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“What’s this about?” she asked, digging in. She remained motionless against the doorway.

“It has to do with some missing beauty contestants at the Miss Nevada pageant last week, if you must know,” I replied, giving in to her demand for answers.

“Missing beauty contestants? I haven’t heard or seen anything about that. I mean, there hasn’t been anything on the news about it.”

“They’ve been keeping things from the media, but that won’t last long now the Nevada pageant is over. I’m surprised it hasn’t hit the news already, so they must be doing some serious damage control to keep things quiet.”

“So, what do you know?”

“Two women disappeared during the week-long competition. One was found here in San Francisco, dead, and her body was dumped.” Chloe’s eyes went wide as I continued. “Then a second contestant vanished in Lake Tahoe. They haven’t found her yet.”

“Jesus,” she replied. “And you’re going up there to do what, exactly?”

“Jonesy and I met the local sheriff at Bally’s Resort, where the pageant was held. Their forensics team has been working on the evidence. I want to do a little digging and maybe ask some of the staff if they saw or heard anything. I’ll pretend to be a reporter and see if anyone opens up more, thinking they might get mentioned in the news. Some people are leery of talking to cops, and I’m hoping my guise as a reporter might help.”

She nodded, seeing my reasoning before switching to another topic. “Do you plan to contact Brooke Chandler about her husband’s demise?”

“Demise? That’s kinda harsh.”

She placed her hands on her hips and gave me a look that said, ‘You think Brooke Chandler had something to do with it, just like I do.’ “It’s my cynical intuition. I don’t trust her.”

“All I’m going to do is offer my condolences tomorrow. She may give something away in her reaction. Again, it might help the police if they think something suspicious on her end took place.”

“Okaaay,” she drew out. “I still think she’s behind it.” Chloe turned on her heels as if emphasizing her point before walking back to her desk.

“What about innocent until proven guilty?” I said. She shrugged and sat down.

It was late afternoon, and I’d just finished compiling my findings from the background check on the beauty contestant from Sacramento. I emailed the client and told him her education and community service were legit. Shit, she was a saint. Everything from being an honor student to volunteering at the senior center and working in a soup kitchen over the holidays. I could see how my client would question her resume, but hell, it impressed me.

I texted Jonesy when I left the office. He suggested we meet for a drink and a quick bite at Marrow and Salt. Perhaps our friend Andrew was working, plus we hadn’t been there in a while. When I arrived, Jonesy was already seated in a booth, chatting with Andrew.

“Hello there,” I said, walking up to the table.

“Hey,” Andrew replied, attempting to get up from his seat.

I raised my hand to stop him. “Don’t get up, unless you need to get back to work.”

He relaxed back into the seat and scooted over to give me room to sit. “I have a few minutes left. It’s great to see you guys here,” he said, reaching to place his arm around my shoulders once I settled.

“I know. We love this bistro. Sorry, it’s been a while since we’ve been here,” Jonesy said, which I agreed with.

“Bryce and I had a great time at Beaux last night,” Andrew replied.

“It was a fun night. A bit of a surprise at the end, but I’m glad we were all able to get together,” I said, tapping my boyfriend’s foot under the table.

Andrew gave a quick laugh. “I think this guy across the table kinda loves you,” he whispered.

Jonesy gave me a wink and tapped my foot back. I blushed and was feeling a little self-conscious about where the conversation was going, so I deflected. “So, we know you’re working here full-time now, but how much more schooling do you have?” I asked.

“Only a few more weeks, actually. After all that happened with my brother, I was glad to get back into the swing of things and focus on finishing the culinary program. I’m trying to convince Javier to work here with me, but he’s kinda set on working in a restaurant that caters to the taste buds of his home country.”

“Well, we need to hang out more often once you graduate. Seeing you all support Jonesy last night was a great way to get together, but we need to connect beyond a special occasion,” I said.

“I know Bryce would like that too,” Andrew replied.

“Maybe we need to make sure and plan to gather at least once a month if our schedules allow it,” Jonesy added. “Usually, weekends work best for Craig and me.”

“I know Sundays work best for us since the restaurant is closed.” He looked at his watch. “I hate to cut this short, but I need to get back to the kitchen. I’ll make sure your server, Mark, hands off your orders to me. I might add a surprise or two.”