Chapter Nine
C.J. wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Hank had known he was in trouble. Otherwise he wouldn’t have left the keys for her. Why hadn’t he let her help him? Maybe he would still be alive if—
She heard Boone open the safety-deposit box, heard him make a surprised sound. Before that, she’d turned away, fighting for the strength she needed to face whatever Hank had left her. A confession? Something he needed her to hide?
“What is it?” she demanded now as she turned to Boone again.
He reached into the box and brought out the contents. He fanned some documents in front of her face.
“What are those?”
“Stocks and bonds, a whole hell of a lot of them. It appears he left you a small fortune.”
She shook her head. “How is that possible? He barely made enough money to keep a roof over his head and what he did make, he gave away.”
Boone laid the certificates on the table. “C.J., these are pretty impressive. Either he had a good stockbroker or he made more money than anyone thought he did or...” His gaze came up to meet hers. He lifted an eyebrow.
“He wasn’t into anything illegal.” She picked up one of the stock certificates and quickly put it down to look into the safety-deposit box. It was empty. No note. No explanation. Just a whole lot of questions she didn’t want to ask herself.
“It appears that you were his sole beneficiary.”
* * *
BOONE COULD TELL that C.J. was shaken. She put all the stock certificates back into the safety-deposit box and returned it, pocketing the key. He wanted to say something that might make her feel better. Hank Knight had left her a small fortune. She was rich. But clearly she wasn’t happy about any of it.
Probably because it brought up the question of where Hank had gotten his money. On the surface, his life made it appear that he didn’t care about money.
But the safety-deposit box proved that was a lie. Had Hank Knight been leading a double life? Had he been involved in something illegal? Not the kidnapping, since that money had been found before the first kidnapper had been able to split it with his accomplice. At least that was the theory.
But there still could have been a payoff. It’s possible whoever had Jesse Rose had been forced to pay for her. It still didn’t explain the amount of money Hank had left C.J., unless selling babies had been his real ongoing business.
Boone was half-afraid what else they would find. All he could hope was that this runaround would eventually lead to Jesse Rose.
He watched C.J. call the city on her cell. She hung up after apparently only reaching a recorded message. “They’re closed today. I can’t get his car out until tomorrow.”
“What now?” Boone asked.
“There’s someplace I need to go,” she told him. She still looked pale. As strong as she appeared, he could tell that all of this was taking its toll on her.
Again she took to the alleys, working her way through the maze of old buildings overlooking the valley.
He couldn’t help thinking of her as a child racing around this tired old city to find the clues Hank had left her. He’d trained her well. So why hadn’t he told her what was going on? Wouldn’t he know that his holding out on her would hurt her? Clearly he’d been trying to protect her. But protect her from what?
All Boone could figure was if Hank had been half the man C.J. thought he’d been, then he’d been in trouble and didn’t want to bring her into it. He felt his heart drop at the thought that Hank had known where Jesse Rose was and had now taken that information to his grave.
Ducking into a tiny café stuck between two old brick buildings, Boone followed C.J. inside. She headed for a table, sitting down with her back to the wall as if wanting to watch the door. Were they really being followed? If so, she hadn’t mentioned it again since this morning.
* * *
C.J. WATCHED BOONE glance behind him before the door closed. She could tell that he hadn’t believed her about someone tailing them earlier. He thought she was putting him on, leading him around just to wear him out. She smiled to herself, thinking that might have been partly true earlier.
“What are we doing?” he demanded.
“I’m having lunch,” she said glancing past him at the large window that looked out onto the street. She saw movement in the deep shadows next to one of the buildings. But who or whatever it had been was gone now.
“If your plan is just to try my patience or wear me down...”
“You know my plan. It’s to find out who killed Hank. If it is because of your kidnapping case...” She didn’t need to finish since Boone was smart. He’d hang in as long as he thought she might lead him to his kidnapped sister. Even if it was the last place she hoped Hank’s trail would lead them.
Not that she didn’t want him to find his sister and reunite his family, but not at the expense of Hank’s reputation. If Hank was involved, she wouldn’t be able to protect him. Whatever happened now, she had no choice but to do her best to find out the truth. Wasn’t that what Hank had taught her?
With obvious reluctance, Boone took a seat across from her. What choice did he have? She was his only hope of finding out why Hank had contacted Jim Waters and they both knew it. Boone had said that he couldn’t go home until he had answers. Even if it meant putting up with her. And vice versa.
A waitress appeared and, without even looking at a menu, C.J. ordered “the usual” for them both.
“A little presumptuous,” he said. “Tell me we aren’t having more of those pasty things.”
She ignored him as she looked past his shoulder. He turned to follow her gaze to the street but like her seemed to see nothing of interest.
“Still pretending we’re being followed?” he asked, turning back to her.
Her gaze shifted to him. In the light coming through the window, his eyes were a brilliant blue. The cowboy was too handsome for his own good. Not that he seemed to realize it, though. She wondered how many women had flirted with him to no avail.
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” she asked.
Those blue eyes blinked in surprise. “Who says I don’t?”
She chuckled at that.
“I’ve had girlfriends,” he said defensively. “I also have a horse ranch to run with my brothers. My father—”
“Had a heart attack. I understand he’s better.”
“He is. What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
“You know what I mean. You have a steady beau?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I didn’t think so. So what’s your excuse?”
She shook her head to keep herself from telling him the usual line—too busy, not interested in the men who were interested in her, hadn’t met the right one yet and all the other things she’d told Hank when he’d asked the same question.
“I’d think you’d have a string of girlfriends,” she said, knowing she was only trying to distract herself from what they’d found in the safety-deposit box.
“And you’d be wrong.”
“Why is that? Some girl break your heart? Make you swear off women?”
“No. Is that what happened to you? The quarterback in high school or some studious young man at college?”
Fortunately she was saved as the waitress came back with two overflowing plates. Fried pork chops hung over the buns next to heaping piles of French fries. “I didn’t want you to leave Butte without a pork chop sandwich and this place makes the best ones,” she said.
He locked eyes with her. “I’m not leaving until I find out what your partner knew about Jesse Rose and the kidnapping.”
C.J. was the first to look away. “Like I think I’ve mentioned before, I’d have a better chance of finding out the truth without you tagging along.”
“Too bad. You’re stuck with me.”
She glanced out the window again. “Is there any reason someone would be following you?”
He laughed. “Seriously? If someone really is following us, why would they be after me?”
“I don’t know,” she said, holding his gaze for a moment before she picked up one of her French fries.
“Well?” He apparently wasn’t letting her off the hook.
She took a bite, chewed, swallowed and said, “It’s none of your business.”
“Aha! There was some boy.” He laughed again. “I would think it’s hard to find a man willing to date a woman who carries a gun in her purse.”
C.J. smiled at that, seeing that he was trying to get a rise out of her. “You know so little about women—and men—it seems.” She picked up her pork chop sandwich and took a bite. No simple task given the size of it.
He sighed, picked up his and took a big bite. She saw his expression and hurriedly swallowed before she laughed.
“You like, huh?”
* * *
HE LIKED, BOONE thought as their gazes met and held for a long moment. He liked the sandwich. He liked her—a lot. The more he was around her... He looked away first.
They’d just finished their lunch when his cell phone rang. He stepped outside the door to take the call. But he stayed where he could see C.J. He suspected she wanted him around now even less. The things they were finding out about her deceased partner weren’t things she wanted anyone else to know—maybe especially him.
“One of those string of women after you?” C.J. asked when he returned to the table after assuring his father he’d call as soon as he knew something.
“My father. After my brother Cull told him about your partner being killed in a hit-and-run, he was worried about me.”
“He should be,” she said. “Someone has been following us all day.”
* * *
WHEN THEY LEFT the café, C.J. took them out the back door. Boone’s father was worried about him. She was, too. She didn’t want to get Travers McGraw’s son killed. That’s why she knew she should stop this now.
She knew she could get rid of this cowboy without much effort. He didn’t know Butte and she did. But she had to admit, there were moments when she didn’t want to be alone. Sometimes, she thought, remembering the way he’d devoured his pork chop sandwich, she enjoyed his company. He kept her mind off Hank and the pain of his death.
But the more she learned about Hank, the more worried she was becoming. Where had he gotten all that money for the stocks and bonds? Had he known something about the kidnapping? About Jesse Rose?
She was still shocked and shaken by what she’d discovered at the bank. It was one thing for Hank to be going somewhere without telling her, but all that money... It was as if she’d never known the man. Like the clothes in the suitcase.
Hank hated dressing up. She hadn’t even known that he owned a suit. He was as bad as she was when it came to dressing casually for their work. Most of the people they saw couldn’t afford to hire a private investigator. They dressed so they fit in with the community since Hank had never been interested in taking what he called highbrow cases.
Let some other PI take care of the rich, he’d always said. We’ll take care of the little guys, the ones who need us the most. And she’d felt the same way.
It’s called giving back to the community, Hank told her the first time she realized he didn’t make much money. People need help. If I can help, I do. This job isn’t about the money.
She’d seen right away how kindhearted the man was. He’d taken her on to raise, hadn’t he? The only way C.J. had kept a roof over their heads once she’d become his partner was by taking insurance fraud cases while Hank continued to help those who couldn’t help themselves.
That’s why she’d been so sure Hank’s death couldn’t have had anything to do with the McGraws. It wasn’t the kind of case that interested him. It was highbrow and high-profile. A wealthy horse ranch family. And yet, she’d found the file. She knew that Boone wouldn’t lie about Hank talking to his family lawyer. But why?
And did the case have anything to do with Hank’s hit-and-run? How about all that loot in the safety-deposit box? It made no sense given the way Hank had lived.
As they came out on the street, she glanced back. She hadn’t spotted the tail since before lunch. All she’d caught was a shadowy figure lurking not quite out of sight. Why follow her to start with? Because they were afraid she would find out the truth?
“I should have gone to the restroom back at the café,” C.J. said. “I’m going to duck in here.”
“I’ll wait out here for you,” he said after glancing into the Chinese restaurant. He watched her go inside and disappear into a door marked Women. The air was brisk this afternoon, especially in the shade. He stomped his feet to keep them warm as he looked up the street toward the Berkeley Pit. What had once been a large natural bowl sitting high in the Rockies straddling the Continental Divide was now an open pit that stretched over a mile wide. It had become a tourist attraction, he thought with a shake of his head.
He glanced inside the restaurant. The door to the women’s restroom was ajar. There was no sign of C.J. Even before he went inside and saw the rear entrance, he knew she’d given him the slip.