cleared his throat. “That was Neil. He’s having trouble with the wife. I’m not sure he’ll want to talk about it if there’s a woman around.”
“That’s unfortunate. I have zero social life lately.”
“Next time,” Leo offered.
“Yeah, yeah . . . I don’t want your pity invites.”
“I thought you were having luck on that dating site.”
She pulled off the freeway and onto the congestion of Melrose Avenue. “You know what a woman really finds on dating sites?”
“No. But I think I’m about to get a lesson.”
She lifted her right hand off the steering wheel to count. “Catfishers, cheating husbands, old men that want to date women half their age, or men my age that want me to have an IQ of twelve and big tits.”
That sucked.
“Happy hour next week, then,” he offered.
“You’re on.”
Leo pulled through the gates of Neil’s home and parked in the circular drive.
He’d never been to the man’s home before, and was thoroughly impressed by the grounds alone. Gated estate, long, tree-lined cobblestone drive to a Mediterranean-style home. The sun had already set, but the house was completely illuminated by lighting in the trees and from the eaves.
Leo looked at the camera facing out from the door and rang the bell.
He heard running footsteps before the door opened.
“Hi.”
Leo stared at Neil’s daughter and realized just how stressed the man must be with his little girl dating. She was as beautiful as her mother, only with dark brown hair. “You must be Emma.”
“That’s me.” She opened the door wider. “You’re Leo.”
“I am.”
“Come in.” Emma turned away from the door. “Dad?” she yelled.
Gwen stepped into view. “Really, Emma? Must you?” she asked. Her British accent added an air of elegance to her words. She smiled at Leo as she approached.
“Sorry.” Emma found her inner lady and cleared her throat. “Oh, Father . . . your guest has arrived.”
Gwen chuckled and reached for Leo’s hand. “Lovely to see you again.”
“Sorry for the last-minute call.”
“At Neil’s request. No need to be sorry.” She walked him through the foyer and past a massive great room with twenty-foot ceilings.
“Your home is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She walked by a pair of forgotten Reeboks and kicked them out of the way. “Kids,” she said.
“Those aren’t mine,” Emma said as she flopped onto the couch.
“Go tell your brother to come down here and clean up his mess.”
Leo walked past what looked like forgotten homework spread all over the kitchen table.
Emma started yelling again. “Hey, doofus . . . Mum said—”
“Emma Louise!”
Even Leo snapped his shoulders back when the girl’s middle name came out.
Gwen continued through the kitchen and down another hall. “Do you have children, Leo?”
“No.”
“They really are a joy.” She stopped at a closed door. “Except when they’re not.”
Leo laughed.
Gwen opened the door to Neil’s home office.
Leo was pretty sure the room was supposed to be another living room, or maybe media room. It was at least a thousand square feet. A desk you would expect in the Oval Office sat center stage. Several large chairs sat in various places in the room with coordinating tables. Two oversized sofas faced each other, with a large coffee table separating them.
Neil was on the phone when they walked in. He lifted a hand as if asking them to wait. “We’ll make that work. Thank you. I’ll do that.” He set the phone down and walked over to Leo’s side, hand extended.
“Did you run every light on your way here?” Neil asked.
“Only two,” Leo said, shaking the man’s hand.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Gwen asked.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Neil smiled at his wife. “Blake asked that you call Sam and coordinate dinner next week.”
“Lovely.”
Gwen excused herself and closed the door behind her.
Leo let out a breath. “You have an exceptional place here, Neil.”
He shook his head. “It’s all her.”
Leo stared at a piece of art on the wall.
It looked expensive.
“Do I have to ask, or are you going to tell me?”
Neil indicated the sofa and Leo made himself comfortable.
“Olivia is in Germany. Or was. She showed up at Richter searching for information about a former student.”
“The person who shot her.”
“So it appears.”
“There’s a list of recruits on campus?”
He shook his head. “Potential recruits, though I doubt it’s still there.”
Leo’s hopes dropped. “So . . . ?”
“We procured a copy, of course.”
Leo lifted a palm up. “Let’s see it.”
Neil gave a short shake of the head. “No. There are a lot of innocent names on the list. I have Sasha and Jax going through them now to try and narrow