Free Hart To Hart by Vella Day Page A

longer on top, and kind of looked like her dad in the muscle department. His face, however, was in a whole different league. Straight nose, classic cheekbones, and deep-set eyes the color of green glass. She shouldn’t have noticed his stellar appearance given the severity of what just happened, but it helped calm her to focus on something that pleasant.
    He displayed a police badge in one hand while he offered a shake with his right. “I’m detective Trent Lawson. Are you Charlotte Hart?”
    “Yes.” She liked his firm handshake. His palms were warm and slightly calloused.
    “Any relation to Vic Hart?”
    If he knew her dad, he probably knew this was his house. “He’s my father.”
    “May I come in and take your statement? It’s a might cold out here.”
    “Yes.” She showed him in. “I just arrived myself.” She slipped off her jacket and tossed it on the back of the sofa. “I’d get you something to drink, but I don’t know where anything is.”
    He smiled and his face lit up. He was so hot. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m okay. May we sit at the table?”
    “Sure.”
    “Can you tell me what happened?”
    If her father were here, he’d have asked the same thing. Oh, shit. When Dad found out that someone had taken a shot at her, he’d go ballistic. His reaction would occur no matter what she said or did. Charlotte inhaled and told Detective Lawson all she knew. “As soon as I realized the sound had been a gunshot, I ran.”
    “You didn’t look around?”
    “And give him another chance at me? Hell no. I zigzagged my way up the steps, ran in, and locked the door. Then I called you guys and hid.”
    “Smart.” He jotted his notes on his iPad. “Have you called your father?”
    “Not yet.”
    The detective pulled out his phone and punched in a few numbers. Did he have her dad’s number in his contact list? It made sense. Dad was a PI. “Wait. Don’t call him yet.”
    He pressed the off button. “Why?”
    “Because Dad was in a car wreck last night. Someone rammed him from behind and drove him down an embankment. I don’t want him upset any more than necessary. That’s why I’m here. To take care of him.”
    The detective stilled. “Is Vic still in the hospital?”
    This was getting complicated. “No. My mom’s staying with him at her hotel. But they’re divorced. She’s only here because she has a stalker and had hired my dad to find out his identity.” While he kept a lot of emotion off his face, she could tell he was struggling to put all of the pieces together. Then reality slammed into her. “Oh, shit. Do you think someone is targeting our whole family?” Until she’d listed the offenses, she hadn’t considered that fact.
    “Anything’s possible. In light of your mother’s stalker and your father’s recent attack, we should consider putting you in protective custody.”
    She didn’t want that. “After I see Dad’s okay, I’ll just drive home to Kalispell.”
    He shook his head. “Not good enough.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He pushed back his chair. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
    Was he kidding? He dropped the bomb about protective custody, and then just walked out? Charlotte rushed to the window. Trent Lawson was speaking with two different policemen. Was it to begin the investigation? The cops would want to retrieve the bullet to figure out the type of gun used. Given about an inch of snow lay on the ground, there might be footprints or tire tracks that could be traced, too. While she and her dad hadn’t spoken for many years, she’d learned a lot from him about forensics when he had been home.
    Detective Lawson, who didn’t look much older than she was, then called someone. Whether it was her dad or his supervisor, she didn’t know. Damn, but this was one big clusterfuck. She’d come here to make sure her father was taken care of, and what happened? She’d dodged a bullet. Christ.
    Wait a minute. She thought of something else. Donning her