She knew he was referring to Spiller. Or at least she hoped so, refusing to give credence to the other possibility. “What did he look like?”
Tanner told her.
“He’s a detective. I’m under protective watch.”
Tanner frowned and eased forward in his chair. That was when she got a whiff of his cologne, that same fragrance he’d had on at the cemetery. She ground her teeth together.
“Why?” he asked, his tone blunt.
She told him.
“Good Godamighty, Kasey, why didn’t you tell me?”
She raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t think it was any of your business.” And still didn’t, but she kept that comment to herself. What was the use of further antagonizing him? Besides, it was too late to cry wolf. By letting him in, she had made herself fair game.
“If you’re going to work for me, it’s my business.”
She gasped. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“Typical politician, right?” Humor quirked his lips. “Isn’t that what you’re thinking?”
Kasey forced her stiff shoulders to relax and smiled. “That and more.”
“Ah, so you haven’t forgotten how to do that?”
“What?”
“Smile. The young girl I knew was rarely without a smile on her face.”
“I’m no longer a young girl,” she snapped.
“That’s for sure.”
His tone was drawling and his eyes were probing as they swept over her, stopping only after they clashed with hers. She wanted to vent the anger that was charging through her. But something else, something more potent, stopped her—the charisma of the man himself. After all this time, he still had the sexual power to knock her off her feet.
“Did you see the shooter’s face?”
His harshly spoken question brought her back to reality. “No. It all happened so fast, it was a blur.”
“Then he must’ve seen you.”
Was his tone anxious, or was she reading more into it than was there? “No, I’m positive he didn’t, or he would’ve already come after me.”
“I’m glad the police aren’t just taking your word for that.”
“Me, either, though it’s a bit disconcerting to know you’re being watched, even if it’s by the good guys.”
His gaze deepened. “So how are you holding up? Really?”
“Actually, I’m barely holding body and soul together,” she admitted, a tremor in her voice.
Tanner’s features contorted. “Damn, I hate that this happened.”
“I’ll be fine, Tanner. It’s not your worry.”
“You’ve already said that.”
A lengthy silence followed his terse words.
“Look,” she finally said, “whatever you had in mind concerning the agency won’t work.”
“Because you don’t want it to?”
“No, because it’s not in your best interest.”
“Why not let me be the judge of that?”
“All right, how’s this? The agency’s in such a hole I’m not sure it can make payroll at the end of the week.”
Tanner’s eyes widened.
“When I came six months ago, everything appeared rosy. Only after I got here did I learn that Shirley hadn’t been up-front with me. Financially, the agency’s on the skids. I don’t know how to be any more blunt.”
“Did you demand to know why?”
“Of course, more than once. But she always hedged with the same excuse, telling me the agency had hit a run of bad luck, that it had lost several lucrative clients in a row. I shouldn’t have let her get by with that, but I thought since I was so new I would tread lightly and give her the benefit of the doubt. Now I know that was a mistake. She’s dead, and the truth died with her.”
“The records won’t show where the money’s gone. You can bet on that.”
“Not the ones I’ve seen, that’s for sure.” Kasey drummed her nails on the desk. “When you phoned, I was about to go through her desk to see what I could find, if anything.”
“Good idea.”
“Detective Gallain’s due to question the staff and me later this week.”
“When you find where the money went, you may very well find her killer.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Kasey pointed out. “The two might be in no way related.”
“I’m betting they are.”
“My point in telling you all this is so you’ll get a clear picture of why you should take your business elsewhere.”
“On the contrary, my business is exactly where it needs to be. I can keep your business afloat.”
“Why are you doing this, Tanner?”
“Will something as simple as I trust you suffice?”
“No.”
He chuckled. “It’s the truth. I just got burned by a big outfit in Dallas, the Randolph Agency, to be exact.”
“How do you know that’s not where I worked?”
“Because I checked you out.”
That fueled her anger. “You have a lot of nerve.”
“There’s a lot at stake—my political future.”
“Still, I’m not the right person to step in at this late date.”
“I disagree.”
“I’m flattered, all right. But I’ve been out of the hands-on part of the business too long. In Dallas I did mundane, grunt work, if you will. That’s a far cry from what you need.”
“But you’re capable.”
“Yes,” she admitted tersely, “but—”
“If I’m willing to take the chance, then what have you got to lose?”
Kasey opened her mouth to launch another strenuous objection only to then shut it. Tanner’s business would indeed keep the agency’s door open. Wasn’t that what she wanted? Yes. She desperately wanted to remain here, to make a go of this endeavor for her own sake as well as her son’s.
If only her savior was anyone but Tanner. She should turn the offer down for that reason.
“Kasey, all you have to do is say yes. It’s just that simple.”
A bubble of hysteria almost erupted. Simple. God, any association with him was anything but that. However, he didn’t know that, she assured herself. Her secret was safe forever.
“Kasey,” he pressed.
She took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll do my best.”
Seven
“S o do you have anything in mind right off?” Tanner asked.
“No,” she answered with raised eyebrows. “Surely you didn’t