me how to help.”

Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen was filled with the scent of sautéing vegetables, grilled chicken, and warm spices. Dylan stirred the rice and chicken while Abe manned the cutting board.

“I came over here to discuss Kara’s case…” he said without looking over at her.

She paused and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Right.” She sighed. Of course he’d come here to talk about the case. Why not jump right in then? “I’ve been going through my notes since we spoke last, along with the police files I could find. A few of the witness statement just don’t sit right. There’s just something…” She dropped off.

She kept her expression neutral. But when she thought of the missed meeting with Kevin, a jolt went through her.

“What kind of something?” he asked.

“Something about Kevin’s statement that next morning. The timeline he mentions is fuzzy,” she explained. “It’s almost… too clean. Too planned. He knew the time down to the minute. Your statement reads like someone who is in shock. You couldn’t remember the exact time Kara dropped you off. You knew where you’d eaten and that she had driven you home and dropped you off, and even that it had been slightly raining that night. His statement is more calculated. Like he was very careful or as if he planned it all out before answering every question. And it’s odd that he practically vanished for a few years four months after his sister’s death before resurfacing only two months ago. Three days before hiring me. You mentioned he’d hired a few other PIs over the years, but I can’t find anyone or any agency that worked with him. Plus, I can’t find anything on where he was for those years or even why he moved to Portland. He has no job. No permanent residence. He lives off his parents’ money.” Dylan stirred a little harder than necessary as she talked. “I mean, I guess people disappear all the time after the death of a loved one. It doesn’t really mean anything, I don’t think. But… it’s bugging me.”

“True,” Abe said, giving her a quick look. “For weeks after Kara’s death, Kevin was all over me and hounding the police, demanding that the accident be investigated while their parents were just grieving. When he stopped and moved away, I didn’t hear where he’d gone, only…” He stopped talking and she glanced over at him. He frowned down at the cutting board. “I suppose I was just happy that he’d stopped hassling me and demanding that the police arrest me. He was crazed at times.” He shook his head. “Their parents were not and seemed embarrassed at his actions.”

“He had just lost his sister,” she pointed out.

“And I lost…” He stopped abruptly and closed his eyes.

When she glanced at him, he was looking out the window into the darkness. “I wanted answers just as badly as he did. I still do.” He walked over to dump the carrots into the pot.

“Any idea what he’s doing back or what he’s doing in Portland?” Abe asked, eyes fixed on hers.

She shook her head a little too quickly. “No clue.”

Another half-truth. She wasn’t ready to tell Abe about the meeting in Edgeview. Besides, it hadn’t amounted to anything, Kevin hadn’t even shown. Why stir up questions until she had answers?

Abe nodded, accepting it without pressing. “Now we’ve got you digging deeper. Hopefully, we will know more soon.”