Page 31 of Skin Game
Greg’s eyebrows drew together as he thought, then his face brightened. “Jack. Jack Thorne might be able to lend a hand. He’s not originally from around here, but he’s an ex-police detective and has his own company now. Thorne Investigations. He might know where to start. Is this like a missing-persons thing?”
“Something like that,” Gabe conceded. “More of a missing-link thing, present to past.”
“Tell him I sent you. Fair warning, he’s not exactly sunshine and roses, but he is a good person.”
“Grumpy.” Gabe grinned. “My favorite.”
He peeked out the street-facing door. There was no sight of Randy. “I should go,” Gabe said. “Later.” He opened the door and eased out to the sidewalk.
With luck, he’d lose himself in the lunch crowd.
FOURTEEN
CASEY – WEDNESDAY, AFTERNOON
To distract himself from the capital-T trouble Gabe was potentially getting into in Westfort that morning, Casey took a deep, calming breath and texted Mickie to ask if he wanted to meet for lunch. That was unintrusive, right? He was pleasantly surprised when the reply came quickly and was a yes.
Chenda’s place?Casey texted back.Noon?
M: Sounds Great.
“Wow, okay.”
“What?” Greta asked from where she was sitting behind her desk.
“Mickie agreed to meet for lunch.”
“That’s great! You’ll keep it casual, right? You’re not going to give him the third degree? Just brothers getting together.” She’d been on the phone all morning interviewing potential educators for the park’s summer nature program. Interfering in Casey’s life was much more interesting.
“Yes, thank you, oh Wise One. I’ll take it easy on him.”
“Because if you grill him today, he won’t say yes the next time you ask. If there is something going on with our gorgeous andindependently wealthy veterinarian, he’ll eventually tell you. You just need to nod and smile. Or smile and nod.”
Casey turned and glowered at Greta. He knew he shouldn’t have told her about that. She just smiled back at him.
“Have I ever been known as a smile-and-nod kind of person?” Casey asked.
“It’s never too late to start.” She grabbed her shoulder bag from underneath her desk and rummaged in it. “Where the heck is that? Aha.” She brandished a twenty-dollar bill before holding it out for him. “Bring me back a large phô soup, extra veggies and hot sauce. Please.”
Standing up, Casey accepted the cash and tucked it into his back pocket. “I’m just a tool for Chenda’s phô.”
“Maybe? But I am happy that Mickie wants to see you. And I’d like an update on The Adventures of Gabriel Karne too if you happen to run into him.” She looked at her watch. “You should move it if you’re getting there in time. Bowie will stay here with me, won’t you, good boy?”
Bowie, the traitor, thumped his tail and didn’t even bother getting up. Casey suspected that Greta kept a stash of fancy dog treats in the top drawer of her desk, just like Gabe did in his cupboard.
“I should be back before three,” Casey said, heading out the door.
The Longest Noodle looked busy.Luckily, Casey had called ahead and asked for a table, and the restaurant just happened to be in Westfort. He wasn’t checking up on Gabe. Not at all.
He parked the Wagoneer around the corner from the restaurant and briefly considered texting Gabe anyway but decided against it. He also needed to learn how to talk to his brother without Gabe’s help.
Glancing up and down the street, he didn’t see Mickie’s van, and Gabe’s Honda wasn’t in sight either. Maybe he was already heading back to Heartstone. Casey hoped he’d learned something about his mother. And had stayed out of trouble.
“Casey!” Chenda exclaimed after giving him a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you. It’s always too long between visits.”
“Yeah, well, at least it’s not me delivering purloined fungi this time.”
Chenda smiled back at him. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later in the year. Follow me, we saved a table by the window.”