Free Songs for Perri by Nancy Radke

missed.
    Walt picked up a shoe as he answered. "I don't actually need you while I'm waiting for Owen to contact me. No one here in Mazatlan knows who I am. Only Owen. You can't do anything more than take my phone calls and interpret when I need you. I actually do pretty well, miming my needs. I'm not helpless."
    "I know. I didn't mean to imply that." Walt had often said he'd rather be blind than deaf, since people tended to treat a deaf person as if they were stupid. Hugo knew how smart Walt was...the man had trained him. But a dangerous job required all your senses. Hugo had come down here to assist Walt, not baby-sit his daughter; and as much as he was attracted to Perri, he worried about Walt when he wasn't with him.
    "Sorry. I'm touchy. Your priority is to watch Perri until she goes home. Isn't the job rewarding enough for you?"
    "Very! She's accepted Hugo completely. And she did have supper with me." He watched to see what Walt's reaction would be, but his ex-boss was adept at hiding his emotions.
    "She got my note?"
    "And your money."
    "Then she should be leaving today."
    "And if she doesn't?" Hugo asked, wondering why Walt couldn't recall the stubborn set of Perri's jaw when she decided she was going to do something. She had planted her feet in the hotel lobby fast enough when she thought Hugo was going to take her somewhere she didn't want to go. Or maybe, as a father, he just didn't see certain aspects of her personality. He had sure called things wrong when he had encouraged him not to tone down Hugo's character.
    "If she doesn't, you stay with her till she does."
    "Huh! It's too bad you can't just tell her what's going on."
    "If I believed she was in danger, I would. But no one knows she's connected to Owen. Unless she starts asking for him. She hasn't, has she?"
    "Not that I know of. She asked for you at the desk after she got your note."
    "She told you?"
    "I paid the hotel clerks to keep an eye on her for me. They think they're helping Hugo pursue her, romantically. One even told her I was an old friend of his."
    "You keep things brotherly between you. I don't want Perri mourning over a broken heart after this is over."
    Hugo grinned to himself. So his earlier comment had hit home. "Of course," he said. He couldn't afford to get interested in Perri while he was guarding her. Love dulled the sense of danger and had left more than one agent dead. But after they had gotten Owen out of Mexico, he was going to pursue Perri as himself.
    "You make sure she gets on the plane. If she acts like she's going downtown, try to keep her away from me. I'll go to the waterfront before noon, then to the market area from noon to five. You can find me there."
    "I can't miss that shirt."
    "We need to keep from getting ourselves mixed up. Always meet with me as ‘Joe.’ That way, if I ever see you as Hugo, I won't contact you, figuring Perri might be close by."
    "Sounds like a good idea. Just remember to keep the names straight. I've got to go, or I might miss her."
    Hugo left, trying not to attract attention by hurrying as he made his way back to the hotel. Reaching his room, he called Perri's. The line was busy, so he took time for a shower.
    Remembering that Walt sometimes left messages for her with his secretary, Perri called her step-father's office number and asked for him. Instead the switchboard put her through to Luke Rogers.
    "Hello," Perri responded to his business-like greeting. "This is Perri Linn. I'm trying to reach Walt. Do you have any idea where he is?"
    "Yes. He's working for a private client and can't be reached unless—”
    "Isn't he in Mazatlan?" she demanded.
    There was a long pause at the other end of the line.
    "Where are you?" He sounded suspicious.
    "I'm in Mazatlan. Looking for Owen."
    "I tried to reach you yesterday. You should come back to Arizona."
    "Why?"
    "Because I called the government and they sent a couple of men down there to look into the situation. I figured as a citizen, Owen should be able