he had covered recently on the trafficking of sex slaves in the United States. Occasionally, the other guests joined in on their conversation, but mostly it was just between the two of them.
When the food was consumed and the conversation died down, Emily took her plate and Peter’s to the kitchen and laid them in the sink. While the others enjoyed their coffee around the table, Peter picked up the remaining plates and silverware and brought them to the kitchen and offered to help Emily stick them in the dishwasher.
“There’s no need to do that, Peter.” Emily smiled at his helpfulness.
“Like Camille said, nobody’s waiting on me in this house. We all pitch in.”
“All right, then. If you insist,” she teased.
~*~
On her drive home, Emily’s phone began to ring and she saw it was Camille.
“Hello,” she answered cheerfully.
“Hello, there, Emily. This is Peter.”
Emily was startled a bit at the man’s deep voice. “Oh, I was expecting Camille.”
“She lent me her phone—you know, roaming charges. Anyway, I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner tonight.”
“Dinner? Tonight? You mean with you and Camille and Jonathan?”
“No, I mean with me. Nothing fancy, just somewhere casual.”
For a moment she thought she’d say yes, it would be fun. Certainly better than sitting home alone on a Saturday night, but then she remembered Colin. How would she feel if he took another woman out to dinner, even a casual and friendly one?
“I’d better not.”
“I don’t understand. I thought we had a connection today. Or was I the only one who felt it?”
She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, he seemed like a great guy, not to mention the fact he was her dear friend’s brother, but she had to be honest with him. “I like you, Peter. I had fun talking with you today. But…well, it’s just that I’m seeing someone.”
“Oh, I see. I didn’t realize. Camille didn’t say anything. I would have thought she would have invited him over this morning, too.”
“He’s out of town for a little while, but he should be back soon.” Or at least she hoped he would be. “I think you guys would really hit it off.”
“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”
Emily peeked up at her rearview mirror and noticed a black sedan four cars back. She made a sharp right turn at the next corner to see if the car stayed with her. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’d better say no. Sorry.”
She looked again in her mirror and the car was still there. She hung another sharp right and checked again. This time the car was gone. Coincidence? There were a lot of black cars on the road—still, until the mystery was solved, she’d have to stay vigilant.
CHAPTER 5
Saturday evening proved boring and uneventful. Emily almost wished she’d accepted Peter’s dinner invitation so she’d have something to fill the lonely evening, but no, she decided, that was a bad idea. At least she was grateful that the nightmares about Evan’s murder hadn’t come back to haunt her the last few nights.
The bright spot in the evening was a phone call from Colin. She had been sitting on her bed, already in her pajamas, perusing the address book once more.
“I’m so lonely for you, Colin.” Her heart ached for him.
“Maybe this will cheer you up.” His voice was deep and warm. “I spoke to the police chief about getting my old job back—that is, when I’m ready to come back to Paradise Valley.”
“Did he agree?” she asked, lying back against the pillows.
“He did, said ol’ Ernie is itching to get back to his old position as a patrolman.”
“Yes, Ernie mentioned that several times to me during the Wakefield case—that he wasn’t cut out for being a detective.”
“He mentioned? That doesn’t sound like Ernie.” Colin chuckled.
“Well, more like complained—I was trying to be nice. I can’t wait for you to come back, Colin, I miss you.” Emily twisted a strand of hair around her finger.
“I know. I miss you, too. It won’t be much longer, Babe, I promise. Dad’s doing a lot better.”
“That’s good to hear.” She sat up straight and crossed her legs Indian-style on the bed. “Oh, did I tell you that Camille’s brother is in town?”
“No. Just visiting or moving there?”
“Just visiting. His name’s Peter MacKenzie. He’s a TV reporter. He starts a new job in Seattle soon, and he’s here to see Camille and her family before it begins. I think he’s planning to stick around until after Molly gets back