Page 66 of His Forgotten Colton Fiancee
Finn walked over to the desk, leaned against it. “Not well. They were competitors in a sense. Maybe why Noel Larson started dating her, figured he’d marry the competition.But Tia was too smart for that. I didn’t know her well, only her reputation. She was a shark.”
A shark in a pool infested with bigger sharks.
The phone on the desk rang. Finn picked it up. “Send him in.”
West raised his brows.
“I asked Shane Colton to join us.” Finn folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve asked him to check deeper into Tia’s history and talk with her clients andcontacts. That angle you mentioned the other day about Pine Paradise is all we have to go on for motive right now.”
Shane came in, sat in the chair near West. “I got more dirt on Tia Linwicki.”
They waited.
“She wasn’t selling Pine Paradise for two million,” Shane told him. “Shewantedto sell it for two million. The Larsons told her they’d give her three.”
Stunned, West reeledback in his chair. “They offered more money than the asking price?”
“Too much. The land is valuable, but not that valuable. Cabins need updating, renovating.” Shane drummed his fingers on the armrest.
West’s mind clicked over the new facts. Too much money for a real estate transaction meant one thing. “The Larsons needed to dump cash and quick. Money laundering.”
Shane and Finn exchangedglances. “Yeah,” Shane said. “Except we can’t prove it. They may have even wanted the place for cooking heroin. Cabins are off the beaten path, no one would investigate. They could renovate, say they were remodeling and close the place down for a long time.”
“Or instead of cooking heroin, they could want to make bombs for another attack. It’s secluded and remote, and no one would know. Nonosy neighbors to make inquiries.” West leaned back in his chair.
The tentacles of the investigation got longer. West thought in patterns, because human behavior could be quite predictable. An unsub’s motivations, methodology tied to the victim of the crime not in straight lines. More like building blocks intersecting. And at the foundation was a crime organization run by twin brothers noone had managed to pin anything on.
Yet.
Finn frowned. “If something shady is going on at Pine Paradise, you shouldn’t investigate on your own, Brand. I’ll send backup with you.”
“No. Too many people will jar Quinn.” He gave his boss a level look. “I’m taking her to Pine Paradise to see if she can remember anything. Being in Red Ridge hasn’t worked. Going back to a place she lovedto stay may work.”
“All right, but I don’t feel comfortable about this. Don’t take any chances.” Finn frowned. “I’ve already lost one good man on this force to injury. I don’t want to have to drag you home in a body bag.”
“I’m not taking any chances with Quinn. Rex and I will check it out first before she gets near the property. And you have nothing to worry about. I’m the best. If thereare explosives anywhere near Pine Paradise, Rex will find them.”
* * *
Three days in a forest in a secluded cabin sounded like heaven to Quinn. After the latest attack, she didn’t feel safe in her own apartment.
She’d kept checking the windows, the locks, and staring out to see who came close to her shop. Nerves shattered, she felt like a poster child for paranoia.
West was mainlysilent on the long drive south. Quinn stared out the window, wondering when her memories would return. She’d lived in Red Ridge a long time, but nothing looked familiar.
She shot a quick glance over at the grim-faced West. “Where is your friend’s cabin?”
“West of Rapid City. But I have another intention, Quinn. We’re also visiting a place where you once stayed. In fact, Tia gave you akey to stay there when the cabin was vacant.” West inclined his head to the cup holder, where a key rested. “I got a key from the lawyer in charge of the property. I’m hoping visiting it will trigger your memory.”
Quinn tilted her head at him. “Is this a place where we once stayed together?”
He drew in a deep breath. “You mentioned it before the explosion. It was the most serene, peacefulfeeling you had in a long time. It’s a place where you can forget yourself, and all your troubles.”
“Sounds like some place over the rainbow.” She began humming a few bars, stopped. Quinn pressed her fingers to her right temple. “How can I remember a song from a movie I watched as a child, and I can’t even recall my own brothers?”
“It’ll come back to you. You had quite a nasty blow tothe head, sweetheart.” He slid his hand over to touch hers, but she pulled away.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I just...can’t.”
