“Thanks, Pete,” Luke said, ending his call. He looked over at me. “Pete thinks Santos was killed by a professional.”

  Sighing, I leaned back in the chair. “Harrison?”

  “Probably,” Luke replied. “Santos was also tortured before he was killed.”

  “Someone wanted him to talk,” I said softly. “But your friend said he owed a Great Dane?”

  “Not exactly. Pete said the man had a really large doghouse in the backyard and a dog bed in the living room. But no dog. I’m going to call Santos’s sister.”

  It only took Luke a few minutes to get her on the phone and offer his condolences. He motioned to me. I quickly walked back over to him as he put the call on speaker.

  “I apologize for intruding, Ms. Santos,” Luke said politely, “but the police informed us that your brother had owned a Great Dane.”

  “Yes,” the woman replied. “He loved that dog. Why do you ask?”

  Luke explained that we had found a Great Dane running around loose. He stated it very casually, implying we were just checking with various people about a possible missing dog.

  “I tried to find him after Joel died,” the woman continued, “but the dog wasn’t anywhere around. I’ve checked back at Joel’s house a couple of times. Of course, I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.”

  “You don’t want the dog?”

  “I can’t keep him. My son is allergic.”

  Luke looked at me, and I nodded. He returned to the conversation and told the woman we would take care of the dog before ending the call.

  “We still don’t know that Simba was this man’s dog,” I said.

  “No,” Luke replied, “but it’s the best lead we have.”

  “I don’t have access to his bank account, but I bet Halie can look into it.”

  “Call her,” Luke suggested. “See what she can dig up. I’ll make us a couple of sandwiches and check on Granddad while we wait.”

  I placed the call to Halie and asked her to put a rush on it. She agreed to look into it right then and call me with the results as soon as possible. Even with her expertise, I knew it would probably take Halie a while to find anything. Luke and I ate lunch and went next door to visit Harvey.

  When we got back to the office, I finalized the invoice for Erin Carson and then called a few more people on the list. Luke hung around but was mostly on the phone talking with his real estate agent or answering calls from perspective employees. It sounded to me like he was planning to hire three or four investigators. He conducted two phone interviews while we waited to hear from Halie. The call came in around four, much earlier than I had expected. Once again, Halie had hit pay dirt.

  “Listen to this,” Halie said excitedly. “Joel Santos opened an offshore account with a fifty-thousand-dollar deposit. Three days later, he deposited another fifty thousand dollars.”

  “He was the one hired to kill Tara Holden,” I said.

  “It all adds up.”

  “Thanks, Halie.”

  I pulled out the slip of paper Halie had given me with the information from the microchip. I studied it a minute. When I looked up, Luke was watching me calmly.

  “I need to get into his house,” I said.

  “We need to get into his house,” Luke said sharply.

  I shrugged but didn’t argue. I could do it alone, but having Luke as backup was probably a good idea. Two people would be better than one, and I needed a lookout.

  “We should try…” I stopped as I saw a car pull into my driveway. Because I have a corner lot, I had been able to extend my driveway to include a small parking area near the garage. I didn’t have any appointments, but as I walked to the window, I could see the car pull into one of the spaces. It was a Lincoln Town Car, and a driver stepped out to open the back door for the passenger. By now, Luke had joined me at the window.

  “Who the hell is that?” he asked.

  The man stepped out, and I sucked in a breath. With a resigned look, I replied, “That’s Warren Caldwell.”

  Chapter 13

  Luke and I stood at the window and watched Caldwell. He was dressed in another one of his expensive suits and looked out of place in my driveway. When he glanced at the house, I took a step back even though I knew he couldn’t see us. My front windows are tinted. It was one of the improvements I had made during the remodel. Caldwell looked back at the driver and then gestured to the trunk of the car. The man opened the trunk and started to wrestle with a large dog bed.

  “Damn,” I said quickly. “Luke, take Hero out of here.”

  “What? Why?”

  “That bed. Caldwell said he would get something that smelled like the Great Dane. If Hero gets a whiff of the bed and it really does belong to Simba…”

  “He won’t act on it without your command, Lexie,” Luke said.

  “I know, but if he smells Simba, he might give a cue that he recognizes the scent. I don’t want Caldwell to see him at all.” I glanced back outside and saw the driver had the bed out and was shutting the trunk. “Please, Luke. Take Hero to Harvey’s.”

  “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

  “Look at him. He’s a businessman. He won’t do anything to me himself. I’ll be all right.”

  Luke muttered under his breath. Caldwell and the driver started toward the house. I hurried over to my desk where Luke had picked up my backpack and was digging through it. He pulled out my stun gun, held it up, looked at me, and very deliberately laid it down on the desk. I nodded once. I glanced out the window and saw Caldwell walking up the sidewalk.

  “Hurry, Luke.”

  “Hero,” Luke whispered sharply as he snapped his fingers. Hero rose from his bed and trotted toward Luke. I glanced at the window. Caldwell had reached the porch steps. Luke gave me one last look and then opened the door to the house. Heart pounding, I watched the door close just seconds before the front door opened. Schooling my features to show only concerned surprise, I watched Caldwell hold open the door for the other man.

  “Mr. Caldwell,” I said sharply. “What are you doing?”

  The driver dropped the dog bed on the floor and turned to walk away. I stepped forward just as Caldwell closed the door behind the man. Caldwell looked around the room, searching. There were no traces of Simba, but I still held my breath for a moment. He finally turned back to me. His eyes were just as hard and calculating as I remembered. He gave me his polite, charming smile. My hand itched to slap the look off his face so badly that I had to clench my hand into a fist to stop myself.

  “What is going on?” I asked him. Thankfully, my voice came out even and calm.

  “Ms. Prescott. I have brought you something that smells like the dog,” he said, pointing to the bed. “You said you needed something smelling strongly of Buddy. So here it is.”

  “Why did you bring it here?”

  “I don’t…” He paused a moment. “I told you on the phone I wanted you to conduct the search with your dog. Don’t you need the bed to get started?”

  “The bed is perfect to get a scent, but we’ll need to take it back to your house to begin the search.”

  A frown appeared on his face. “Why?”

  I stared at him a moment. He seemed genuinely perplexed. Was he really that clueless or was he trying to fool me? I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing. So far, I had been able to read the man fairly well, but the only reason for him to bring the dog bed to my office would be as an excuse to look around.

  “Hero, my search dog, can get a scent to follow from anything that smells strongly enough, but he needs a place to start. He follows a trail, Mr. Caldwell. We need a starting point for Buddy.”

  For the first time in all of my interactions with Caldwell, I detected a genuine emotion—chagrin. Caldwell had come here to put me on the spot. Instead, he had been embarrassed. He recovered quickly.

  “I see. Well, you can get your dog now, and we’ll take him to my house.”

  “Hero isn’t here.”

  “Where is he?”

  My temper started to flare. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. “Out.”

  “Out where?” he demanded.

  “That’s really none of your business.”

  “Ms. Prescott,” he said, taking a step closer. His voice was soft and threatening. “I don’t think you want to take that attitude with me. I don’t believe you have been giving my case your best efforts. Reputation is everything in business. I can make things very difficult for you.”

  That was all it took. I had had enough. Caldwell was a dangerous man. I truly believed he had his wife murdered, and he may have hired someone to kill me as well, but he was standing in my place of business, my home. He needed to know he could not threaten me.

  “Mr. Caldwell,” I said distinctly as I walked over to my desk. I heard the anger in my voice, and when I turned around, I could tell he did also. His back stiffened as I continued. “I have searched for Buddy. My agency has clocked the required hours for your down payment. We are no longer interested in working your case. I will send you a detailed invoice. Now, take that dog bed and get out!”

  Rage filled his face as he took a step toward me. I’m not a small woman, and Caldwell is only an average-sized man so his attempt to physically intimidate me was almost comical. Nonetheless, his anger was real which made him a threat. I casually picked up the stun gun before he had taken another step.

  Caldwell stopped, looked at the stun gun, and then at me. Suddenly the anger disappeared. His face went blank. He straightened his suit jacket and adjusted his tie. His whole body relaxed as if the anger he had shown never happened. That was more disturbing than his rage.

  “You will regret this, Alex,” he said coolly. “Turning the dog over to me would have been the smart move.”

  Apparently, the gloves were off.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, not even bothering to hide the fact that I was lying. I held the stun gun a little higher, slowly twisting it back and forth with my hand as I studied it. “I did my part. I looked for a dog we both know you never owned.”

  Caldwell smirked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  We stared at each other, waiting for the next move. The standoff only lasted a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. It was broken by the front door opening.

  “Hey, Alex, I know it’s a little early, but I’m starving. Close up, and let’s get going.”

  I finally took my eyes off Caldwell. Harvey stood just inside the office with Luke directly behind him filling the doorway. Harvey was dressed in his usual khakis and polo shirt, but nothing could hide his large frame and fit build. Even at his age, he was an intimidating figure. Luke was an even larger version of his grandfather, and the look on his face would have made even the hardiest of souls quiver. The two of them standing there presented a menacing image. Caldwell froze.

  A movement caught my eye, and I saw the driver of the Town Car heading back to the house. Caldwell raised his head and walked to the door. Luke held his ground for a moment, just long enough to make Caldwell stop. Then he nonchalantly stepped aside. No one said a word as we watched him leave. Luke stayed in the doorway until the car was out of sight.

  “Damn, Alex,” Harvey said, walking further into the room as Luke stepped inside and closed the door behind them. “That was too close for comfort.”

  “He wouldn’t have done anything,” I replied with a shrug.

  “What makes you so sure?”

  I held up my stun gun. Harvey shook his head, but Luke grinned. I felt myself responding with a grin of my own. Now that the threat was over, I could relax.

  “Caldwell’s a bully,” I said, “but it’s obvious he has someone else do his dirty work.”

  At those words, Luke’s smile faded. “If we don’t find any evidence against Caldwell, things could get really ugly.”

  I shrugged again. “Not much I can do about it. I wasn’t going to stand here and let him threaten me.”

  No one else had an answer for that, and we stood around in awkward silence for a moment until Harvey’s eyes lighted on the dog bed.

  “Hey, is that Simba’s?”

  “I think so. Caldwell claimed it belonged to the dog he wanted me to find.”

  “Great,” Harvey said. “Simba’s been sleeping on some old towels at my place. This is much better.”

  He reached down, picked up the bed, and walked out the door that led to the house. A moment later, I heard the back door close. I looked at Luke, who started chuckling.

  “He’s been spoiling that dog. I think it will be hard to get Simba away from him.”

  “There’s really no reason to,” I said. “Santos’s sister said she didn’t want the dog. If Harvey doesn’t keep him, I’ll have to find someone else to take him.”

  Luke nodded. “He’s been avoiding getting a pet because he’s worried he won’t outlive the animal, and then someone else will have to step in.”

  I hadn’t realized that. Harvey had resisted all my efforts to get him a pet. He had told me he was too busy or didn’t want the hassle. He always enjoyed being with Hero, and my cats loved him, but he said that was enough. I didn’t like to think about the fact that Harvey might be close to the end of his life so I quickly changed the subject.

  “What’s this about Harvey starving?”

  “I told Granddad I needed to get back over here in case you needed help. He said the best thing to do was to appear as if we were just friends coming to visit. Don’t think it quite worked out that way.”

  “Doesn’t really matter. Caldwell was geared for a fight. He knows we have Simba. You and Harvey need to be careful. I don’t think Caldwell knows I gave the dog to you, but he may figure it out now.”

  “Granddad can take care of himself, and I don’t see anyone getting into his house without him or Simba knowing about it. They’ll be fine.” He paused a moment. “We need to find out what the information on the microchip means. If Santos was really Simba’s owner, that’s the place to start.”

  “I have his address,” I said with a slight smile. “How do you feel about a little breaking and entering?”

  Chapter 14

  Joel Santos’s house was…cute. There was really no other word for it. It was a small, one-story, cottage-style home in a middle-class neighborhood. The house was painted white with dark green trim and shutters. There was an attached one-car garage, and the yard was neat and tidy. He even had a white picket fence. Luke glared at it with a disgruntled look on his face.

  On the drive over, he had attempted to rehash our failed relationship. Actually, he had simply repeated everything he had said to me three years before. The woman in his apartment had meant nothing to him. She was just part of the assignment. He reminded me that we had never said we weren’t going to see anyone else, and that at the time of the ‘incident,’ we hadn’t exactly been getting along.

  Mentally I knew everything he said was true. Emotionally I was still hurting. I told him the same thing I had told him then. He should have broken things off with me while he was on an assignment that involved him sleeping with another woman.

  “I couldn’t,” he said softly. “You were the only good thing in my life.”

  The ice around my heart melted a little more. I was hurting myself by holding on to the anger. I needed to forgive him, but I didn’t know if I would be able to trust him again. When I thought about things logically, I knew I was overreacting. But I had never truly been in love before, and logic played no part in my reaction.

  I ignored his statement and simply pulled up to Santos’s house. Looking at Luke then, I made the choice to move on. Harvey had said I would either get over it or kill him. I hadn’t killed him so I decided it was time to get over it. Too bad it took me so long.

  “Come on,” Luke said. “We shouldn’t sit in the car for any length of time. The neighbors will start to wonder what we’re doing.”

  We got out of the car and headed up the walk. We had decided that I would handle the front door while Luke kept an eye out for nosy neighbors. Both Luke and I could pick a lock, but I could do it faster. I had been picking locks since I was a young child. It was a skill that often comes in handy in my line of work. When we reached the front porch, Luke did a quick canvass of the neighborhood.

  “Don’t see anyone. Go for it.”

  I already had my lock picks out, but when I reached for the door, it opened on its own. Luke looked at me before pushing me forward. We both stepped into the house, and he closed the door behind us.

  By the time he had the door shut, Luke had his gun out. Unlike me, Luke didn’t mind carrying. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my stun gun. We both stood still a moment, listening for any sound. There was nothing. Nothing except for the usual sounds a house makes. A little wind whispered in from one of the windows. The sound of the refrigerator was humming in the background. We could hear the cars driving down the street. The house felt empty.

  “I don’t think anyone is here,” I whispered.

  “Probably been and gone,” Luke said just as softly. He glanced back at the door, which had been pried open. Luke pointed to a spot near the wall that was empty. It was the perfect spot for a dog bed. There was a slight ring of dust on the floor in the exact shape of the bed.

  “Caldwell,” I said.

  “Let’s verify the house is clear. Just to be sure.”

  It didn’t take us long. There were only two bedrooms, one bathroom, the living room, and a small kitchen. I followed Luke from room to room. All were empty. Luke put his gun back in the holster on his hip, and I stuck the stun gun in the back pocket of my jeans as we returned to the living room.

  The room was clean and uncluttered. There was a couch on one wall and a comfortable looking recliner near the front window with a small table next to it. One entire wall was a long bookcase brimming with books. Apparently, Santos had been a reader.