Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(22)

“They don’t seem destroyed, Dax.” She softened and leaned forward. “Your mother is finally getting out again. She’s seeing her friends.”

“The ones who didn’t turn their backs on her.”

“Yes, her real friends. She’s playing bridge again and she’s planning a cruise with some of her old sorority sisters.”

“She told you about that, huh?”

“I have dinner with her from time to time. As for Gus, she’s smiling again. She’s back to being Gus. And I heard she’s about to start a big new job for the White House. They’re not destroyed, Dax. They’re starting to live again, and this could bring it all back.”

Did she think he hadn’t considered that? “That’s why I’m trying to keep quiet. But I can’t let it go when I know someone did something terrible to my father. I can’t allow it to pass simply because my mother and sister are getting over it.”

“The bigger issue is, you’re not getting over it.”

“Don’t turn this into something selfish, Holland.”

“I’m sorry if it sounded like that. That wasn’t my intention. You need closure to move forward. And you deserve that. What you’re saying is that you won’t find that closure unless you’re active in this investigation, right?”

He shook his head. “I can’t sit on the sidelines this time.”

“You didn’t sit on the sidelines last time. You marched out onto the field and told the other players how awful they were.”

Put like that, he had been an ass. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking logically at the time.”

“No one can under those circumstances.” She swirled her drink around. “Tell me something. Are you going to be able to handle it if this investigation doesn’t go your way?”

It wasn’t going to end up like that. He was one hundred percent certain, so he could easily answer her. “Yes. Though I don’t think I’ll be able to believe it if I don’t see it with my own two eyes.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” She sat back. “All right. I’ll let you know what’s going on, and where it’s appropriate, you can come with me. The first time you cause trouble, I stop investigating.”

That was all he could hope for. “I won’t cause trouble. I know I did last time. But I’m ready to find the truth now. What did you learn from your uncle? Scary guy, by the way.”

Beauregard Kirk was built like a linebacker and looked twice as mean.

“You should have seen the way he liked to scare off my prospective dates in high school. He would greet them with a shotgun. I didn’t really date much until I went off to college. But on to the topic at hand,” she said as a segue. “I learned a little something new. Have you ever been to the Raven Motel?”

The name made his stomach turn. He took another drink. “I hadn’t been there before the incident. I know its reputation, though. It’s a place where hookers take their johns. Did anyone uncover the name of the woman who called in the tip?”

“I’ve got a copy of the call. It was never released to the press for obvious reasons.”

He knew exactly the reason. “If the woman was a prostitute, it would have made the police’s narrative seem a little less substantial.”

“Yes. Besides, the woman was trying to do a good deed. If she didn’t want to be identified, that’s her business. We want to keep anonymous tips anonymous or no one will call in.”

He understood the reasoning behind it, but damn he wanted to talk to that woman. “I’d like to listen to it. Her accent alone might tell us something.”

Holland nodded. “Agreed, but I don’t know that finding out who made the call will change anything. We’ve still got the issue of the security tape.”

He remembered that footage well. That fifteen seconds of tape had been played over and over on the news. Something about that seemed fishy as well. “It never shows my father’s face, only the girl’s.”

“Yes, but your father was in uniform. He’s identified by the insignia and there’s the moment when the girl looks up at him. We had our best lip-readers figure out what she was saying.”

Where are you taking me, Admiral Hal?

She’d asked the question as they walked down the hall toward the rooms. There hadn’t been any audio.

“How stupid do you think my father would have to be to take the risk that someone would notice an officer in full uniform?”

“I wouldn’t say stupid. I would say reckless, and that does fit your father’s profile. He was a smart man, but he liked adrenaline. After he left his command and began working behind a desk, what did he like to do in his off time?”

His father had jumped out of planes, raced cars, and engaged in anything dangerous. “I understand your point, but I can’t see him being this reckless.”

“He was identified by four different people.”

“Three of whom are missing, Holland.”

“Okay, I admit that gives me pause as well. I’ve got a call in to his old aide-de-camp. He’s overseas on assignment, so it could take a while for him to get back to me. We’ll see what he has to say.”

Waiting really was the hardest part. “What does your uncle think about the girl?”