“Why?” asked Decker.
“It’s important.”
“I’m not driving to Miami tonight.”
“You don’t have to. I’m in your hotel lobby.”
Decker rose, dressed, and was downstairs in the span of a few minutes.
Roe was nervously pacing by the receptionist’s desk. She wore jeans, low-heeled boots, and a white blouse. Her long dark hair was pinned up into a bun.
“What’s so important? And how did you know where I was staying?”
“I run an investigation firm. Can we sit in my car?”
She led him outside and over to a black Porsche SUV. She climbed in and Decker wedged himself into the passenger seat.
He looked over at her. “Okay? What’s up?”
“I heard what happened to Doug Andrews.”
“He’ll be okay. So you also heard what happened to Patty Kelly, the judge’s secretary?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t tell her that Kelly was Lancer’s biological mother. He suspected she might already know.
“Look, I haven’t been entirely forthcoming with you,” she conceded.
“Hell, don’t tell me that. I might have a heart attack from the shock.”
“I guess I deserved that.”
“Yes, you did.”
She glanced apprehensively at him. “Despite the positive things I said about Alice Lancer, I had somemisgivingsabout her.”
“Such as?”
“Her honesty, for one.”
“Well, that’s a big one. Talk to me about your misgivings.”
“We had a client who complained. This was a few months ago.”
“And the nature of the complaint?”
“That an item had gone missing during the course of Gamma protecting her.”
“Lancer doesn’t work in the field.”
“It wasn’t Alice. It was Draymont, but with Alice directly supervising.”
“What item?”
“A necklace. A valuable one.”
“Why did the client suspect Draymont?”