All the Little Raindrops(85)

She unzipped the bag, pulling back slightly in anticipation of a musty smell and then letting out a small gasp when she saw what was inside.

Cash.

She pulled it out, meeting Evan’s eyes. “How much?” he asked.

She dropped it on the table, spreading it out and then estimating. “About ten grand.”

“The money your dad got for the sale of your mom’s wedding ring.”

He’d given it to Dow. But why? For what? Dow had stuffed it in a bag and stowed it at a friend’s house. And then he’d been killed before he was able to do anything with it.





CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE


The knock at her hotel-room door the next morning startled her slightly just as she was finishing securing the rubber band in her hair. She knew it was Evan, though, and so she walked to the door and pulled it open. “Morning,” he greeted, pushing off the doorframe where he’d been leaning.

“Good morning to you. Sleep well?”

“Like a baby.”

She almost rolled her eyes but resisted. She was annoyed, though, mostly because she’d slept like crap. Tossing and turning, her mind veering from questions about her father, her mother’s ring, the money they’d found in Dow’s old possessions to Evan and the argument they’d had. She’d also done her fair share of picturing the pretty woman named Aria wrapped around Evan like a pretzel. She rubbed her forehead. What was actually wrong with her?

“Just kidding,” he said as she shut the door and turned. “I slept like crap.”

She let out a laugh, shaking her head. “Good. So did I.”

He had a file held under his arm, and he tossed it on the desk before taking the few steps to the bed and sitting on the edge. She’d pulled the sheets up, but it was still mussed and freshly slept in, and dammit, they’d agreed to set all talk of them aside. She’d vowed to set all thoughts of them aside as well. So why, ever since they’d had a fight about it, did the tension seem to vibrate even higher? Why did the sight of him sitting on a bed make her feel flushed and dizzy?

“What’s that?” she asked, her arm flying jerkily toward the desk where he’d put the folder.

“It’s the file Aria brought over last night.”

“Oh.” God, she’d forgotten to even ask about that, and he hadn’t looked inside it after they’d discovered the cash in Dow’s things. They’d spent time talking through why he might have had it, not coming to any conclusions that made a whole lot of sense. She’d been exhausted, though, and so they’d agreed to pick things up in the morning after a full night’s rest, crappy though it turned out to be.

“Remember the man named Lars Knauer I told you about? The case that started my digging?”

“Yeah. Aria found that one, right?”

“She did. And now she found another one.”

“Jeez, she’s the MVP of this case. Did you call and thank her?” she asked as she picked the file up. She almost cringed. She wanted to kick herself. Why had she said that? And it’d sounded snotty too.

When he didn’t answer, Noelle glanced up to see him looking at her, his lips tipped very slightly. “I doubt she wants to hear from me just now. But I will.” He stood from the bed, walking toward her. “Listen, I know you didn’t ask, but I’m not involved with her. I was, a year ago. For a very short time. I decided it was a bad idea and ended it, okay? She obviously had hoped to take up where we’d left off, and she felt slighted and used by your presence in my house.”

“She shouldn’t have.”

“You made that clear.”

His tone conveyed his irritation, and she looked down, opening the file in her hands, avoiding the conversation altogether. “So this case . . .” Her gaze ran over the particulars.

Evan reached forward and closed the folder. “Hey,” she protested.

“Her name is Tallulah Marsh. She’s a prostitute. Are you up for an overnight trip?”

Her mouth opened and then shut. Overnight trip?

He reached in his back pocket and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. She took them, unfolding the top one and reading. “It’s a boarding pass to Las Vegas in my name.”

“It takes less than an hour to get there. I took a chance that you’d be up for it.”

“I mean . . . sure. If you think it’ll be worthwhile.”

“I have no idea, but I thought it was worth the ninety-nine-dollar airfare and thirty-nine-dollar rooms. Who knows, we might even win big on one of the slots.” He grinned, and she couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up.

“Okay, well, big spender, it sounds like an adventure at least.” She handed the papers back to him, and he stuck them in his pocket. “Let me pack an overnight bag while you go down to the restaurant in the lobby and get me a coffee.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She grinned as she shut the door behind him, wondering what had happened to the cautious, well-planned single mother that she normally was. And why it was so easy to get swept up in Evan Sinclair’s vortex.



The bar smelled like musty carpet, sour beer, and old cigarette smoke. Evan drew back slightly as the door swung shut behind them, obviously enjoying the stench about as much as she did. She would have laughed, but that might have meant she’d inhale more air than she had to, so she held that back.