Page 25 of Bit's Bliss

“I was gonna say odd, but we’ll go with your word.” I winked and she half smiled. “Why don’t you try your dad again?”

“Yeah. I should.”

When Eberly got up and went into the kitchen, I sent two texts. The first was to a guy I’d met a few months ago. His name was Decker Ashford, and at the time, he was looking into the kidnapping of Daphne Cullen, Cru’s fiancée. When I happened to come out of a bar in Paso Robles and heard her name mentioned, I’d recorded the rest of the conversation. It ultimately led to the kidnappers’ arrests.

Might need some help digging up dirt on a guy, I wrote.

Decker responded right away.Let me know what I can do.

The next was to my brothers.Need to call a meeting, I wrote.

When?Brix responded.

As soon as possible.

“Any luck?” I set my phone down and asked when Eberly returned to the living room.

She shook her head. “It rings, then goes to voicemail.”

“Can you think of anyone who might know where he is?”

“I called Baron Van Orr last night, but he said it had been weeks since he spoke to him. Given they’ve been best friends most of their lives, I found that concerning.”

“Anyone else?”

“I thought about the woman who was with him at the Wicked Winemakers’ Ball, but I have no idea how to contact her. I don’t even know her last name.”

“You know who might?”

Eberly shook her head.

“Alex.” Since it was close to nine and she and her husband had a kid, I figured it wasn’t too early to call.

“Hey, Bit,” she answered. It used to be the one person who called me that was Cru, but in the last few months, it became more common. Admittedly, I liked it more than I used to.

“Hey, Al. Do you have a guest list for this year’s ball?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Of course it is.”

“There’s your answer.Of courseI do.”

“Can you tell me the name of the woman Malcolm Warwick brought with him?”

“I’ll have to look that one up. Gimme a sec.”

I put my finger over the phone’s mic and shuddered when the lingering scent reminded me that, not very long ago, it had been inside the woman beside me. “So, uh…I forgot what I was going to say.”

“Something about Alex and finding Nancy’s name?”

“Right. She’s looking it up.”

“Here it is,” said my sister. “Do you want her phone number too?”

“Definitely. Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”

“Nancy Burke, and her number is…” She rattled it off, and as I repeated it out loud, Eberly punched it into her phone.