CHAPTER NINE

 

 

July 14th, 2016

Oregon Coast

 

THEY HAD BOTH finished their huge slices of wonderful banana cream pie when Kelli finally surfaced from reading all the stuff Duster and Bonnie had sent her.

Jesse had so overstepped his bounds on this meeting, he was disgusted with himself. There were no laws governing client confidentiality with investigators, but he had his own rules. And even though Bonnie and Duster had introduced themselves, he was still angry for being put in this position.

And damn angry at whomever did that photo.

Duster had said he was done with this investigation. But it all still bothered him.

And it honestly worried him that he had made Kelli mad at him. He found her amazingly attractive and smart and more than likely funny, if the situation allowed. He hoped that they could patch this up enough to at least get to know each other a little better. Not the investigator know, but the personal knowing.

After staring off into space for a moment, she turned to him. “Your clients and their friends are some amazing people.”

He nodded. “That they are, and even more amazing in real life when you meet them.”

“You like them, huh?” she asked, staring into his eyes with those intense dark eyes of hers.

“More than I sometimes realize,” he said. “That’s why this photo stuff has me so damn bothered. It’s not at all like them.”

“So call them,” she said. “Let’s meet them in Portland and find out just what the hell this is all about.”

He nodded. “I was hoping you were going to say that.”

“Why?” she asked, “you get a bonus if I sign on or something?”

“I think I deserved that,” he said, shaking his head and working to get his laptop going to make a connection. “I have no idea what they are going to offer you. And I sure don’t need their money.”

“Sorry,” she said, looking worried.

“No reason to be sorry,” he said. “I’d be pissed off as well in this situation. I just wanted to not have to wait until Boise to figure out what the hell is going on.”

She laughed. “And I thought it was because you wanted to spend more time with my biting personality.”

“Well,” he said, smiling at her. “That too.”