Hero for Hire. Marie Ferrarella

rarely felt sorry for herself. Hadn’t felt the inclination since Robert had died. Now the emotion waited for a moment of weakness to suck her in.

      “My word would have been ‘regal,’” Chad told her easily. “‘Ronnie’ sounds familiar. As if whoever’s on the line knows you.”

      The idea was completely foreign to her, completely unacceptable. When she finally spoke, her voice was hollow. “I don’t know anyone who would do something like this. It’s not hard to get money from me, Mr.—Chad. I’m a soft touch.”

      Soft wouldn’t be the first word he’d think of, looking at her. But it had definitely suggested itself in the first few minutes.

      He studied her for a moment. “Are you?”

      “Yes.” She thought of Robert. The few times they’d had words, it was over her largesse, her tendency to be taken in by every sad story, not so much because she believed it word for word, but because she hated seeing people worried over money matters. Money was there to ease suffering, not be the cause of it. Robert disagreed. “So much so that my husband took over the finances when we were married. He said that otherwise, I would single-handedly get rid of money in a decade that took three generations of Lancasters to accumulate.” She dismissed her generosity of spirit with a single disparaging sentence. “I’m a sucker for any sob story.”

      He sincerely doubted if the dictionary definition of the word was applicable to her. “Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a sucker.”

      This time her laugh was softer. She raised her eyes to his, surprised he could make a kind assessment. He looked very hard to her. As if nonsense was something he hadn’t even a nodding acquaintance with. “Which just goes to show that appearances are deceiving.”

      His point exactly. “Right. I want you to remember that.”

      She felt like someone who’d fallen into a trap without seeing any of the telltale signs. “Meaning?”

      “Meaning that someone around you might have decided that a handout wasn’t enough. They realized that they now want the whole hand.” He studied her face, watching for any giveaway. “Know anyone like that?”

      That same defensive feeling rose again, higher this time. She refused to believe what he was telling her. Veronica had spent years building up her confidence, convincing herself that there were people who wanted things from her other than just her money. That they were satisfied with her company.

      She raised her chin defiantly, her eyes daring him to prove her wrong. “No.”

      She was lying, he thought, and wondered why. Was she reluctant to reveal something to him because he was an outsider? It wouldn’t be the first time. Hiring a private investigator was a mixed bag. You were asking a stranger for help in exchange for money. Along with that money, you were being forced to bare your soul, something that didn’t come easily to most people. Certainly not in times of crisis.

      Chad took no offense. He was accustomed to being on the outside. It had become his personal niche over the years, standing on the far side of everything. It made him an observer. And good at his job.

      He pushed a little. “I’m on your side, Veronica,” he reminded her. “If there’s someone you think you’re protecting…”

      “Why in heaven’s name would I hire you and then try to protect someone?”

      It wasn’t so farfetched. Megan had had a case where the kidnapper had turned out to be the ex-husband. His wife, their client, had gone on defending him to the end. Chad fixed Veronica with a long look. “I don’t know. That’s for you to tell me.”

      “I’m not. Protecting anyone,” she added after a beat. “You have to believe me, nothing and no one means as much to me as my little boy.” Veronica waved her hand around the well-lit hall with its collection of paintings that could easily have been housed in a museum. “I’d give up everything in a blink of an eye to have him back unharmed. As for protecting anyone…”

      Veronica stopped for a moment. She pressed her lips together, debating. Her eyes slid over the photograph she still held in her hand. The one that Chad was going to have copied to show to people. Casey’s photograph. The scale tipped.

      There was fresh resolve in her eyes when she looked up at him. “I know several people with cash-flow problems and one person who is being blackmailed.”

      Blackmail. Someone being blackmailed could turn desperate. Discreetly pressing the record button on the tape recorder in his jacket pocket, he took out a pencil and began to write on a fresh page in his notepad. “I’m going to need names.”

      Second thoughts sprang up. She didn’t want to put anyone through more than they were already enduring. “None of them would take Casey. They wouldn’t have to. I’m a very loyal friend, Chad.” If she had it, she’d give it. The word no was not in her vocabulary when it came to money.

      “I’ve no doubt you are.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, he entertained the thought that it might be nice to have a friend like Veronica in his corner. If he was ever in a position to need friends. Which he wasn’t. His job required a certain amount of networking, but that was apart from the concept of friends. He even kept his distance from Sam and Cade, as well as Megan and Rusty, although he was as close to them as he was to anyone. “Your loyalty isn’t in question here, but as a rule, people can do some very ugly things when they find their back pressed to the wall. Ugly things even they wouldn’t dream themselves capable of.” She was wavering.

      He could see it. “Let’s start with the blackmailing victim.”

      Veronica sighed, giving up the name. “Erica Saunders.”

      He wrote it down. “Does Erica know who’s blackmailing her?”

      Veronica shook her head. “It’s being done over the computer.”

      Chad shook his head. “Ah, the benefits of technology.” He’d settle for an old-fashioned typewriter any day. He looked down at Veronica. “What is she being blackmailed for?”

      She hesitated, but knew it was useless to keep silent. She’d already given up Erica’s name. “She had a fling with someone on a vacation she took.”

      So far, that didn’t sound like anything to try to hide. There had to be more to the story. “And?”

      Veronica felt as if she was betraying a trust. She looked away. “And she has a jealous husband. A very jealous older husband. At first she could manage the money, but now…” She spread her hands wide, imitating a gesture Erica had used when she finally broke down in her living room and told her story.

      “And she came to you.”

      “No, actually I went to her. I dropped by and found her with a gun in her hand. Her husband’s gun.” Veronica looked at Chad, leaving the rest unsaid. “She told me because she knew I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

      And now that she was, it was eating away at her, he thought. But there were more important things at stake than Veronica’s conscience. “Think of me as a priest. And remember Casey.”

      Did he think she needed to be reminded? “I can’t think of anything else.” She looked around him at the telephone in the hallway. There were phones in all the rooms. Silent phones. “Don’t you think they should be calling back by now?” She could feel herself beginning to battle hysteria again. “How long does it take to get to a telephone?”

      If downed lines had prompted the abrupt disconnection, that depended on how wide the affected area was. “Maybe the grid failure is widespread. Not everyone has a cell phone.” He saw her look at hers. “And even if they do, they’d be fools to use it.”

      “Why?”

      “Highly traceable.” He got back to the list. So far, there was only one name on it. She’d made it sound as if there were more. “Anybody else putting the touch on you? You mentioned several people with cash-flow