He didnt greet Jack. Chloe was glad.
Stuckey had the good sense to usher her into a booth, then follow her in to sit beside her, blocking any escape. Jack Smith sat down across from them.
Stuckey rubbed his hand over the crisp white hair on his head. All right, he began, then stopped. Jimmy Ray had sent his waitress, Katia, over to them, her order pad in hand. Coffee for me, he said. And ah, hell, Im here. A Mighty Meat pizza.
Chloe? Katia asked. She was a very pretty girl, an immigrant from Ukraine, and had only been there for five years. In that time, she had learned English with only the trace of an accent.
Chloe smiled at her. Iced tea, please.
She was disturbed when Katia turned to the newcomer and smiledfamiliarly. And what would you like, Luke?
Shed been right about one thing, Chloe thought with satisfaction. He wasnt Jack Smith.
Coffee, thanks, Katia, he said.
Katia went away, and Stuckey turned to Chloe. Seems as if we ought to start from the beginning. Chloe, this is Luke Cane. Luke, Chloe Marin.
Luke, she said sweetly, staring at him.
Miss Marin, he returned.
Chloe Marin, Stuckey said, frowning, as if he wondered if he had remembered to mention her first name. Chloe, Luke is investigating the disappearance of Colleen Rodriguez and looking into whats going on with Rene Gonzalez.
She stared across the table, frowning.
But nothings happened to Reneuntil he chased her away tonight, she said, staring accusingly at Luke.
Her parents have been worried, Stuckey explained. The last few times they called the mansion, Myra told them that Rene wasnt there, and she didnt know where she was or when shed be back. And after what happened to Colleen on an agency shoot
But she oh, Chloe said.
Oh what? Stuckey asked.
Chloe shook her head. I dont know the whole story. But I think shes kind of hiding from her father. Hes Cuban, very macho, very old school. He doesnt want her modeling. Its not what nice girls do, you know? But shes over twenty-one, and its what she wants to do.
Id still like to talk to her, Luke said.
Katia brought their drinks, then discreetly slipped away.
Why? Chloe demanded suspiciously.
Because of Colleen Rodriguez.
She stiffened. She had infiltrated the agency herself because of Colleen Rodriguez.
Why are you trying to talk to Rene specifically? she asked, pretending she didnt know.
They were best friends, Luke said.
Damn. He knew his stuff. She frowned.
So I gather you two know each other well, Luke said, looking from her to Stuckey as he changed the subject.
Stuckey sighed. Explaining their friendship was always difficult.
Luke sat back, one arm stretched along the seat. His eyes hadnt lost a shred of hard silver suspicion as he stared at her. Are you a licensed P.I.? he asked her.
She was irritated to feel her cheeks grow red. No. Are you?
He nodded.
Id like to see your license, she said, making no secret of her own suspicion.
He arched a brow and produced his wallet, opening it before handing it over. She stared at the insert, then glared back at him. Thats a fishing license.
He shrugged, not about to comply any further.
Hes the real deal, Stuckey said quietly, obviously getting irritated himself.
Well, you might have said something, she said, staring accusingly at Luke.
Just what do you do, Miss Marin? he asked. Since youre not a model.
She had never said she was, but even so, she resented his implication that she wasntsomethingenough to be a model.
Im a psychologist and an artist, she said.
Oh. I see. The words were politeand cutting.
A sketch artist, Stuckey put in for her. Chloe has been of tremendous help to the department as a sketch artist. And as a psychologist, shes helped lots of survivorsof crime, abuse, you name itlearn to cope again.
So you were there to sketch models? he asked. His tone made her teeth grate.
She decided to let Stuckey take that one.
Theres still a lot of concern regarding Colleen Rodriguezs disappearance. Victoria is with the Bryson Agency, and Chloe and Victoria are friends, so it was easy enough to arrange to plant Chloe there. Shes trying to see if she can discover anything in a casual way, working out of the mansion. And except for tonight, youre being carefulright? he said sternly, staring at her.
I see, Luke said, though his expression conveyed that he obviously didnt. Degrees in psychologyand art?make you qualified to investigate a womans disappearance and possible murder?
Tony told you, I know Victoria, so its easy for me to fit in. If anyone can learn anything about what goes on inside the agency, its me. She stopped speaking. She had met Colleen, casually, and had liked her very much. This was personal for her. And she was the best person for the job. She and Vickie had been best friends ever since the event that had shattered their lives, along with Brads and Jareds. Even the fact that they all traveled for both work and pleasure, and might not see each other for months at a time, didnt change anything. When they were home, they were thick as thieves.
She thought about telling Luke that her uncle had handled more criminal investigations than he would see in ten lifetimes, and that Uncle Leo valued her opinion and had actually asked her to keep an eye out and tell him anything she learned.
But she didnt have a chance to respond further before Stuckeys cell phone rang. He listened for a moment, grinned, then turned to Chloe. Yes, shes here. Ill tell her. He hung up and said, That was Victoria. When she couldnt get you and the guard said hed seen you heading for the beach, she figured I might have seen you.
Has she seen Rene? Luke asked.
She wont show up again tonight. Not after someone chased her, Chloe said, looking at him accusingly.
Where will she go? Luke asked her.
Even if I knew, I wouldnt be telling you, Chloe thought. She still didnt feel comfortable with his explanation, even if Stuckey had bought it.
Luke, maybe you want to explain why the Gonzalezes are so concerned about their daughter, Stuckey suggested.
Did he want to explain? she wondered. Certainly not to her. She could see that. But she could also see that he respected both Stuckeys position and Stuckey himself, and because of that he would fill her in.
Did you know that Colleen and Rene were longtime best friends? he asked. Since childhood. And their parents were friends, too.
Chloe was silent. She didnt think Victoria or any of the other models knew that. The girls had probably downplayed the strength of their friendship, afraid that it might hurt their individual chances of getting work if the powers that be thought they were unwilling to work separately or that jealousy would lead to trouble in the house.
Octavio Gonzalez, Renes father, came to me after they couldnt get hold of their daughter, Luke explained. She wouldnt even answer her cell. Theyre worried that whatever happened to Colleen Rodriguez was happening to her, toothat maybe someone was targeting her, forming a relationship with her so he could lure her away, presumably to kill her. The thing is, Colleen was over twenty-one, and her purse and passport were gone, which makes it look like she took off on her own. The authorities found nothing that suggested foul play. But Colleens parents are sure their daughter would never have just taken off without letting them know. So now Octavio is going crazy. The man is sure that something happened to Colleen, and hes afraid his daughter is about to meet the same fate. The agency is no helpbut then, they dont have to be. Rene is twenty-two. They dont have to force her to talk to her parents if she doesnt want to. Even so, Octavio is convinced that the agency is dirty.
I dont think so. I really dont, Chloe told him.
He leaned forward. Is that because youve been doing some work for them? Or because your friend Victoria is such a success there?
She would have stood up and gotten right in his faceif Stuckey hadnt been blocking her in. He had no right to accuse her that way.
She clamped down hard on her teeth, realizing that she was going on the defensive, when she herself had been there to spy on whatever was going on. Colleen had been like a beautiful puppy, full of life and energy and eager anticipation. She had loved Miami and loved her parents and friends. There had been no reason for her to just up and disappear. Chloe hadnt needed to hear that from Luke Cane, or whoever he really was.
Chloe lowered her eyes, dismayed with herself. His name was Luke CaneStuckey had told her so. He was a legitimate private investigatoreven if he had shown her a fishing license. They had definitely gotten off on the wrong foot, but it had been a long night, and she wasnt sure that she wanted it to go on any longer.
Ill do what I can to get Rene to speak with you, she said. Tony, if youll excuse me, I need to get back to the mansion. Vickie is probably ready to go home.
Luke reached across the table and touched her arm. She started, looking at his hand. It was large, with long fingersmaybe he should have been a guitarist or a pianist. His nails were clipped short, and they were clean. His palm felt callused; she imagined that when he wasnt investigating someone, he indulged in some kind of manual labor. Building things, maybe. They were very masculine hands. She gritted her teeth again, wondering why his touch could send rivulets of fire streaking through her when she was absolutely convinced that she didnt like the man.
She looked up and found him staring into her eyes. Victoria doesnt live at the mansion? he asked.
Chloe shook her head. She lives about a mile away from me. Were in the Grove. She stays at the mansion sometimes, especially if she has to get up early for a shoot. But she does more than model. She also substitute teaches at a magnet school for the performing arts, so she prefers living at home.
But she has a room at the mansion, right? he persisted.
Yes. Look, if your main interest is Rene, I can try to make her call her parents, but I cant guarantee Ill succeed. And youre not going to change her mind. She believes she can make it. Her father may love her, but hes smothered her, and shes over twenty-one and this is America. Its her decision to make.
He shook his head. Youre missing the point. Its likely that her best friend met a very bad end, and the same thing could happen to her.
I havent missed your point. But there was no indication of foul play, Chloe said, even though she didnt believe Colleen had run off, not for a second. She had heard all the arguments a million times, and she was certain that something had happened, which was why she had been at the mansion tonight herself. So why was she arguing with him?
Because I dont like him, and I dont trust him,she reminded herself.
Face it, Luke said bluntly. Colleen Rodriguez was murdered. Quite possibly by someone involved with the Bryson Agency.
THREE
The Stirling was one of five boats berthed at the rickety docks off the Florida Bay side of Key Biscayne.
They would be tearing down the docks soon, along with the old bait-and-beer shop that had been there since the 1920s. Miami had officially been a city then, incorporated in 1896, but to many it had still been nothing but a mosquito-infested swamp, stuck between the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. Technically, the Everglades wasnt a swampit was a literal river of grass, and a slow-moving river at that. It wasnt that the city had been kept secret from the worldFort Dallas had been erected on the Miami River in the early 1800s as an outpost in the Seminole Wars. After that, the city, and all the smaller municipalities that made up Greater Miami, had grown slowly. Hurricanes, heat, humidity, snakes, gators and other pests had combined to limit its expansion. There had been boom in the 1920s, but the hurricane of 1926 had stopped development in its tracks for a while. The thirties hadnt done much for the area, either, but since the 1940s and the advent of army bases and the industry of war, the city had continually grown. Castros rise to power had brought a massive Cuban influx, and soon after, Miami had become the haven of choice for people from every country in the Caribbean, and South and Central America.
A lot of what had first brought Luke Cane to the area was part of a dying past. Didnt matter. He liked the diversity of what was going on. He regularly heard Spanish, German, Russian and British accents, all in a normal day, just going out for coffee, stopping for a beer.
He would miss it, though, when the old shops and docks finally went down under the wave of the future.
The old way in the Florida Keysespecially the middle Keyswould perish more slowly. He could always move the Stirling farther south.
The causeway led to the luxury residences on Key Biscayne, to the aquarium, the beaches and one of the citys finest magnet schools. There were research laboratories, boat rentals, picnic areas. His own little patch of heaven was behind a forested road that only the natives tended to travel. Boaters knew the bait shop, where you could also buy beer and exactly two menu items: boiled shrimp and burgers.
When he drove back home that night, he immediately recognized the visitor sitting at the end of the dock as Octavio Gonzalez.
He parked his Subaru on the sand spit that was assigned to his slip and got out. Octavio stood right away and approached him. It was almost 3:00 a.m.
He wondered how long the other man had been sitting there. Probably most of the night.
Did you see her? Did you? Octavio asked anxiously. Is she all right?
I didnt actually speak with her, but she was there, and I know shes all right, Luke assured him.
Relief flooded Octavios face, but then he turned anxious once again. But you went as someone else. Why wouldnt she see you? They have her imprisoned, dont they? He was about five-ten, stocky, bald on top, mustached. In his youth he had probably displayed the machismo that went with his heritage, but now he only looked broken and desperate. He set his hands on Lukes chest, as if he could force him to make everything all right. That womanthat Myra woman! he continued. She wont let me speak with my daughter. She wont let me on the property. She called the police when I insisted on speaking with my daughter. She even told them that she didnt know where Rene was!
She told the police she didnt know where Rene was when they went to see her. If Rene wasnt there when the police arrived, then she wasnt lying. She did tell the police that Rene was all right, and theyll go back to see her again.
They should camp outside her door! Octavio said furiously.
Octavio, I know how you feel, Luke said patiently, gently grasping the mans hands and forcing them down. Come aboard, sit, and Ill tell you what I know.
The aft deck led straight into the central cabin. For many years now, the boat had been both his home and his occupational therapy. Hed spent hours on the woodwork and the old chrome. The galley was up-to-date and fully functional; the main cabin offered an elegant teak dining table with a horseshoe-shaped bench that accommodated at least ten. Across from the table, a long, comfortably upholstered sofa invited more guests, and there were two stationary easy chairs, as well. A set of six steps led to the bridge above, while a hallway led to the master cabin at the stern, passing two additional sleeping cabins on the way, one to port and one to starboard. She was a labor of love and the perfect home, at least for the time being. The water here in a canal off the Intracoastal wasnt the clearest hed ever seen, and there was the noise of small boats of all kinds coming through. Still, the constant movement of the water kept it clean enough, and he liked being able to jump in for a swim whenever the hell he felt like it. People relaxed in tubes and floating chairs outside the neighboring bait-and-beer shop, and on a warm summers day, there was nothing like the pleasure of being right on the water.