Cherry Creek - Dani Matthews Page 0,37
tell me, why did he turn down the likes of you?”
“Pardon?”
“Capshaw. I'm guessing you went to him first. I have a tendency to get his leftovers,” he says with dry humor.
Time to just get it out there. “I don't turn eighteen until September, but I need an investigator now.”
Sheffield shakes his head. “I can't accept a case from a minor.”
“What if I don’t legally hire you? What if it's a favor?” I ask boldly.
“Darlin', I don't do favors.”
I cross my leg over my knee and look at him steadily. “I'll pay you triple your normal fee for this 'favor.'” Sheffield's eyes narrow. “I can give you half now and half when you find my mother.”
“You got a name?”
Triumph flares within me, but I hide it. “That and more. I lived with her for seventeen years. I don't think she'll be too hard to find, but I don't have the resources to search for her myself.”
Sheffield rubs his double chin thoughtfully. “You pay in full today, and I'll find her.”
This causes my eyes to narrow. “If this if off the books, how do I know you'll follow through and find her?”
“You don't. If paying in full doesn't work for you, you'll have to find someone else that will take your case.”
At this point, I don't have a choice. I have a willing investigator, so I'll have to trust him to do the job. At least it's not my own money I'm using. “We have a deal.”
After filling out the necessary paperwork with information on my mom, I walk back out of his office twenty minutes later—my purse a whole heck of a lot lighter. It's going on seven, and I'm hungry. I decide to grab something to eat at a little diner I'd passed as I'd walked to Sheffield's.
It's a seat yourself type of diner, so I make my way to the very back and settle into a booth next to a window. The diner is country themed, and it's strange seeing so much chicken décor all in one place. Considering the booths and tables are almost full with patrons, I'm guessing the food is well worth seeing all the chickens on the wall. When the waitress notices me, she walks over, and I order a burger and fries. As I wait for my food, I grab a napkin and pull out a pen.
I need to figure out what's going on with the Deveroux's, because things are just not adding up. I begin to make a list.
1. Mom never mentioned a brother. She's always been adamant she's an only child.
2. Young rich uncles don't just suddenly pop out of the woodwork to sweep up a niece they've never met before.
3. Was Khristos prepared? The bedroom is decorated in my favorite things—how could he know all that? And I hadn't smelled fresh paint, either. Plus, the closet is full of clothes, he has a new car on hand, and credit cards and a debit card all ready and in my name. It almost feels like this was all set up before he even showed up in Missouri. Or am I imagining things?
I chew the tip of the pen cap as I study the list. My food arrives much sooner than I expect, and I eat while continuing with the list.
4. Roman's said some weird things. He also doesn't seem like your average seventeen-year-old. Khristos doesn't treat him like a teenager.
5. I swear someone's watching me. Is it possible Khristos is having me followed?
My eyes dart out the window as I mull over the last question I'd written down. After a moment, I look back at the paper and write one more sentence.
6. Why is mom suddenly gone?
I reach for my soda to take a sip, and my eyes lift as I glance around the small restaurant. I freeze when I see Trace enter the diner. He walks up to the counter, his expression friendly as he speaks to the waitress.
My eyes narrow. Is he following me? Surely not. I watch him until he turns away to walk towards the booths. He spies me, looking genuinely surprised to see me and begins walking over. I remember the list on the napkin. I quickly yank it off the table, and I crumple it up and shove it into my purse without looking.
Just as he pauses near my booth, his eyes flicker to my purse sitting next to my thigh before focusing back on my face. “Evening, Livvy. Are you here with friends?” he asks