Seconds to Live (Scarlet Falls #3)(35)

“Just after one.”

Stella pointed at the case file. “Can you call the clubhouse restaurant and find out what time he paid his check? They were closed yesterday when I called.”

“On it.” Mac made the call. The hostess had heard about Dena Miller’s disappearance and cooperated. “She says he paid the bill with a corporate credit card at twelve thirty p.m.”

She banged a fist on the steering wheel. “That’s two hours before he said he left.”

Her phone rang. She answered on speaker. “Detective Dane.”

“Have you made any progress on finding my wife?” A man’s tinny voice emanated from the cell’s small speaker.

Stella lifted the phone toward her mouth. “Hello, Mr. Miller. Are you at home?”

“Yes.”

“I’m on my way to your house right now to give you an update.” Stella ended the call and glanced at Mac. “He’s already lied to me twice, so let’s go see what Adam Miller is hiding.”





Chapter Sixteen


Stella parked the car at the curb in front of the Miller’s house. “You need to keep a low profile. My boss specifically doesn’t want you going all rogue.”

“Rogue?” In the passenger seat, Mac lifted his sunglasses. Humor glinted in his eyes.

“His word, not mine. Please, just don’t do anything that will get me fired.” Exasperated, both with his smart-assery and her attraction to it, Stella got out of the car. “How should I introduce you?”

“However you want. Just don’t call me agent anything.”

She looked at him over the roof. “If you’re worried about your cover, you probably shouldn’t be with me.”

“Probably not.” Another evasive answer.

Which she wasn’t going to accept. “Is this dangerous for you?”

He considered her question for a few seconds. “I’m not particularly worried about my cover in Brazil. But years ago, I was tight with a pretty nasty gang. They might consider my association with a cop as a betrayal.”

A real answer. She was making progress. “And if they found out you were DEA?”

“They’d kill me,” he said with complete certainty before walking off.

Stella rushed to keep up with his long strides. “Do you want to elaborate on that?”

“Not now.” Mac walked off, circling the house.

Stella swallowed her frustration. He’d opened up more than she’d expected. From the regretful frown on his face, maybe he’d shared more than he’d intended. She’d try for more information later. She’d need to be patient. Maybe sneaky.

They made a complete circuit and ended up on the front walk.

He scanned the ground and the exterior. “Any sign of forced entry?”

“No.” Stella studied the tall hedges that lined the property lines. “But the landscaping was designed for privacy. Once he pulled his car into the driveway, he’d be shielded from view.”

“Carrying a woman out of her house in broad daylight is still bold.”

“Yes,” she said. “Disturbingly so.”

Mac hung his sunglasses on the front of his T-shirt. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he assessed the scene. “He feels like he can’t be caught. Is he arrogant or self-righteous?”

“Maybe both.”

Adam answered on the first knock. His face was puffy, his eyes bagged, and his breath smelled as if he’d drank whiskey for breakfast then gargled with coffee. Wrinkles creased the front of his tan slacks, and his hair was mussed.

Stella would have pitied him if he weren’t a liar.

“Come in.” He gave Mac a questioning look.

“This is Mr. Barrett. He’s offered his assistance. He helped me find several people last fall.” That was close enough to the truth that saying it didn’t give Stella hives.

Adam shook Mac’s hand and led them back to the kitchen.

Stella stood at the counter in front of a stack of posters emblazoned with “Missing” and Dena’s photo.

Scanning the rooms, Mac wandered into the adjoining living room. He stopped in front the shelving unit full of pictures and studied at each photo.

“Have you found any sign of my wife?” Adam asked, keeping one suspicious eye on Mac.

“Not yet,” Stella answered. “We’re retracing her movements yesterday. Her photo has been distributed in a statewide bulletin. Every state, county, and local law enforcement officer on duty is on the lookout for her.”

“I put up fliers all over town this morning.” Adam spun. His lips flattened into a white line. “What about forensics?”

Everybody was an expert on police work. Damn CSI.

“Our techs are still sorting through the evidence,” Stella said.

Adam’s frown deepened as he continued to pace back and forth across the tile floor. “You don’t have any clue where Dena is, do you?”

“Not yet,” Stella admitted. “But I have a few follow-up questions for you.”

He paused, turning to face her again. “Of course. I’d do anything to find her.” But his shuttered eyes contradicted his offer.

“You kept very close tabs on your wife.” Stella leaned a hip on the counter and relaxed her posture. She didn’t want Adam on the defensive. “We’ve talked to a few people who commented that you frequently checked up on your wife’s whereabouts.”