Deadly, Book 3
by Lorelei Confer
Siren-Bookstrand
eBook ISBN: 1-61926-176-6
Things get personal for Sam Brower when his niece goes missing.
The task force detective for human trafficking ends up undercover with ex-girlfriend, Lisa Conover, private investigator.
Undercover work doesn’t lend well to trust, but together they work like a fine tuned instrument. Maybe they can salvage love after all.
Chapter One
“Ahh!! Oh!! Yes! Yes! It feels so good! Right there! Please, don’t stop, please,” Lisa Conover muttered. “Harder, harder! No! Don’t leave now!” She groaned as she pounded her fists into the hardwood floor. “Damn it! Why did you stop?” she asked Godiva, her twenty-two pound silver tabby cat, who had jumped off her back and now sauntered over to a sunny spot on the carpet, flopping down in a very unladylike manner. Just like Sam used to do years ago, gets me feeling comfortable and then he takes off.
Lisa’s aching back muscles were so tight from hunching over her computer ten to twelve hours a day every day for the past weeks. She needed a massage. Better yet, she needed a vacation.
She rolled over onto her back and stared above at the open-beamed ceiling of her log cabin in the North Carolina Mountains outside Hickoryville. She studied the accumulation of dust bunnies along the beams.
The setting sun cast shadows across the room as she gazed out the two-story floor to ceiling windows on one wall. The view of the tranquil scenic mountains in its resplendent fall glory replaced some of the angst she felt about her work. She relaxed and stretched her arms above her head. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t had any lunch today.
She stood, trying to stretch her still-aching muscles by turning side to side at the waist, touching her toes—or attempting to anyway.
Then maybe she could get a few more hours of work done before bedtime.
After putting down fresh water and food for Godiva she opened the fridge hoping to find something for dinner. She knew what she would find but she looked anyway. It was empty except for a couple of eggs, and an older-than-she-knew container of yogurt she couldn’t trust anymore.
She glimpsed down at Godiva who had already finished her dinner. “I think I’ll run down to The Barn and get something to eat. You can hold down the fort here for a while, right?” she asked Godiva who sauntered away licking her lips.
She walked the short distance from the kitchen to the corner of the large open room to her desk which held her state-of-the-art computer system with three screens and a laptop. She sat down to start turning everything off when the phone on her desk rang.
“Conover Investigations, Lisa speaking.”
“Hi, is Sam Brower there?”
“Sorry, but I haven’t heard from Sam in years. How did you get my number?”
“This is the last number I had for him. I really need to talk to him ASAP.”
“Maybe I can help you. What’s the problem?”
“No, I need to talk to Sam.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you. Give me your name and a number where he can reach you, and if I hear from him I’ll let him know you’re trying to get in touch with him, okay?”
“My name’s Luke and he can reach me at…” Then the phone line went dead. He had hung up.
What is it about men? They never say good-bye.
She wrote down the name Luke and the number he had given just in case Sam did miraculously appear. A few minutes later the phone rang again.
“Conover Investigations, Lisa speaking.”
“Hi, Lisa, Andy Whithers here. How are you doing?”
“Hello, Andy, I’m fine. How are you?”
“I’m doing okay, a little hectic around here since I’m shorthanded. But being busy is a good thing, so I can’t complain. I was calling to follow up on the two applications I sent over recently. Have you found out anything yet?”
“I was just getting ready to call you as a matter of fact. I got the final criminal information a few minutes ago on both your potential candidates.” She scraped at her fingernail cuticles as she waited for his response.
“Wow, they really take their time responding don’t they?”
“Yeah, sometimes it does take a long time, but I have to be thorough and make sure I check out everything I can. Unfortunately, they’re both no-starters. One of them, Ted Sheffield was just released from prison about three months ago…”
“What? Why was he in prison? He didn’t give me any indication he had a record of any kind. He was very professional.”
“Multiple arrests for petty theft, larceny, et cetera. Personally, I think everybody lies on their resume and on their background applications. They don’t really think you’ll do a check of any kind I guess. And Gus Williams has about ten aliases and enough socials to go along with them. I’ll have to send this one over to Chief Carr.” She twirled her long hair and pushed it behind her ear. “I’m sorry for the bad news, but there has got to be someone out there that wants to get their foot in the door at a law firm, especially one with a reputation such as yours—even if they do have to start at the bottom, someone who enjoys small-town living where everybody knows everybody by their first names, too.”
“I do have a couple other applicants I interviewed. They weren’t my first picks, but I can take a second look, I guess.”
“Okay, send over the apps and I’ll get to work on them as soon as possible.”
“And, Lisa, don’t forget to send the bill over, too.”
“Oh,” she chuckled, “don’t worry about that. I’m fair and honest and have bills to pay myself, as well. Thanks again for your business. Bye now.”
She hung up the phone, made some final notes, and turned off the computers. Well, that’s a big weight off my shoulders. I wasn’t looking forward to making that call and delivering the bad news. Now I’m glad it’s over.
She stood and stretched again, running her hands through her long hair, and turned toward the garage. She could use a good home-cooked meal, a breath of cool, fresh fall mountain air, a change of scene, and a much-needed break.
* * * *
Lisa was ready to call it a night after enjoying her meal and some good conversation with a number of the employees at The Barn. She gathered her purse and coat and made her way to the cash register. While waiting for change someone bumped into her from behind and when she glanced behind her she thought she saw Sam out of the corner of her eye. He looked like Sam, but older and with a scar on his chin, longer hair. She took her change from the cashier and turned around to look again but he was gone. She left the restaurant—his strikingly handsome face and blue eyes in her memory.
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