Free Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 by Margaret Daley, Katy Lee Page B

I’ve got his driver’s-license photo.” He withdrew his cell and clicked on the one Fiona had sent. “Not a good picture. Looks like a mug shot.”
    Selena took the phone and studied the screen. “No. He’s not familiar. I still want to go with you.”
    â€œYou’re as persistent as the salmon returning home.”
    She pressed her lips together and glared at him.
    â€œI found out from Fiona that he’s a private eye, so I don’t see why you can’t come with me.”
    Her eyes brightened. “Really?”
    â€œYes. After I have my pie. Cherry is my favorite.”
    â€œI like cherry, too, but chocolate fits my mood.”
    â€œIt does?”
    â€œI like to eat chocolate when I’m stressed or frustrated. I’m both at the moment.”
    â€œI’m taking you to see Benny Goodwin.”
    â€œI think this little bump in our working relationship is an indication of more to come.”
    He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together, his arms on the table. “You are
not
a law-enforcement officer. I won’t put you in danger.”
    She bent closer to him, their heads inches away. “You are
not
my keeper. I’ve tolerated your presence in this, but you can’t stop me from pursuing my own inquiries. I was doing just fine by myself.”
    Nicholas ground his teeth together and lounged back. He wasn’t going to be drawn into a battle with Selena. “Ah, I see our pie is coming.”
    She huffed and sat stiffly against the cushion. “I’m thinking of having two pieces.”
    She was one stubborn lady, but she’d met her match with him.
    * * *
    â€œNow I see why you let me come. His office is in a nice area. He obviously must be successful at his job.” Selena let Nicholas open the main door to a three-story renovated redbrick house that had been turned into a commercial building. She noticed several lawyers on the plaque of tenants. Smart move on Mr. Goodwin’s part. Attorneys often used private investigators.
    Nicholas followed her inside but didn’t respond to her statement. In fact, through the stop at the diner and the drive to this place, he’d been silent. He wasn’t happy with her. Every part of him screamed that. She didn’t care. She was the one who had grown up in a tough, gang-infested area, while he’d lived on an estate in Maryland with all his needs met. He hadn’t gone hungry or feared every time he’d left his home that he could be shot. She’d done her research on him in the past couple of days. His grandfather had been a senator and had come from a long line of members of Congress. He’d been influential and wealthy—like her mother’s family. So why in the world was he working as a cop, albeit in an elite unit handpicked by a former general?
    That question taunted her as they made their way to the second floor where Mr. Goodwin had his office. After the interview, she would ask Nicholas. Otherwise it would bug her until she found out. A nasty habit that had gotten her into trouble occasionally.
    She approached the private eye’s secretary a few steps ahead of Nicholas and said before he could, “We are here to see Mr. Goodwin.” Nicholas wouldn’t have known about Littleton and the possible importance of him to the Jeffries case without her. The motive for Michael Jeffries’s murder might very well be due to Michael’s work to set Littleton free from prison and find the real killer of Senator Eagleton’s aide. She needed Nicholas to realize she was part of the investigation.
    â€œDo you have an appointment?” the young woman, probably no more than twenty, asked while smacking her gum. “He’s on the phone right now.”
    Nicholas stepped next to Selena. “No, but you might tell him we’re the two he was following earlier today and would like a word with him. Now.”
    The secretary’s eyes grew