9

Something or someone was stopping Paul from contacting them.

Maven stared at Eric Donelly, barely able to find her next breath. “That’s sort of what I was thinking, but I was hoping you’d talk me out of my paranoid thoughts. Not agree with them.”

Eric’s fingers drummed on his desk with an anxious tattoo. “Sorry to disappoint. Now you’ve got me curious. Actually, a lot more than curious. I’m worried.” He stood up and paced the length of his office.

“So what should we do next?”

“I’ll file a missing person’s report and put a BOLO out for his car. His car is gone, right?”

“Uhh…as stupid as it sounds, I’m not sure. It never occurred to me to look on his side of the garage.” Maven rolled her eyes. “In my defense—”

“No need to explain.” He held up a hand. “Well, you can call me when you get back to the house and find out.”

“But what else should I be doing?”

Eric gave her a look. The same look she’d given him a few minutes earlier. “Nothing, Maven. I know you fancy yourself an amateur sleuth, but leave it to the professionals. Whatever’s going on, it could be dangerous. Paul’s worked all sorts of cases in his career. This could be about one of them.”

Paul in danger? She berated herself for being more concerned with her hurt feelings than his safety. “I don’t fancy myself anything, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the fact that Paul is missing.”

The two of them stared at each other.

“Maven, Paul would not want you to put yourself in danger. Not even for him. Promise me that you’ll let me take care of it. We’re the professionals.”

He was right, but there was no way she would make any such promise. “Let’s just focus on finding him.”

He pointed a finger at her. “Still, I know you well enough to know—”

“I think Paul’s the one we need to be worrying about.”