Page 17 of The Scenic Route
Turning her hand from side to side in asort-ofmotion, Felicity said, “Sometimes. Most skips aren’t geniuses, so they’re pretty easy to track down. Others…” She trailed off as she thought about some of their harder, more dangerous cases. “Others are more work.” She didn’t elaborate more than that, not wanting to quash their enthusiasm with the less-fun reality.
“What can we do in the meantime?” Lou asked, capping her marker.
“Anything you can find out about Dino or the Freedom Survivors would be helpful.” Felicity hesitated, conscious of the possibility she might be leading these very nice ladies into trouble. “Try to be discreet, however. If Dino finds out we’re searching for him, he’ll be gone. You don’t want to rile up Clint and his buddies either. I have a feeling they’d make uncomfortable enemies.” All four women nodded their agreement, and Felicity stood. “You were all really helpful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Lou, who was apparently the group’s spokesperson, said. “Good luck out there.”
Felicity moved toward the door, but the other women stayed in place. “Well…bye,” she said a bit awkwardly before unlocking and opening the door. Bennett followed her out into the main gym, and Felicity realized that she was looking forward to discussing what they’d just learned with him.
She swallowed a groan. As much as she fought it, the guy continued inching his way closer to being her partner. Charlie was never going to let her forget this.
Five
Once they were outside the gym, Bennett moved to her side as they headed toward his SUV. “They’re going to be trouble.”
“Soooo much trouble.” Even as she said it, though, she had to laugh. “They’re so eager to fight crime. I’m surprised they don’t make themselves superhero capes and patrol the town at night.”
“Don’t suggest that,” he warned, making her chuckle again.
Felicity reached into her bag and pulled out a case with two earpieces inside. After the slightest hesitation, she handed one to Bennett and stuck the other in her right ear.
Glancing down at the small piece of electronics in his hand, his eyes widened for a moment before he huffed out what sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
“What?” she asked, watching him insert it into his ear.
“If this doesn’t work, we can use mine.”
She stared at him for a moment before snorting her own laugh. “You bugged the office too?”
His amused look was her only answer.
Still smiling, Felicity climbed into the passenger side of Bennett’s SUV and concentrated on listening to Lou’s voice. Although audible, the sound quality wasn’t the best, and she wondered if Bennett’s was better.
“…check out Felicity’s story?” Lou was asking, making Felicity frown. She should’ve expected some suspicion—deservedly so, since she’d just bugged the office—but it still stung.
“Chris said there’s a Felicity Pax with Pax Bond Recovery out of Langston, Colorado, who’s licensed as a bond recovery agent.” That sounded like Daisy, the one married to the deputy.
“Good.” Even with the poor sound quality, Felicity heard Lou heave a sigh. “I would’ve been really sad if she turned out to be a criminal or scammer or something. We bonded at the coffee shop today.”
“There’s no guarantee she was telling the truth about her skip though,” Rory’s serious voice warned.
“The Dino details check out.” That was Daisy again. “A Douglas ‘Dino’ Fletcher did skip out on his bail after being charged for meth possession with intent to distribute.”
“Ask Chris if Dino used to be in the Freedom Survivors,” Ellie suggested.
“Ugh, that name,” Lou groaned. “I hope we solve this quickly so we can move on to that petition.”
“He says we’d need the Langston Police file on him for info on his known associates.” Daisy sounded disappointed by that. “You’d think a cop would know how to hack the records of another cop.”
The women laughed, and Felicity couldn’t help but jointhem. She covered her mouth with her hand, even though they couldn’t hear her.
“What about the guy with her, Bennett… Do you know his last name?” Ellie asked.
“Mr. Creepy and Silent?” Lou asked, making Felicity bristle with protective fury. She glanced over at the man under discussion, but he didn’t look fazed by the insult. “He’s a PI, Bennett Green. Does Chris have anything on him?”
“I didn’t think he was creepy,” Ellie said, and Felicity decided that Ellie was her favorite of her bounty-hunting soldiers. “I thought he was nice.”
“That’s because you have a thing for the big, quiet guys,” Lou said affectionately. “Compared to George, this Mr. Green was positively chatty.”
