Slater looked at Catalina. “A fork?”
Roger snorted, clearly suppressing laughter.
Daniel eyed Catalina with a grim expression. “You may want to think about upgrading to a gun, Boss.”
Catalina ignored him. She glanced at Slater and jerked a thumb at Gossard.
“This is Roger Gossard,” she said. “Excuse me, Dr. Roger Gossard. I forget what the PhD is in.”
“Forensic psychology,” Roger said smoothly.
“Whatever,” Catalina said. “Roger, here, runs a consulting business. Does some contract work with various law enforcement agencies and is available as an expert witness for any law firm that can afford him. Roger, this is Slater Arganbright.”
Roger walked quickly across the small space and held out his well-manicured hand.
“A pleasure, Slater,” he said.
Slater shook the offered hand once and broke contact. “Dr. Gossard.” He put a little emphasis on the title.
Roger chuckled and waved that aside. “Roger, please. Any friend of Cat’s and all that.”
“Don’t call me Cat,” Catalina said.
Roger chuckled as if the protest was an old joke they had often shared. He fixed Slater with a deeply curious expression. “Are you one of Catalina’s clients?”
It struck Slater that the explanation was as good as any he could have come up with on the spot. It had the advantage of being the truth. Sort of.
“Yes,” he said.
Catalina gave him a startled look but she did not correct him. She returned her attention to Roger.
“I’m still waiting for an explanation, Roger. Why are you here?”
“Got to admit I’m curious about what happened at your client’s home last night,” Roger said.
“You can’t expect me to discuss that with you,” she said. “Client confidentiality. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course,” Roger said, annoyed but evidently resigned. “I came here to discuss some business. Shall we go into your office? I just need a few minutes of your time.”
“No,” Catalina said. “I’m in a hurry. Say whatever it is you have to say so that I can get back to work.”
“Fine.” Roger’s mouth and eyes tightened at the corners, but he kept his voice as smooth and polished as his attire. “I dropped by this morning because I want you to look at a scene for me.”
“You have got to be joking,” Catalina said. “You want me to consult for you? After what you did to me?”
“I admit I didn’t handle things well,” Roger allowed. “I apologize. But I’m sure you can appreciate my situation. It’s critical that my consulting work be viewed as cutting-edge technologically and rigorously scientific. I couldn’t afford to have my name or my firm’s name linked with that of a woman who claims to be psychic.”
“I never claimed to be psychic. You told Brenda Bryce, Girl Reporter, that I was a flake who claimed to have paranormal talents. You got me fired from my career counseling job. I ended up dealing with a stalker because of those stories in the press.”
Roger finally displayed some emotion—outrage.
“I had nothing to do with you losing your job, and you can’t blame that crazy stalker on me,” he said. “It’s not my fault that your former boss was afraid you might attract the wrong sort of clients at that counseling agency. I heard he wound up with a line of people demanding an appointment with the psychic who could talk to the dead. He had to dump you. You were ruining his business.”
“Really? You’re going to blame what happened on me? In case you didn’t notice, I was the innocent victim in that fiasco.”
Roger regained control with a visible effort. “Look, I said I’m sorry. But you’ve moved on.” He swept out a hand to indicate the office. “Looks to me like you’re doing great.”
“That is not the point,” Catalina said between her teeth.
Roger shot another uncertain glance at Slater and then turned back to Catalina. “This is not the time or the place to discuss the past. I am prepared to pay you your usual consulting fee—”
“No.”
“Charge whatever the hell you want,” Roger said. “I’m just asking for some of your time. This is a straightforward murder-for-insurance-money case. I want you to confirm my own theory of the crime.”
“You mean you want me to provide you with a theory of the crime so that you can look brilliant. Forget it, Roger. Even if I was in the mood to give you some help, I don’t have time right now. I’ve got other problems.”
Roger still appeared annoyed, but he was managing to come up with a little concern as well.
“Is this about Olivia?” he asked. “Are you sure she’s missing?”
“Positive.”
“How long has she been gone?”
“She hasn’t been seen since yesterday evening.”
“That’s not even twenty-four hours. Odds are she’s fine. Probably took off with a new boyfriend. Look, can you just let me have five minutes to lay out my case for you?”
“Nope.” Catalina folded her arms and gave Roger a smile that looked as if it had been carved out of the heart of a glacier. “I’m sure you can understand that I have to put my own business interests ahead of yours.”
Roger’s lips thinned. “You’re making this personal, Cat. That’s a mistake. If you’re serious about your business, then consider the fact that I am in a position to bring a lot of additional work here to Lark and LeClair. We’ll keep our association confidential, of course.”
“So that Lark and LeClair won’t get any credit for solving your cases and so that your firm won’t be embarrassed by having the media find out that you sometimes ask a psychic investigation agency to consult for you.”
“We’re talking a lot of money, Cat. Many of my clients are lawyers. When it comes to defending one of their wealthy clients, cash is no object.”
“That does it.” Catalina unfolded her arms and yanked open the door. “Leave. Now. Or I’ll call the police and have you thrown out. There must be some legal grounds I could use.”
“Loitering,” Daniel said. “Trespassing.”
He reached for the phone.
Roger looked as if he was going to make a stand, but he must have realized it was pointless.
“You’re making a mistake, Cat,” he said. He went toward the door. “I’ll be in touch when you’ve had a chance to cool down.”
Catalina did not deign to respond to that. She simply closed the door very firmly behind him and turned to Daniel.
“Anything else about the arrest of Angus Hopper that you can tell me?” she said.
Daniel glanced at his notes. “The detective who called said they’ll want another statement from you. Evidently there are a few questions regarding your weapon of choice—”
“That is not amusing.”
“Just kidding,” Daniel said quickly. “The detective told me he thinks they’ve got more than enough to keep Hopper off the streets. Your turn. Did you get any leads on Olivia?”
“One very tiny lead,” Catalina said. “According to Marge, the two men who grabbed Olivia may be twins.”