Page 44 of Pay Dirt

Nathan shook his head. “I hope you went about it legally, Mrs. B.”

A sly smile slid onto the woman’s face. “It’s not illegal to get a suntan, is it? I was wearing a little slip of a bathing suit.”

Laughter erupted from my lips, and my hand flew to cover it.

“No, Mrs. B, I guess it’s not. I’m sure you’ll see Cassie and me again on the street when it turns a little darker. So, just know that we aren’t out making trouble.”

“Okay, dear. I’m on duty tonight, and I live right there, just in case you’ve been gone so long that you forgot.” She pointed to the house up the block. “I’ll make sure that we don’t call the law on you.”

“That would be appreciated, Mrs. B.”

“Anytime, dear.” She whistled as she walked off.

I rolled up my window. “She’s a character.”

“She was one of my eighth-grade teachers.” Nathan chuckled. “Whoever lives there is probably working. How about we come back when we have a little bit more cover. Otherwise, everyone on the road is going to come out and talk to us, and we’ll lose the element of surprise.”

“Wouldn’t a simple phone call into the FBI give you the name of who lives there?”

“Sure. But then when I called how I lost the evidence; I was told I was off the case. If I call this in, they’ll know I didn’t follow orders and I’ll probably be in worse trouble.”

“Aren’t you dying to look around? A portion of that money is around there somewhere. Why didn’t you just ask Mrs. Beatrice who lives there? It sounds like that woman would know everyone and everything that happens on these streets.”

“I didn’t want to tip our hand and give the residents time to pack up and run. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet. For all we know, the thieves could have buried it on the property and are coming back to it in a few years when it’s not as hot. We don’t even know if the homeowners know that it’s on the property.”

“True. It would be rude to bust through the door and have to witness two old people getting busy.”

“Blinding, not rude, Cassie.” Nathan chuckled and started the truck.

We knew where it was now, so the waiting was going to be the hardest part. I pulled out my phone and did a search for the address and paid the extra fees for the owner leaving the FBI out of the equation.

“Gentry Holmes mean anything to you?”

“He’s the developer that built all of these houses. I doubt he’s living in one.”

“He’s coming up as the owner,” I said and turned my phone to show him.

“A couple hours of waiting isn’t going to kill us,” he teased. “We can run some errands and check on how Amanda’s getting things set up in the stall for the competition. She always gets nervous.”

“Okay.”

Nathan drove down the street. I couldn’t help but look back. My stomach was twisting in knots, too, and not from the competition. A sliver of apprehension mixed with worry slid down my spine. Even though I knew I’d be safe with Nathan. I couldn’t help but worry that we’d run smack-dab into the person who’d pulled the trigger and killed his mother.

If it were my mother, I wouldn’t be able to stop from taking matters into my own hands, and something told me that there was no way that Nathan would listen to reason. There wasn’t a reason strong enough not to take revenge.

I’d keep my fingers crossed that we’d find some old folks living there and the money just being stashed somewhere nearby or in the floorboards.

When we arrived at the competition site, everything and everyone was bustling. “They’re busy.”

“With the competitions tomorrow, it’s no wonder. They’re running out of time to double and triple check things. I would introduce you around, but they might get annoyed that we’re getting in their way.”

I chuckled, and we headed to the stall where Nathan and I had given in to our simmering sexual tension. Heat climbed into my cheeks as I stared down into the space. Nathan rested his arms across the stall door and rubbed Obi-Wan’s nose.

Nathan leaned in to whisper into my ear. “Are you thinking the same thing I’m thinking?”

I licked my lips as I met his gaze. “I don’t think Obi-Wan would like it if we tried to share his stall.”

Amanda, Marty, and Pete, one of the roughnecks, were headed in our direction. Amanda stopped in front of us and opened the stall doors. Pete took Obi-Wan by the reins and led him outside.

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