To Catch a Thief - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,70

to Rafe then that the books he’d been given had been for the restaurant’s early years, not the current one. Perhaps quite a lot had changed in the months immediately before Bobby had disappeared.

“Let me take a look with you,” he said, concluding there was no point in criticizing Deidre for not giving him the current financial records along with the others, even though the subpoena had been for everything.

He followed her into the office. She removed the latest record book from a file cabinet and opened it to the first of the year. Sure enough, Bobby’s draw from the company was dramatically more than Gina’s and higher than what he’d been taking out in past years. Had Gina known about that? Was it part of some deal they’d made? Maybe he was supposed to be paying the investors with the additional funds, though that would certainly be an unorthodox way of conducting business.

“Who wrote those checks? Gina or Bobby?” he asked Deidre.

“Until this mess, Bobby handled all of the financial details,” she revealed. “I don’t think Gina ever touched the checkbook, though she could sign checks if she needed to.”

That must have been what Bobby had counted on, that she wouldn’t even see the size of the checks he’d written to himself. He’d taken four careful years to establish a routine, then taken advantage of Gina after she’d been lulled into a false sense of complacency. Rafe’s impression of the man, never very high, sank even lower.

“Thanks, Deidre,” Rafe said when he’d jotted down a few notes. “One last thing. What was Bobby’s relationship with Gina like?”

“He adored her,” she said without hesitation. “In fact, I think he might have been half in love with her, though she wouldn’t give him the time of day, not that way. He paraded women through here, but I always thought he did it because he was trying to get Gina to pay attention, not because he cared about any of them.”

Deidre’s assessment echoed in Rafe’s head throughout the day and for the rest of the week. He did it because he was trying to get Gina to pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention.

Dear God, was that what this had been about? Was this entire mess an attempt on Bobby Rinaldi’s part to get Gina to look at him? It was a screwy idea, but once it occurred to Rafe, he couldn’t seem to shake it. Goodness knows, he knew the power of her appeal. Why wouldn’t Rinaldi, who was reputedly an expert on women? To a charming scoundrel used to getting any female he wanted, the one who proved immune was bound to be the most alluring.

There was only one way to find out if he’d hit on the answer, Rafe concluded. He needed to talk to Rinaldi face-to-face, to confront him with what he suspected and see how he reacted.

He called Charlie Flynn. “I’m coming down there. Make sure Rinaldi sits tight. I can’t get away this week and possibly not next week. I’m due in court on a couple of cases, and I can’t ask for postponements.”

“He won’t go anywhere,” Flynn promised.

“Thanks.” He hung up slowly. What if he was right? Did Gina suspect that Bobby might be in love with her? How would she feel if she knew? Was that the reason she was so hesitant to commit to Rafe, because she returned Bobby’s unspoken feelings? Rafe really, really hated that idea, but he couldn’t ignore it.

And until he knew a whole lot more than he knew right now, maybe it was best if he kept not only some physical distance between himself and Gina, but some emotional distance, as well. Losing her now wouldn’t hurt any less than losing her later, but it might be just a little easier on his pride.

Rafe hadn’t called for three weeks, not since the night he’d left town. Gina was beside herself trying to figure out what it meant. One minute she was furious with him, the next resigned, the next hurt.

“I don’t get it,” she said to Emma. “He was the one who was so anxious for us to see where things would go.”

“He’s probably just busy. He was away from New York for a long time. I’m sure he was swamped with work when he got back. I know the type. I am one,” she admitted ruefully. “When I’m caught up in a case, I don’t see anything else.”

“I suppose,” Gina said, but she didn’t entirely buy it. And if