Page 17 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
“Not particularly.”
“Come on, Tony. Did you really think that I wouldn’t show up this morning?”
With another dramatic sigh, he grabbed a rag and swiped the immaculately clean glass counter. “I knew you’d show up.”
“So…what? You were just buying time to figure out what story you were going to tell?”
His cheeks flushed a bright red, and his startled glance confirmed her suspicions. “You’re not a liar, Tony.” Not a good one, anyway. “What do you know about Frank?”
He shot a nervous glance at the door. “Not a lot. You said you were looking for him. I don’t know where he is, but if he’s missing, then I guess that means he made the wrong people mad—and I don’t have any desire to do the same.”
“And who are the wrong people?”
“Whoever he was investigating.”
The door chimed. Tony flinched, and Jade spun to see Bryce step inside. He shot her a deep frown. “I thought you were going to wait on me to do this.”
She blinked at him. “Why would you think that? You’re not a cop.”
“I’m Frank’s friend and I’ve had training in investigations, remember? I want to help.”
“We’ll discuss that later.” She glanced at Tony. “What can you tell us about the people Frank was investigating?”
“Nothing.”
Right. “Well, why did he have your name on a piece of paper in his desk drawer?”
“I guess he was going to come shooting sometime. How do I know?”
She paused, trying to find a way through to him. “What was Frank to you? Did he come shooting here a lot?”
The man blinked. “Yeah. I mean, sometimes. Not like on a regular basis, but every so often when he had something on his mind.” He paused. “Come to think of it, he was in here quite a bit in the last few weeks.”
“So, he had something on his mind?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Like what?”
“Don’t know.”
More like he wasn’t saying. “Look, Tony, Frank’s a good friend and we really need your help to find him.” Jade held on to her frustration with effort.
A flash of frustration darkened his eyes—along with a hint of fear. Then he sighed. “I don’t know a whole lot, just that he was looking into people who didn’t want to be looked into, you know what I mean? He—”
The door chimed, and two young ladies in their midtwenties walked in, each carrying a case that held their weapons. “Hey, Tony,” the taller one said. “We’re here to practice.”
“Excuse me.” He went to help the women, and Jade spun to confront Bryce.
“You could make this a lot easier if you would just tell me what Frank was having you help him with.”
Bryce hesitated, obviously agonizing over the decision, then seemed to make up his mind. He motioned her to the corner of the store farthest away from Tony and his customers. “He thought there were dirty cops in the department.”
Jade gaped. “He what?”
“Shh!”
“What made him think that?” she whispered.
