Vanished (Private Justice Book #1): A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

food. “The babe is a potential client. Moira Harrison. Did you get some ketchup? And what took you so long, anyway? You’ve been gone two hours.”
    “I’m glad you missed me.” Dev smirked at him. “Ketchup’s in the bottom. And I had an errand to run.” He dropped into the chair across from Cal’s desk, shoved his hands in the pockets of his khaki slacks, and stretched his legs out in front of him. “So what’s her problem?”
    “Take a look.” Cal nodded toward the hot-off-the-fax police report on his desk and unwrapped the burger. He managed to get in three large bites while Dev gave the document a quick read.
    His partner summed up his reaction with the same word Moira had used. “Weird.”
    “Yeah, I know.” Cal fished around for any stray fries in the sack. “I also talked to the responding deputy. He didn’t have anything new to add, except to confirm she’d been treated for a concussion.”
    “So what does she want us to do?”
    “Find out what happened to the woman she saw.”
    “The woman she claims she saw.” Dev set the report back on the desk, his expression skeptical. “What’s your take?”
    Cal wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “My gut tells me she’s legit. I’m having Nikki run some background on her, but I don’t think she’ll find anything odd.”
    “People who’ve been hit by a car don’t typically walk away. And what about the so-called Good Samaritan who also disappeared?”
    “I have no idea.” He took another bite of the burger.
    “The deputy noted on his report that she wasn’t wearing her glasses.”
    “I saw that. It’s not a restriction on her license—I already checked. But I’m surprised she didn’t mention it when she was here. I’ve got it on a follow-up list of questions.”
    “Does that mean you’re going to take this on?”
    He swirled a fry in the ketchup. “I haven’t decided yet. Besides, I’ll need you and Connor to weigh in if I do. Our fees blew her away. This would have to be mostly pro bono.”
    “You haven’t proposed a freebie for a couple of years. I doubt Connor will object.”
    Cal didn’t think he would, either. But he intended to abide by the rule they’d agreed to: all voted yea, or the case was turned down. It was the only fair way to operate, since pro bono work put more pressure on the other two partners to make up the difference in revenue.
    “If I decide this is worth taking on, I’ll call him.” He finished off his burger and snagged the final two fries.
    A knock sounded at the open door, and Dev looked over his shoulder. “Nikki! My favorite person!”
    She snorted and breezed past him toward Cal’s desk. “Don’t try to sweet-talk me. I’ll get to your mountain of files when I have less important things to do. Besides, would it have killed you to put a few away while I was gone?”
    “And mess up your impeccable filing system?”
    “Nice try, buddy.” She rolled her eyes at him and set a filefolder on Cal’s desk. “At least some people appreciate my more advanced skills.”
    “Hey, I appreciate them.”
    “Right.” She perused the remains of Cal’s high-carb lunch with a disapproving sniff but confined her comment to three words. “It’s your heart.” Then she slid the folder toward him. “Your new client is clean as a whistle, based on a preliminary background check, but I did find one thing of note.”
    “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chair beside Dev and rubbed the incriminating salt and grease off his fingers with the napkin.
    She sat and crossed her legs.
    Dev gave her toenails a slow perusal. “Nice polish. Does it glow in the dark?”
    “Ha-ha. And for your information, Steve likes it.”
    “Speaking of the new groom—how is he adjusting to married life?”
    She gave him a smug smile. “Ask him sometime.”
    “I think I’ll wait until the honeymoon glow wears off.” He settled back in his chair.
    She folded her arms. “You know . . . it’s a lucky thing I’m not