Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest) - By Carly Phillips Page 0,39
call.
“Good to hear from you,” Mike said, looking pleased. He paused, obviously listening. “You two sure work fast.” His deep laugh rippled through Cara, bringing back memories of the two of them having fun together in New York, laughing, having sex…
“I’d love to,” Mike said into the phone. He listened, then, “Sure.” Some more listening, and he replied, “Am I bringing someone?” He met Cara’s gaze and held on tight. “Yeah, I am.”
Her stomach knotted with the intensity she saw there.
“Thanks. See you then and looking forward to it.” He hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry about that.”
Cara shrugged off the apology.
He rose and came around his desk, propping himself on the edge, close to her chair, and leaned forward. “As it happens, I have news on the case we were working on. Lauren called.”
Cara leaned forward in her seat. “What did she find out?”
“Nothing helpful. All she knows is that at the time the Serendipity Police Department turned the information into the feds, six months had passed since the driver of the car with the drugs and the cash had been arrested there and released on bail.”
“How did that happen?” Cara asked. “Who gave bail to a guy with a carload of drugs and money in the trunk?”
“Judge Marshall Baine.”
Cara turned the name over in her head. “I don’t recognize the name,” she said at last.
“He’s retired now. But the guy must’ve skipped and nobody did anything about it. By the time anyone in Serendipity realized and contacted the feds, the perp had been hauled into jail in the Bronx for transporting cocaine over state lines. He was all too willing to make a deal in order to save his own ass and turn his suppliers over to the cops.”
“In other words, the feds had no interest in pursuing a small-town case,” Cara muttered.
“Exactly. Then somehow, the case went cold here, nobody dealt with it, and the money remained in the evidence locker in Serendipity.”
“So we talk to the guy who was arrested back then and see what he remembers,” Cara said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. It was rare she got her hands on an old case that involved digging into the past. Despite its possible connection to Mike’s father, she found it fascinating.
“Can’t.” Mike burst her bubble of excitement. “He was doing twenty-five to life and was shanked by another inmate five years ago.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
“But there is someone who might be able to help us. We can talk to the judge who gave the guy bail,” Mike said.
“Okay, cool. I’m up for that.”
He nodded, eyes laughing at her response. “I figured you would be.” He grew silent, and Cara could tell there was something more.
“What is it?” she asked.
Mike met her gaze. “Sam asked to be let back in on the case since he’s back on the job.”
Cara enjoyed working with Mike, and though it was Sam’s case originally, she hoped she wouldn’t lose that one intense work connection she and Mike shared. “What did you tell him?”
“That since it involved my real father, I would appreciate him letting me handle things.”
Mike’s real father.
Cara had deliberately put Ella Marsden’s confidence out of her mind, not wanting to think about the fact that she had information about Mike’s father that she couldn’t share. From the minute she’d found out Ella was in contact with Rex Bransom, she’d wished she’d never had that moment alone with his mother.
Cara glanced away, afraid her guilt would be reflected in her expression and he’d realize something was bothering her. “Is Sam okay with that?” she managed to ask.
“As long as I keep him in the loop, yeah. He is. He gets it,” Mike said, his voice low. “He knows how hard it’s been on me.”
“What is?”
He didn’t answer immediately. In fact he remained silent so long she wondered if he would. “My father left before I was born. He didn’t want me.” He didn’t look at her while he spoke, but shadows filled his eyes and pain crossed his face.
Cara swallowed her surprise at the admission.
She reached out and tentatively placed a hand on his thigh. “You grew up with parents who loved you. Real parents in the true sense of the word, and they didn’t run when things got tough. They stuck it out. That had everything to do with you and the man you are now.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “And who is that? A man who can’t stay in one place for very