“Yeah, like I’m a strip-club dancer. He didn’t fool you, did he?” London asked, smiling.
“No. I figured he thought I really was looking for my missing pups and he could convince me to go away. Then he must have realized I wasn’t buying his story and thought a gun would change my mind.”
Brenham, one of the officers who had gone to Amelia White’s home to arrest Gavin, called out to him, “Hey, Summerfield. You might be interested in looking at a couple of Samoyed puppies in the bedroom up front.” Brenham smiled. “They even have blue collars, just like the ones the pups in the picture were wearing.”
Hoping they were the pups he was looking for, Gavin hurried into the house and found Kodi and Shiloh in a crate together. They were watching the other dogs being rounded up, excited, wanting to play. Gavin called their names, and they both turned, wagging their tails.
He checked them over. Their microchips had been removed, but he made sure they were both males. They were wearing the same blue leopard-print collars too. Thankfully, they were in good condition.
Gavin was glad to be going home with the two pups but found himself thinking about the naked woman who’d had two Samoyed pups. He hoped she’d hear that he’d broken up a pet theft ring so she knew he’d been completely honest with her.
After the terrifying plane ride back to Seattle and the return of the pups to their grateful family, Gavin went in to the PI agency, where his partners, all former police officers, were eager to hear how the agency’s first case had gone.
He told his story, not leaving any detail out. Owen Nottingham whistled when Gavin mentioned the part about Amelia. David Davis laughed. Smiling, Cameron MacPherson slapped him on the back. “Hell, Gavin, you have all the luck.”
Chapter 1
Nearly seven years later
Northern Minnesota
Gavin hated one thing more than anything else in the world—flying. And that’s just what he was going to have to do for this mission.
Eleanor Dylan was a cosmetic heiress, though she also had other kinds of businesses, and she was certain her husband was having an affair. She needed proof to start divorce proceedings and keep her inheritance intact. “Conrad is going on a fly-in company canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the BWCA, and your agency is the closest to that location. They’ll be in the wilderness, so you’ll have to take a seaplane to get there. Well, I guess you could just paddle in, but it would take you too long to catch up to them. Wouldn’t it? I mean, if you only have a day and a half to get ready and be there?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gavin grimaced, glad they were speaking on the phone.
“I would have called sooner if I had thought of doing this earlier. But it’s the perfect way to catch them at it, I think. They’ll be there for nine days. The tour package includes food and all the equipment they need, so they won’t be stopping for supplies anywhere. Can you do it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Our agency can definitely take care of it.”
All of Gavin’s PI partners and their mates were Arctic wolf shifters who had been turned a few years ago. As wolves, they had enhanced night vision, and their hearing was superior whether they were in their wolf coats or human form. They had settled in Minnesota and their PI business was booming, which meant Gavin was the only one available for this job. A trip to the Boundary Waters totally appealed. More so if he could have just paddled in.
“Not your agency. You. I’ve looked into your background already, and from everything I’ve seen, you’ve got an outstanding track record.”
“Thanks. All of my partners are also well qualified.” Gavin didn’t want her to believe that they couldn’t handle the case if one of them had to take over for him.
“You, or no deal.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll head up there and check it out.” His pack had already reserved permits for him and two of his partners to go to the Boundary Waters later in the summer. He checked on his computer for the availability of a different entry point, and he found one. Some canoeists must have canceled their trip because of the bad weather expected over the next couple of days. Gavin was able to switch his time and port of entry without any trouble.
“Conrad gave me a copy of their trip itinerary in case anything happened,” Eleanor said. “It shows their route and where they intend to set up camp. He’ll never suspect a lone canoeist is doing surveillance on him, will he?”
“No, ma’am. Does he often give you the detailed itinerary for his trips?” Gavin couldn’t help but think that if her husband were having an affair, he’d keep his wife out of the loop.
“Always. I would have been suspicious if he hadn’t.”
Okay, that explained it. Though Gavin wondered if Conrad would have given her a fake itinerary if he thought his wife was having him watched.
“Have you been in the Boundary Waters before?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Several times.” Especially once they had more control over their shifting. The wilderness had been the perfect, close getaway for them.
“Oh good,” she said with relief.
“How many are on this company trip?” As a wolf, he could get up close to the campsite, and Conrad and his party would never know he was there.
“Four executives from various departments. Lee Struthers, the CEO, likes to chill out with her executives on adventure tours a couple of times a year instead of always conducting business in the boardroom. It’s supposed to be a team-building trip. One of the executives is a woman. And the two sales associates going with them are women too.”
“You suspect your husband is having an affair with someone in the group, then?”
“A top sales associate. She’s in her late twenties. He’s forty-five now. I know Orwell Johnston, who’s also on this trip, is having an affair with the other sales associate. Conrad told me all about their antics. The long lunch hours at a nearby hotel. The gifts he gives her, even at work.”
“How did you learn who would be going?” Gavin wondered why Conrad would tell his wife, if the guy was having an affair with someone at work.
“I asked. And Conrad told me.”
That sounded like he was open about things with his wife. “Have you had other investigators checking into his activities?”
“Yes, before we were married eight years ago. I had inherited quite a large estate before I met him, and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t marrying me just for my money.”
“You must have learned he was a good prospect, since you married him.”
“No skeletons in his closet. He worked his way up in the greeting-card business and is now one of their executives. I didn’t suspect anything was wrong between us until he came home from the last trip. He acted distant and aloof, and he didn’t seem to be his cheerful self for several weeks. I asked what was wrong, but he said nothing was. Which I knew was a lie. He wouldn’t tell me what had happened.”