“What can you find out about Marlee?”
Chapter 8
She’d blown it. Marlee couldn’t believe she’d been so fucking stupid as to blurt out the very thing she wanted to know. All because Cooper had drawn her in and made her think she could ask him anything.
“Stupid. So damn stupid,” she reprimanded herself once she was back in her motel room.
She paced the small space, her mind going through the various options she had. Usually, she liked to scrutinize an area and the subjects to gather as much evidence as she could. Only then did she approach law enforcement with her proof and let them take it from there.
This job had been different from the very beginning. She thought it was because she had just come from her last case that hadn’t ended well.
Being unable to locate a missing child always struck her particularly hard. Sometimes, she was able to uncover things the authorities missed, which helped to find the child. Other times … well, other times it didn’t go so well.
In some cases, the child seemed to simply vanish. In those instances, she never gave up hope and never stopped looking. Those cases—and there were more than she wanted to admit—were filed at her home office. She often looked through them, seeing if she could find something new.
But the worst cases were the ones when she had to inform parents that their child was dead. Those weighed heavily on her. And that was what’d happened with her last job. She could still hear the mother’s grief as she wailed her misery, her husband simply holding her, his tears falling silently down his face.
The scene was so reminiscent of her parents when she’d told them about Macey and the baby that it took her months to shake it off.
Marlee stopped in the middle of the room next to the bed. She looked at the pictures scattered across the duvet and on the wall. The one of Naomi and Brice Harper looking lovingly at each other struck her. Maybe it was because of the strange and unwanted feelings Cooper stirred within her, or perhaps it was his icy fury at the thought of his friends doing something unlawful. Still, Marlee knew she had to deviate from her usual modus operandi.
Now that Cooper knew what she was about, she only had two choices. She could go to the police and give them what little she had, or … she could go to the Harpers and talk to them.
It only took half a second to decide. She strode from her motel room to her rental. All the way to the Rockin’ H Ranch, Marlee went over how she would approach the couple. She listed her qualifications, how she came to have her current assignment, and detailed what she needed. It was so good that she went over it a second and a third time.
But the minute she stood before their door, and it opened to reveal Naomi, everything Marlee had planned rushed out of her head.
“Hi,” Naomi said with a small frown, her chestnut eyes filled with concern. “Can I help you?”
“Who is it, babe?” a deep voice asked from behind her. A moment later, Brice’s tall frame came into view. His dark brown hair was trimmed neatly as he wrapped an arm around his wife. “Hi there,” Brice said. “How can we help?”
Marlee’s stomach tightened with anxiety. A part of her wanted to make up some excuse and run away, but she couldn’t. She knew that. So, she steeled herself and swallowed. “I’m sorry to intrude and to come by so late. My name is Marlee Frampton. I’m a private investigator, and I was wondering if I could speak with the two of you.”
Unease had Naomi’s hand tightening on the door. Brice didn’t so much as twitch. Marlee met the couple’s stare and waited for them to make a decision.
Brice’s voice was even as he said, “We got a call from the chief of police, Ryan Wells. Cooper told him about you. Ryan suspected you might stop by.”
Naomi nodded to Brice. He then released his wife so she could move and open the door wider. “Please, come in,” Naomi told Marlee.
As soon as she walked into the house, she felt its welcoming embrace. There was love here, and it gave off an energy that couldn’t be dismissed. Marlee looked at the entry that was both simplistic and amazingly stylish. An elegant table with iron legs and a thick wooden top sat against the wall. Two stacks of books were piled on its surface, one on either side of a clear vase with a floral arrangement inside. A large, oval mirror hung on the wall above the table. Opposite the table was a large photograph of a pasture at sunset with horses grazing. It was so stunning that Marlee couldn’t look away.
“That picture is … I can’t even put it in words,” she said.
Brice smiled. “Naomi has a gift, that’s for sure.”
“Thank you,” Naomi told her.
Marlee glanced at the floor, embarrassed to have forgotten that Naomi was a photographer.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Naomi said and motioned to a doorway.
She led the way with Marlee following her. Brice brought up the rear. After being invited to sit in a chair, Marlee quickly took in the clean lines of the furniture and the neutral colors that gave her a feeling of peace.
“Would you like some coffee or tea?” Naomi asked.
Brice raised a brow. “Or something stronger? You look like you might need it.”
Marlee smiled despite herself. “I’m not going to lie, a stiff drink sounds nice, but I think it’s better if I refrain for now.”
“Then why don’t you tell us what brought you here?” Brice stated as he sat beside his wife on the sofa.
In an instant, she knew that Brice was on edge, but he was keeping it in check for Naomi. Marlee didn’t blame them. She’d likely be acting similarly if the roles were reversed. That didn’t make things any easier, however.
“I don’t normally come to the family first,” she began. “I have a set path I take on cases, and I rarely deviate from it. But this case isn’t like any others.”
Naomi glanced at Brice. “What case?”
Marlee leaned forward to brace her forearms on her legs and clasped her hands together. Her chin dropped to her chest, and she gave a small shake of her head before looking up again. “Long ago, I worked as a police officer for a small town in California. A case there led me to where I am now.”
Brice leaned back, his pale blue eyes locked on her. “I have a friend who is a private investigator.”
“Then you might understand that while most PIs take on all sorts of cases, some of us specialize in specific areas.”
Naomi fidgeted. “What kind of area do you specialize in?”
“Missing children.”
The moment she said the words, the couple stiffened. Naomi’s face paled with shock, while Brice looked as if he wanted to tear someone in two.
Brice asked, “Why are you here? Specifically.”
“Because I believe the child you adopted is the same little boy who was cut from his mother a little over a week ago,” she told them. She hadn’t meant to be so graphic, but the sooner they realized how serious the issue was, the quicker they might be willing to help her.
Brice said nothing as he closed his eyes. Naomi held his hand as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded. Her frantic gaze searched Marlee’s face. “We did everything we were supposed to do. You must be mistaken. We never would’ve been involved in anything so horrible. You don’t know us, but let me assure you, we did everything by the book.”