Imminent Affair

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That was a loaded question. His mind was crowded and confused, his thoughts clinging like cobwebs. “About Glynis? About Margaret’s calligraphy? About whether or not we should go to the party?”

“All of it. But start with Glynis.”

He pulled away from the curb. “I honestly don’t remember her. Nor does she seem like my type.” Which made his confusion that much greater.

“You don’t think she’s attractive?”

“It isn’t that.” Glynis Mitchell had a great body and fascinating sense of style, but she seemed cold and calculating. Not like Allie. He turned away from the windshield to glance at her. “I prefer softer women.”

“Maybe you used to like tough girls. I can be tough sometimes, and you used to like me.”

Daniel tried not to smile, to make light of her admission. She seemed to believe that her supposed toughness had drawn him to her. But he doubted that was the case.

She fumbled to explain. “Even Glynis commented on your attraction to me.”

He decided not to expound on that attraction, to discuss it beyond a few sentences. “I don’t trust Glynis. It was rude the way she flirted with me in front of you. Those poison remarks were deliberately bitchy, too.”

“Yes, but they seemed more humorous than threatening. Of course, who knows? I never could figure her out.”

“And now we’ve got Margaret thrown into the mix.”

“Yes, ugly old Margaret and her pretty calligraphy. Somehow I can’t see her being the vandal, not unless she did it for Glynis.”

He stopped at a red light. By now, they were in the middle of some fairly heavy traffic. “I’ll have Rex run a background check on Margaret, and I’ll give Detective Bell the party invitation, so the police can compare her handwriting to the calligraphy on your wall.”

“Good idea. We’ll wait to see what they say before we decide if we should attend the party.”

“I hope we don’t have to even consider it. I hope this case is solved before then.”

“Me, too.”

But how likely was that? Nothing was ever that easy, at least not for Daniel. Having amnesia was making his life seem like a crap shoot.

His cell phone rang and he answered it, using the hands-free device he kept in his car. “Hello?”

“It’s Rex.”

Before the other man could proceed, Daniel said, “You’ve got great timing. We just left Glynis’s. It’s possible that she’s the vandal. Her or her housekeeper.”

After they discussed what had happened at Glynis’s and Rex agreed that a background on Margaret seemed essential, the P.I. stated his business, the reason he’d called.

“I’d like you to meet me at your dad’s house tonight. I already spoke to him, and he revealed something about your past that could be pertinent.”

“Why can’t you tell me now?”

“I think it’s something all of us should discuss together.”

“All of us?” Daniel assumed that meant Allie, too. Rex wasn’t on speaker, so she couldn’t hear everything that was being said, but it was enough to make her curious. He could sense her looking at him.

“Is that okay?” Rex asked.

“It’s fine.” His stomach went tight. “Will this discussion involve a girl from my past?”

“Yes, it will.”

He focused on the road, the tightness getting tighter. He didn’t dare glance at Allie. “A dead girl?”

Rex’s voice jumped. “How did you know that?”

“I just did.” Daniel wasn’t clairvoyant, but apparently his instincts were strong. “I was having sad feelings about her earlier.”

“Do you remember her?”

“No. Just the sadness. Is there a connection between her and the vandal?”

“I can’t say for sure, but there could be.”

It must be complicated, Daniel thought. If it wasn’t, Rex wouldn’t have requested a face-to-face meeting. “What time do you want us to meet you?”

“Around seven. Your dad offered to feed us.”

Daniel frowned. His old man would probably put on a pot of spaghetti and make a batch of cheese-loaded garlic bread. He would probably try to keep things homey. But maybe that would be less stressful for Allie. She liked gathering around a table. She liked the domestic stuff.

Daniel ended the call, and as soon as he hung up, he waited for her to comment on what she’d heard. She did, after about two beats of heart-thumping silence.

“Rex wants to talk to us about the dead girl,” she said.

He nodded. “Strange, isn’t it?” Daniel couldn’t decide if Rex’s timing was coincidence or fate.

“I hope this isn’t going to get creepy.”

“Me, too,” he responded, even though they both knew it was too late for that. It had proved creepy from the start, and it seemed to be getting worse.

Chapter 4

At precisely 7:00 p.m., Daniel escorted Allie into his dad’s house. She’d been here a few times before, and she always felt welcome.

Ernie Deer Runner came forward to greet her. Daniel’s dad was a tall, slightly paunchy man with a kind and gentle nature.

“How’s my girl?” he asked Allie, a smile broadening his face.

“I’m fine.”

She leaned in for a hug. She’d first met Ernie when Daniel had been in the coma. He’d asked the ICU staff to allow her to visit his son, even though ICU visitation was normally restricted to immediate family. He’d believed that Daniel would “sense” that Allie was there, and her presence would aid in his recovery.

Allie had believed that, too, especially when Daniel had finally opened his eyes.

But then he’d looked at her with a confused expression, and she’d known instantly that Daniel hadn’t recovered, at least not in a way that made it easy for them to resume their lives, to pick up where they’d left off.

Daniel sniffed the tomato and basil in the air and said to his dad, “I knew you’d make a pot of spaghetti.”

“It’s lasagna, son. I’ve got a big pan of it in the oven.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll bet it’s going to be good.”

“Always.” Ernie grinned. “You used to be pretty handy in the kitchen, too. The Deer Runner men have always been the chefs in the family.”

“I cooked?”

“I taught you everything I knew.”

Daniel glanced at Allie, and they exchanged an amused look. He could barely boil an egg now. But the humor in his eyes died quickly, and Allie suspected that hearing about his old self made him feel like a stranger in his own skin.

“I didn’t know you used to cook, either,” she said, offering what she hoped was comfort. “You never fixed anything for me. Of course we were too busy fighting witchcraft crimes to do much of anything else.” A strange time for all of them, she thought. She’d been cohabitating with Raven and hadn’t realized that she loved Daniel until he’d been shot, and the possibility of losing him became a reality.

“And now you have a new crime to fight,” Ernie put in.

“So it seems,” Allie responded. Daniel was still being quiet.

Was he wondering about his past relationship with her? The things they’d never done? Never shared? Or was he thinking about the purpose of this meeting? The dead girl from his past?

Daniel glanced at his watch. “Rex is late.”

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Ernie gestured to the kitchen, where a Formica table with chrome detail and red vinyl chairs made a vintage statement. “Have a seat, and I’ll pour some wine.”

“I don’t want a drink, Dad.”

“I do,” Allie piped up. Anything to take the edge off. She made a beeline for the fifties-style kitchen and a sullen Daniel followed.

Ernie seemed happy to play the host. But Allie knew that he liked to keep busy. He also liked to keep things simple and having an amnesiac son appeared to be taking its toll on him.

The older Deer Runner poured two glasses of Chianti, one for Allie and another for himself. He clanked her glass and flashed a troubled smile. “Here’s to catching bad guys. Or girls or whichever.”

“That works for me.” She took a sip.

Daniel kept glancing at his watch, obviously annoyed that Rex still hadn’t arrived.

Ernie set a plate of biscotti on the table, offering Allie a nutty-flavored treat before the meal. She went ahead and indulged.

“Dip the cookie in the wine,” Ernie coaxed. “I heard that’s what they do in Italy.”

She tried it. “It’s good.”

Daniel shook his head. “What are you trying to do, Dad, turn an Indian girl into an Italian? Look at her with all of that blue bling.”

“Cut it out.” Allie swatted his shoulder. Blue bling was slang for turquoise jewelry. “Stop talking like a rez boy.”

He shrugged, and they exchanged conspiratorial smiles. They’d both been born and raised in Los Angeles. She was a city-slick Native, and so was Daniel—even if he barely remembered his upbringing.

Ernie relaxed, too, grateful, it seemed, that his son’s mood had improved.

Then the doorbell rang, and everyone tensed all over again.

Daniel stood up. “I’ll get it.”

He probably wanted to ream Rex for being late, Allie thought. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand to sit there and wait for the P.I. to glide onto the scene whenever he so pleased. Rex possessed a nonchalant air. Allie assumed it was the playboy side of him. He was quite obviously a ladies man, a guy who took his God-given charm in stride.

While Daniel went to the door, Ernie checked on the meal. As he prepared a pan of garlic bread to go with the main entree, Allie popped up to help. She couldn’t seem to sit still, either.

Soon Daniel returned with Rex. The handsome Sixkiller shook Ernie’s hand and gave Allie a quick kiss on the cheek, drawing a scowl from Daniel.

By the time they sat down to eat and discuss the business of the dead girl, Allie’s pulse ricocheted. Now she was nervous about Daniel’s past, too.

To keep calm, she sipped a second glass of Chianti and complimented Ernie on the food. He’d made marinara sauce for the lasagna, creating a vegetarian dish for her, but he’d also cooked fennel-seasoned sausage for the meat eaters.

Rex started the conversation, speaking directly to Daniel. “The girl was someone you were affiliated with during your senior year of high school. Her name was Susan Delgado. You were with her when she died, along with a group of other kids. You were all swimming in the L.A. River and the current pulled her under. Several of you tried to save her, but…”