Page 51 of Defender
Michael continued through the intersection and used voice commands to call Finn.
“Miss me already?” Finn chuckled.
“I think I found another connection with our cases.”
“What’s that?”
“The bank statements at the convenience store were from Eagle Rock Credit Union.”
“Yeah, they have multiple branches all over Renegade. So nothing unusual there.”
“But the ATM in the entry of the boutique was also from Eagle Rock, and I’m pretty sure I saw the credit union logo on the cash register at the dry cleaner.”
“I see where you’re going with this…but it’s pretty thin.”
“Still worth looking into though.”
“I agree, but it will have to wait for tomorrow. I know it’s your night for dinner, and I have a date.”
“A date? With who?”
“Bye, lad.” Finn cut off the call.
That was weird. Usually Finn would be crowing all day about a date, but he hadn’t said a word about it until now.
Not that Michael had any time to contemplate. Finn was right. It was his night for dinner at the Martinelli home, so he’d better get to it, and then after dinner, he could get back to his case.
He finally had a lead.
Dani made it through the day at SL Trucking and escaped immediately to her best friend’s house so she wouldn’t be tempted to do anything more than the office work assigned to her.
And she wouldn’t mind a chance to see Michael again, if he so happened to be here. Maybe they could discuss his cases, and she could live vicariously.
Maria stood in front of the walk-in closet, light from the en suite bathroom spilling over the satin blouse and pencil skirt she held up for Dani’s inspection.
“Do you like this one?”
Dani looked up from the fashion magazine at Maria’s question. Some might wonder why her friend, at age twenty-five, still lived in her childhood home and still shared a room with her sister Frankie. But it made perfect sense to Dani to stay where all the action was. The Martinelli home couldn’t have been more different from the Kim house growing up. Games of all sorts being played, laughter, teasing, delicious food. At one point, all four girls had shared this room, the primary bedroom of the house, with two sets of bunk beds. Sure, there had been squabbles, but there had also been late-night chats, clothes sharing, lots of sleepover giggles. What more could a girl want?
And once Martina had died, Michael moved back, and they’d all come together to take care of each other.
Dani studied the outfit Maria held up. “That rusty orange-brown looks amazing on you.”
Maria laid out the clothes in her garment bag, draped on the queen bed now in her corner of the room. “I’m not really looking forward to this overnight convention.”
“It won’t be too bad. Denver’s only a few hours away. You should totally try out this new restaurant I heard about. I’ll find it and send you the link. But first, what else do you need to pack?”
Like the longtime friends they were, they lost track of time until Gabe yelled from the hallway that dinner was ready.
“You’re staying, right?” Maria asked her.
“Duh! I never miss a chance to eat here. Whose night is it?”
“Michael’s. So you know it will be good. And smells like he grilled.”
A sudden shyness stole over Dani. “Are you sure there will be enough? I don’t want to intrude.”
Maria balked. “You know there’s always enough food around a Martinelli table. Especially with Liza out on a date. So get over yourself and let’s eat.” She led the way down the stairs into the open-concept living and dining room.
