The public didn’t have that particular information. But Rio knew that Hal Stuart, with his connections to the department, certainly would. He’d apparently refrained from sharing any of it with his sister, though. And Rio wasn’t in a position to say anything himself.
Unwilling to let her think some avenue wasn’t being explored, the best he could do was remind her of what had been reported. “Stone would agree with you. So would I. But Jessica never had an impression of a face.” Once more, Rio heard a door closing in the back of the house. “What she visualized could have just as easily been a man in a wig.”
The sound of footsteps drew his attention from the disappointment adding to the shadows in Eve’s eyes. The slim figure of a man was moving past the doorway leading to the kitchen.
Hal Stuart seemed to catch himself mid-stride. In the time it took for the reporter’s commanding presence to register, Hal’s eyebrows had slammed together.
“What are you doing here?”
At her brother’s surprisingly inhospitable demand, Eve whirled around, her hand flattening over the pearl at her throat.
“Hal? What’s the matter with you? This is Rio. Redtree,” she added, though she was sure her brother, being a public official, must have met the reporter on any number of occasions.
Hal kept coming, the sound of his polished Italian loafers going from impatient to muffled when he moved from hardwood to Aubusson carpet. He’d loosened his red silk “power” tie from the collar of his tailored white shirt. With his hands planted at the waist of his perfectly pleated slacks, and his meticulously cut, dark blond hair silvering prematurely at his temples, he looked like a poster boy for a high-fashion executive ad. Or he would have, had he been smiling.
The fact that he wasn’t puzzled Eve far more than she let on. Her brother usually treated everyone as if they were his best buddy.
“I know who he is,” Hal muttered.
Rio was no slouch when it came to being personable himself. Eve had seen his quiet charm at work on Millicent the day he’d shown up on her porch, his gentle patience with Molly only minutes ago. What Eve witnessed now was his absolute self-possession. With her brother staring at him as if he’d like to see him trussed and on a spit, Rio simply inclined his head in acknowledgment and, keeping his hands at his side since the other man had his hands planted on his hips, regarded him evenly.
“How are things going, Hal?”
“You never answered my question.”
Eve’s glance bounced from the dark and compelling man at her side to her fair-haired brother. At a loss to explain his behavior, she reached for his arm to draw his attention.
“Rio’s investigating Mom’s death,” she told him, catching the scent of tobacco clinging to his shirt. “We were just talking about the woman who had those visions. Apparently she won’t be of much more help.”
“I know all that. What I want to know is where he gets off following me here. He’s been hounding me all day.”
“I’ve only called you twice,” Rio countered, his tone as reasonable as Hal’s was not. “I don’t believe that qualifies as hounding. And just for the record, I didn’t know you were here. The only car out front—” Cutting himself off, his glance sliced toward the front door and the vehicle parked at the curb. “I thought you drove a Lexus. Is that your Mercedes out there? The silver SL?”
“Am I going to see that on the front page tomorrow? Acting Mayor Buys New Car?”
Hal’s scowl removed the natural affability from his even features. Rio was amazed by the man’s defensiveness. Hal Stuart usually covered himself better than this. The city’s acting mayor was a master at public relations. In the five years Rio had been on the paper, he’d seen the politician portray sincerity, outrage, sympathy and enthusiasm with the skill of an Oscar-winning actor. But the man wasn’t acting now. Noting the pallor beneath his tan, Rio couldn’t help thinking that Hal looked far too tense to make the effort. To him, he looked very much like a man who’d been stretched about as far as he could go and was about to snap.
It also appeared that he wasn’t going to be real cooperative.
“Since you are here,” Rio continued, too practical to waste the opportunity, “you could save me another phone call in the morning. All I want is your statement about the stock you owned in the mining company Olivia was fighting on its lease renewal. As it stands right now, the article that will appear in the morning paper says you couldn’t be reached for comment.” It could easily be changed to “refused to comment,” but he didn’t care to pose that subtle threat. Not with Eve uneasily watching them both. “I can still get your remark in before the paper goes to press tonight.”
Closing his eyes, Hal raked his fingers through his hair, his expression moving from defensive to beleaguered.
“The police have already questioned me about this. I did own stock, but it was a poor choice of investments and I’ve already unloaded it. It’s no secret Mom and I had philosophical differences over the impact of that mine on the environment and the economy here, but it’s ludicrous for anyone to think I’d want her harmed because of it. I wish to hell that someone in this town would use a little logic. Why would I be pushing the investigation of anyone involved with the mine if I was illegally involved myself?
“Look,” Hal muttered, overlooking the fact that he’d revealed more to his sibling in the past minute than he had in the past month. “I’m as convinced as anyone in this town that someone connected with that mining operation is responsible for my mother’s death. Our mother,” he amended, belatedly including his sister. “I just wish the police would get some evidence on whoever it is so this would all be over with.” He paused, looking as if he didn’t know why Rio wasn’t writing any of this down. “You’ve got your statement, Redtree. You can leave now.”
Rio said nothing to Hal. He merely looked at Eve, who at that moment had no idea which of the two men she knew the least. Two minutes ago, she’d have bet her sanity she knew far less about Rio. “Hal,” she began, “Rio didn’t come to get a statement from you. He said he didn’t even know you were here, remember? He came to see Molly.”
Incomprehension flashed over her brother’s features. But any confusion he suffered lasted only long enough for his glance to slide in the general direction of the front porch. Molly had her back to them all, involved as she was with her bear and her dolls.
Hal apparently didn’t need a side-by-side comparison, anyway. His narrowed eyes jerked to the man at Eve’s side, then back to her.
It was obvious to most people that her child’s father was of ethnic blood, but Rio was hardly the only Native American man in town. There had been talk among their family friends since Eve had returned, and speculation, she was sure, about who Molly’s father might be. There always was when an unmarried woman had a child. But her mother, fiercely independent herself, had understood that cutting all ties with the father was sometimes the only way a woman could move on with her life, so Eve’s secret had been safe. Until now.
“I see.”
Without another word, Hal turned on his heel and disappeared through the kitchen. A moment later, having made the loop through the dining and living rooms, he emerged at the opposite end of the foyer near the front door.
His jacket dangled by the middle from his fist.
“I