I shake my head. “I doubt it.”
She tugs my arm. “Let’s just look around, okay? Maybe we can find something more about this Ned that connects him to your mom.”
I nod. I follow Jodie back downstairs. Again, we check every room, this time searching for some clue and not just a person. As Jodie looks around the kitchen, I glance out the window and catch a glimpse of a small old building across the garden.
A shed? My eyes grow wide. What if that’s where Ned’s been kept prisoner?
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Jodie, already heading out the door.
Outside, I walk briskly on the garden path, eyes on my destination. A shed would be an ideal place to hide a person. Or a body. Or keep evidence of a crime. Or…
“Freeze!” a woman shouts from behind me. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
I don’t recognize the voice, but I hear the seriousness in it. I stop in my tracks. The wheels in my head keep turning.
Who is this woman with a gun? A cop? It makes no sense for a cop to show up here all of a sudden, especially since there are no neighbors to call one. Maybe it’s someone who lives here, then. Someone who knew Ned and just happened to drop by to check if he had come back? If that’s the case, maybe she can tell me how Ned is connected to my mother’s death.
“Place your hands on the back of your head and turn around,” she orders me. “Slowly.”
I clasp the back of my head. “I don’t mean any trouble, miss. I’m just here to…”
I stop talking as soon as I turn and see the woman standing a few feet away from me. A brunette with blue eyes, just about five and a half feet tall.
I’ve seen her before. At my mother’s cafe.
“You?” Her eyebrows furrow as she recognizes me, too.
I put my arms down. “You just love pointing that thing at me, don’t you, Ms. Chandler?”
Her eyes grow wide.
Ah, yes. After that incident at the cafe, I pulled up the camera footage and had her identified. Allie Chandler. An FBI agent who specializes in bringing down crime bosses.
Was she investigating my father? Did she find out my mother was married to a crime boss? Is that why she’s dead? Did she try to get information from her while I wasn’t at home and when she wouldn’t give anything away, she killed her? Or maybe she tried to bring my mother in but my mother refused and was shot.
At any rate, I don’t trust her. She’s a meddler, someone who likes to play the hero, someone who doesn’t know her place. Well, I’ll gladly put her in it.
I start walking towards her.
“Stop right there,” she warns me.
I ignore her.
“I’ll shoot.”
“Wait!” Jodie comes out of the house.
I stop walking. Agent Chandler glances at her but keeps the gun pointed at me.
“Stop. Don’t come closer.”
“Are you a cop?” Jodie asks her. “Because if you are, I’d like to see your badge. Otherwise, I can sue you for pointing a gun at my client.”
If my temper wasn’t already simmering, I’d glance at Jodie myself and beam with pride. Instead, I keep my eyes on the FBI agent, intent on getting that gun from her so I can pin her down and question her.
“Are you with this man?” she asks Jodie. “Has he hurt you? Because…”
I run towards her. She shoots at my leg but misses. Before she can fire another shot, I grab her arm and twist it. She yelps as the gun falls from her hand. I pin her arm behind her and hold my arm around her neck. I’ve got her now.
Or so I think until the heel of her shoe comes crashing down on my foot. Her teeth dig into my arm next.
What the hell?
As soon as my grip on her loosens, she turns. Her elbow collides with my ribs. As I step back, her foot comes flying towards my face. I manage to step back in time.
Damn woman.
“Stop!” Jodie yells as she comes running.
Agent Chandler freezes. I take advantage of the distraction and pull my gun out of its holster. I point it at her chest.
“Don’t move.”
She looks at me with wide eyes. So does Jodie.
“Leo…”
“Or what? You’re going to shoot an FBI agent?” Agent Chandler dares me. “Surely you’re not that stupid, Leonardo Ursini.”
She knows my name? What the fuck?
She grins. “Yes, I know who you are.”
Which means I’m right. She’s been investigating my father. Maybe I should just shoot her.
I grip the gun in my hand tighter. “Really? You think you know me? I bet you think you’re one of the good guys just because you’ve got a badge.”
She sighs. “If this is about that punch I gave you – ”
“This is about my mother,” I cut her off. “You had something to do with her death, didn’t you?”