“Beats me. Does it matter?”
“Yes. I don’t think he did it.”
“Based on a painting?”
“Look around. This is not the home of a man hurting for money. The idea that he would abduct your mother in the hopes that we’d break our contract and Tony would get moved into our spot makes no sense.”
Was my dad right? “Maybe he’s got financial worries we don’t know about.”
“Maybe, but Birdie didn’t say anything about that. And if that was true, he’s got all kinds of money hanging on these walls. You see any bare spots?”
I looked around. “No.”
“If he’d sold something recently, there’d be a place where a piece was missing.”
“Okay but could be he just wants to move Tony up.”
My father seemed to consider that. “Could be. But Lou isn’t a hustler. Never has been. He’s got a handful of other clients but all because they know he reps Tony. And he fell into managing Tony because Tony picked him. All Lou did was be in the right office at the right time. I’m not saying we aren’t going to look around the house, but I already know we aren’t going to find anything.”
Twenty minutes later, and my father was right. There was nothing in Lou’s house that even hinted of his involvement in my mom’s disappearance. The most interesting thing I’d seen was a signed photo of Gabrielle on his office wall. Tony’s wife. The pregnant one he was going to work things out with.
I wondered how that was going. Then I wondered if Lou had been instrumental in making that reconciliation happen. I knew he’d been Gabrielle’s manager for a few years before she retired. All because of Tony. After they’d started dating, he’d connected her with Lou.
And Lou, wanting to impress Tony, had made a few phone calls, talked to a few people, and somehow Gabrielle rose to the position of principal dancer. I knew all this from my time in Vegas and from things my parents had said. Vegas was a big small town. And in the show circuit, everyone knew everything.
I stared at the picture. She was a beautiful woman. I felt for her. Whether or not she knew Tony was cheating on her, she didn’t deserve a husband who couldn’t be faithful. And a baby on the way was no guarantee he wouldn’t step out again.
My guess was Gabrielle didn’t know. But that was based on the fact that Jayne would have killed me if the situation was the same. Of course, I’d never cheat on Jayne. The very idea disgusted me. Why marry a person if you didn’t love them enough to be true?
As I joined my dad downstairs in the living room, my phone buzzed. I took it out and checked the screen, instantly answering the call. “Hi, babe. What’s up?”
“Please tell me your dad didn’t kill Lou Scholtz.”
I frowned. “Why would you think that?”
“Because the news is reporting that he just died.”
I took a breath as I processed. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. Jack was watching it in the other room and came in and told us. It’s all over the local stations.”
“When we got to Lou’s office, we found him slumped over his desk but still alive. My dad’s the one who called 911.” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry to hear this. We’ll be home soon. Love you.”
“Love you too.” She hung up.
I tucked my phone away, slightly stunned.
My dad came over. “What happened? What are you sorry about?”
“Lou didn’t make it. Jayne said they saw it on the local news.” I left out the part where she thought my dad was responsible. I probably would have assumed that too, based on my father’s statement at the house earlier.
My dad put a hand to his mouth for a few beats, then exhaled. “I wasn’t a fan of the guy, but I wouldn’t have wished this on him either.”
As the shock left me, my senses returned. “Same, but right now, we need to get out of here. We’re in a dead man’s house. And the guard at the gate thinks he just saw Lou pull in with a hot blonde. When he finds out Lou is dead, that’s going to raise some questions.”
A muttered curse slipped from my father’s lips. “This is going to take a little more magic than the first time.”
I didn’t ask what he meant, just trusted that he had it handled as we headed for the car. A few minutes later, I understood. He transformed the SUV into a minivan and me into a soccer mom with himself as her son. We left the neighborhood behind without incident, but I didn’t like that Lou had now technically been in two places at once.
I drove straight back to my parents’ and parked in front of the main doors.
My dad held his hand out. “Keys.”
“You going somewhere?”
“No, I just want to put this in the garage and get a different car out for us to use. Just in case.”
I held on to the keys. “In case of what?”
He hesitated. “In case it comes up that Lou was seen with a hot blonde when he was supposedly dead in the hospital. And someone decides to check the camera footage for the license plate number, which I didn’t use magic to change.”
“Dad.”
“I know. I didn’t think that through.”
I cut him some slack, considering everything going on. “Maybe Birdie can help.” I hoped.
“You go find out. I’ll put the car under wraps.”
I gave him the keys, then hopped out, crossing paths with him as he came around to the driver’s side. Magic was a very useful thing. Except when it wasn’t.
* * *
Jayne
“You did what?” I stared at my husband, hoping for an explanation that made sense.
“I didn’t do it. My dad did. It’s not like he purposefully left the plate unchanged. He just forgot,” Sin said.
Birdie snorted for the second time. “I think it’s kind of funny.”
“Sure,” Sin said. “Until you realize if they run the plate, it comes back to my dad. Which is why I have to ask if there’s anything you can do about it?”
She eyed Sin like a mother might look at a child who had misbehaved one too many times. “Such as?”
“Such as go into the database and disappear that license number.”
She smirked. “Disappear it?”
“You know what I mean,” he said.
I nodded. “Please Birdie, can you help? We can’t have the police showing up here asking why Lou was driving my father-in-law’s SUV.”
She sighed with the kind of frustration that was mostly for show. “I’m sure I can do something. But I’m going to need more fuel. Breakfast wore off a long time ago.”
“Anything,” Sin said. “Name it.”
“Cheesesteak sub, good fries and a chocolate milkshake. And a nice slice of pie. Or cake. Or both. I’m not picky.”
My stomach rumbled. “That sounds good.”
Sin smiled. “I’m not surprised.”
Anson came in through another door. “What aren’t you surprised about?”
“Jayne’s appetite,” Sin answered.
“You know, we should all eat.” Anson looked surprisingly calm for someone who might have the police at his door if Birdie couldn’t work her own kind of magic. “We might not feel like it, but we have to take care of ourselves.”