Page 105 of Moonlit Colorado

I was in a daze as I removed the note and took a look at the photo beneath. It was a snapshot of Dane and a familiar redhead standing in front of an open doorway.

It didn’t make sense.

“That’s Dane, right?” Ayla asked. She tilted her head, trying to get a better look. “Who’s he with?”

“Um…her name is Nina Jamison. But he told me he had never met her.”

Ayla seemed confused, and I didn’t blame her. She didn’t know the entire saga around Nina and Vincent and the masquerade ball.

Why would Dane have lied to me about knowing Nina Jamison?

My hand reached out to flip the photo away and see the second image. And bile rose up in my throat, my lunch threatening to come up.

In the second photo, Dane and Nina werekissing.

“I don’t understand this,” I stammered.

Ayla took the photos from my hands. Glanced at one, then the other. And then the note. “Okay, let’s just take a moment. Because this whole thing is beyond shady. Maybe you should start from the beginning. Then we can figure out what this is about.”

I nodded, trying to stay calm. But a voice I’d thought I had banished was whispering ugly things in my head.

You see what a fool you’ve been? You never should have trusted him.

THIRTY

Dane

Warren Crenshaw buzzedme up to his Brooklyn office. I jogged up the stairs, and he met me at the door, reaching for my hand. “Knightly. It’s been a while.”

“I know. Too long. I really appreciate your help with this.”

We went into the office. I said hello to his assistant, who sat in the tiny lobby area in front, and we went into the back room. Warren closed the door, gesturing for me to sit in the chair across from his.

“I was just thinking the other day of that jazz club we went to,” I said.

He grinned. “You mean the one in Rome?”

“That’s the one.”

I had known Warren since my Army days, though he’d been a Marine. After leaving the service, he had worked in law enforcement for a while before becoming a private investigator. He was a useful man to know. Someone with a variety of skills and endless tricks up the sleeve of his trademark leather jacket. He had the hard edges and intense glare to intimidate even hardened criminals, yet the smarts and the subtlety to allow him to befriend almost anyone.

Also, he was a great guy with excellent taste in music. So there was that.

He whistled. “Rome. You’re really taking me back. That was a memorable night.”

“Certainly was. We should do it again sometime.”

“Absolutely, but only if I can bring the wife. Sheila will kill me if I jet off to Italy without her. And maybe you’ve got someone special to bring along with you as well?” He gestured at the file on his desk.

I wasn’t surprised he had figured that out. The guy was an investigator, after all.

“I do. Grace is very special. Exactly why your help on this is so important to me.”

He flipped the file open. “Then let’s get to it. I’m sure you wanna know what I found. Enough with the polite small talk.”

“You know I hate small talk, and I’m rarely called polite. But yeah, let’s hear it. I’d like to know whether I’m bringing home good news or bad.”

“Listen to you, so domestic. I’ll have to meet the woman who got Dane Knightly to settle down. A rare breed.”

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