Page 20 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks, and she hesitated a beat before answering. “I’ve had my share of excitement for one day.” She kept her voice light, but the shadows beneath her eyes were telling.

“Y’all know the drill.” Decker paced the plush Persian area rug in front of them like an angry king stalking through his castle. “When one of ours is threatened, we close ranks around them. This evening and in the coming days, my sister needs that level of vigilance from us.” He gestured worriedly at her. “As all of you now know, Mila was hired this afternoon to serve as our second forensic artist.”

Johnny broke into a frenzy of clapping and leaped up from the depths of the sofa where he’d been lounging. He did an energetic two-step in her direction. “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you.” He swung a hand jovially in her direction.

“You’re the fourth, actually.” She sent Decker a mischievouslook as she shook Johnny’s hand. “I’m including my brother in that number. Even though he hasn’t stated it outright, I know he’s overjoyed to have me on the team.” The teasing note in her voice drew another round of chuckles from everyone except Johnny.

Looking disappointed at not having her full attention, he did a slightly less exuberant two-step back to his earlier spot on the sofa.

“Even after offering her a job,” Decker drawled without missing a beat, “my younger sister hasn’t stopped being a brat.”

Despite Decker’s teasing, Rock had been unable to find so much as a speeding ticket on Mila’s record. Her background was squeaky clean for a brat.

“Case in point.” Decker finally grew sober again. “She was almost run off the road on her way to her interview with Rock.” Thanks to Mila’s photographic memory, he was able to give a decent description of the white utility truck. “Then the walkway outside her second-story apartment was vandalized.” His description of the maintenance man, who was afraid of losing his job, drew a scowl from Johnny.

He held his hands out from his sides to mimic a scale. “His job or her life. Someone needs to have a chat with ol’ Pat about his priorities,” he muttered sarcastically.

“Hear! Hear!” Rock pounded his cane against the floor to echo the guy’s sentiment, as well as to draw Mila’s attention back to him.

“He’s the one who built the walkway,” she explained wryly. “If he loses his job, he might also lose his custody battle for his kids.”

“Or so he says,” Johnny growled. “Talk about playing on a person’s sympathies! I wouldn’t mind verifying his story.”

Again, Rock couldn’t have agreed more. Surely, the police were already working on that.

“That’s where you come in, Johnny,” Decker informed him smoothly. “You and Gage will question the guy and examine the crime scene, using the photo Mila took of it as a guide. You’ll also comb every inch of her apartment inside and out, in case the police missed anything. I want a bomb-sniffing dog out there, the whole enchilada.”

Gage gave Decker a mock salute.

“The police have impounded the Lexus Mila was driving,” Decker continued. “Their bomb squad will continue to do their thing with it. Until we get to the bottom of who’s targeting her and why, we’ll keep a security detail assigned to my sister.”

Mila’s lush lower lip dropped in amazement, but no sound came out.

Gil Remington folded his arms. “I’m assembling the detail as we speak. How soon do you want ‘em to get started?”

“Tomorrow morning.” Decker’s gaze softened as he glanced his sister’s way. “For once, she’s listening to her older, wiser sibling by agreeing to crash here for the night.”

Mila ignored his barb as she lazily surveyed her fingernails. “He had me at room service.”

“There’s no room service.” He reached for one of the throw pillows Johnny had moved from the sofa to the floor and zinged it in her direction.

Rock lifted his cane at just the right moment to knock it out of the way before it hit her.

Decker pretended to give him a dirty look. “I was about to inform my sister that everyone has to fend for themselves around here, but someone is trying to make a liar out of me.”

A uniformed caterer swept into the room. She was a tall woman wearing a ruffly white apron that covered most of her outfit. She rolled a silver serving cart into the room and noiselessly deposited a charcuterie tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Next, she neatly lined up some bottled drinks beside it — spring water, sparkling water, tea, and an assortment of soft drinks. From the condensation clinging to the bottles, it was obvious they were chilled.

“Watch and learn, boys.” Mila was the first to whisk a bottle from the collection. She uncapped the sparkling water and took a sip. “Here’s how it’s done, in case anyone was wondering how Heart Lake royalty fends for themselves.”

Everyone, including the caterer, smiled at her antics. What Decker had referred to earlier in the day as her penchant for drama, Rock was quickly coming to view as a survival trait. Mila had been weeping before entering the room, so her nonstop cracks of humor might be nothing more than her way of dealing with stress.

“Fortunately, I’m a quick study.” Rock winked at her as he leaned forward to snag a bottle of tea. Lemon flavored, he discovered after uncapping it and tipping it up for a swig.Yuck!He liked his tea the same way he liked his coffee. Straight. No extra sugar or other doctoring required.

Everyone soon had a beverage in hand, and Johnny amused himself by popping enough of the decorative slices of meat and cheese into his mouth to make his cheeks bulge. With any luck, Mila would be unimpressed. The guy possessed the table manners of a hog.

Rock took a second swig before making his next announcement. “I’m not sure if there’s any significance to this,” but he was betting there was. “I did a little digging and discovered that Monty Chester’s heir is none other than Troy Bentley.”

Mila choked on the sip of sparkling water she was taking and coughed to catch her breath.

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