Free Dust Up with the Detective by Danica Winters Page A

number for the mayor’s PA? I was hoping that maybe I could talk to them and at least get a line on the mayor’s whereabouts at the time of Robert’s death.”
    He rattled off a number.
    She tapped it into her phone.
    “West,” Captain Prather continued, “you better hope that you’re wrong. This kind of thing could bring everything down on top of the entire county.”
    “What exactly do you mean, sir?” She wasn’t sure, but she could have sworn from the tone of his voice that he was suddenly regretting ever putting her on this case.
    “Nothing, West. Just tread softly.”
    The phone line went dead.
    She looked to Jeremy, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat, his head in his hands. He must have heard everything. “Heck of a way to spend your days off from your department, isn’t it?”
    “It looks like I may need to take a few more days off,” he said, forcing a smile.
    She started to reach over to take his hand but stopped. Something about touching him seemed wrong. They had already taken things too far. They couldn’t do that again. It could compromise everything—their friendship, her investigation and even her job. And if the mayor was involved, as she assumed, it was hard to tell how far those political ties went. Montana was a large state, but when it came to connections and secrets, sometimes it was entirely too small. Both of them could be in danger.
    She had to call the mayor’s personal assistant. She had to eliminate the mayor and his cronies from her list of suspects. They couldn’t possibly have been involved. They didn’t get to where they were by being stupid and getting mixed up in homicides—at least ones that would point directly to them.
    She dialed the number the captain had given to her, and the mayor’s PA answered.
    “This is Deputy Blake West. I was hoping to catch up with the mayor today. Do you know where he is?” she asked, trying to avoid the question she most desperately wanted to ask.
    “He’s in Helena today with his wife. He should be back tomorrow morning. Can I let him know you called?”
    “No,” she said, maybe a bit too emphatically. “No,” she repeated, this time a little softer. “It’s fine. By chance, when did they leave for Helena?”
    The PA was quiet for a moment. “Well, he had the finals for the Montana Shooting Sports Championship here in Butte this week, so he had to wait until this morning to leave, but his wife is set to arrive in Helena this evening.”
    A gun championship? If Engelman had been competing, then he may have an airtight alibi for his whereabouts at the time of Robert’s death.
    “Oh, I heard the about the championships,” Blake lied as she tried to draw the PA into a conversation in which she could learn more. “How did Mayor Engelman do?”
    The PA laughed. “Oh, he wasn’t shooting. He was just making an appearance. Anything for a little publicity and a few bucks, you know.”
    The knot in her gut tightened. “I see.”
    “Is there something you wanted to talk to him about?” the PA asked.
    An edge of panic cut through her. No one else could catch wind of her investigation or where it was pointing—especially not the mayor.
    “No, but thanks.”
    “Are you sure?” the PA pressed, her voice flecked with suspicion.
    “Yes. I’ll try and get in touch with him later. Our department was just wondering if he would be available later this month. We’re working on a public event,” she lied, trying to cover her tracks.
    “Oh, okay.” The warmth returned to the PA’s voice. “I’m sure he’d be interested.”
    “Great, just great,” Blake said, the panic returning to her voice. “Talk to you soon.” She hung up the phone.
    Blake’s feint had worked, but there would be no guarantees for how long. It had been a bad idea to call the PA. Now her name would be on the mayor’s radar. And if he was responsible in any way, he would be alerted to the possibility that he was under investigation. She let out a