“We’re thinking another month.”

“If you aren’t ready for this to be official, what can I do for you?”

“I don’t know. Suggestions, maybe . . . Advice.” Lisa stumbled. She should have been prepared for that question.

“I’d like to share this with David. Is that all right?”

“Sure, if he can also be an off-the-record consultant.”

Maggie grinned. “It’s what he does best. He’s not a by-the-book kind of cop, which is why we get along so well—and not so well at times. I’ll talk to him and get back to you. Are you going to be around tonight?”

“Yes. Let me give you my home phone number.” She wrote it on the back of one of her business cards and handed it to Maggie.

Maggie walked out, her long braid trailing down her back. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. She refreshed her coffee, wishing she’d made a bakery trip on her way to work. Food was so damn comforting.

A Sunday brunch with Danielle turned into an overnight at the Radisson, and Eric didn’t arrive at his dealership until eleven Monday morning.

At eight that night he was still at his desk, updating the website when she called and invited him to dinner. The invitation seemed like too much too soon. But he’d enjoyed the night with her, and he had to eat, didn’t he?

The food at Merino’s was delicious and Danielle was lovely, but he declined her offer to spend the night at her place. She’d looked disappointed when he told her he was going to be busy getting ready to take some cars to an auction in Texas the following weekend. He explained all the planning that went into getting ready for an auction before realizing she was waiting for him to invite her along. Uneasy, he ended the evening as gracefully as possible and walked her to her car, promising to call her before he left on Friday morning.

30             

Lisa made great progress on her calls Monday evening. By eight o’clock, she had more than six interviews set up for Saturday and one for Friday evening. The sister of one of the missing women told Lisa her sister was alive and well and living in Montana. Another one eliminated from the list.

Lisa got up from her desk and saw Phanny looking at her with hope all over her face that there may be a walk in her near future. Lisa felt bad for the dog because lately she’d been nervous about after-dark outings and had just been letting Phanny out for a few minutes before she went to bed.

Maggie called to give her the good news—Steven Fischer was in jail. The bad news was he wasn’t talking and had an excellent criminal attorney representing him. Lisa didn’t really care. Although she hoped to see him pay for what he’d done, their main goal had been keeping Helen safe.

Lisa’s doorbell rang at five after eight, and she opened the door to Maggie and her partner. She brought them into the kitchen where she had hot cocoa waiting.

David Lassiter looked about ten years older than Maggie, making him near forty. Lisa didn’t think she’d ever seen him before, and she knew most of the Oconomowoc police by sight. Maggie introduced them, and they sat down at the table as Lisa poured steaming mugs of cocoa.

Maggie stirred marshmallows into her mug. “I told David about your group and what’s been happening since you started the interviews. I’ll let him give you his impressions.”

David stared raptly into the cup he held in front of him. “I don’t think anyone’s made me cocoa since I was five.’

Maggie laughed. “I guess that’s one impression.”

Lisa crossed her legs under the table. David’s sensual looks made her uneasy. He smiled at her, and ridiculously, she felt her face heat up. She didn’t doubt he knew the effect he had on women.

“I’m sympathetic to your mission,” he began, looking directly into her eyes. “But I’m not comfortable with civilians playing detective games. That said, like many other people, domestic abuse played a large part in my life growing up. My father’s favorite pastime was hitting my mother. She died of cancer at forty-two. I’ve always believed it was because he took away her spirit to live. So, when Maggie told me your story, I had mixed feelings about it.” He paused, adding a few more marshmallows to his cocoa.

Maggie flashed him an impatient look. “David and I have decided to do whatever we can to help you. Let us know what you need, and if it’s something we are able to help you with, we will. But there will be a couple conditions.”

“I expected there would be,” Lisa said, “and I think I can speak for everyone and say, given what happened to TJ, we won’t be objecting to whatever conditions you feel are necessary.”

David said, “Good, because they’re non-negotiable. The first is that all of you remain safe. You’ve started by pairing up, but it’s not enough. You must never leave the other alone—not even for a minute. Your friend TJ’s untimely trip to the ladies room? I don’t think we need to tell you nothing like that can happen again. You’ll all have to be extremely vigilant in protecting each other.”

Lisa hadn’t felt completely safe since the incident. “You won’t get any argument on that, Detective.”

“The other condition may sound extreme, but Maggie and I are in agreement on it. Since all of you live alone—we want you to pair up together until you reach the point of handing this over to the police.”

Lisa felt her face burning again. “You’re not serious!”

Maggie explained, “Lisa, TJ’s been attacked and you’ve unearthed a murderer. It’s likely TJ’s attack had something to do with your interviews. If nothing else, it was an attempt to get you to back off. It could be one man you’ve interviewed or someone else who’s involved in these disappearances. It doesn’t matter which it is; you all live alone—you’re sitting ducks.”

“I’ll have to talk to the others about it.”

“Lisa, you can’t do this fast enough as far as we’re concerned,” Maggie said. “We don’t recommend you stay with friends or relatives for the obvious reason none of you would want anyone else jeopardized.”

Lisa busied herself by bringing out a plate of cookies.

David grabbed one. “I don’t want any of you alone during the night, and no one goes out at night alone. For any reason. I know this will be a big sacrifice, but with Maggie and myself on board, you should get this done faster than you’d planned.”

“What about your concern that we’re working with two men who might possibly be murderers? This would force us to live with them.”

Maggie frowned. “You’ve already told us you trust these men—you can’t argue it both ways, Lisa.”

Weeks of forced togetherness. Lisa got up from the table muttering, “Living with TJ will be interesting as hell.” She turned to the stovetop to refill their mugs.

David expressed a sly smile. “Why stay with TJ? You could do the boy-girl thing again; you’re all adults.”

She bit back a sharp retort. “I’ll talk to them tonight. Anything else?”

His gaze met hers. “Our involvement is officially not happening. If anything goes wrong, we know nothing. Nothing we do for you will be traced back to us. I’m sure you understand; our jobs could be on the line.”

Phanny had been sitting with her head on Maggie’s knee. Maggie, enjoying the doggie affection, had been stroking her head. “Lisa, I wouldn’t leave your dog alone—just a precaution.”

“Right. I’d been thinking that, too.”

Lisa walked the detectives to the door, her head whirling at the implications of this new wrinkle. She wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to the others.

At nearly eleven, Lisa’s phone rang. It had to be Eric; she’d already talked to the others.

“I got your message, Lisa. Is it about Maggie? Did you talk with her?”

“I arranged with Jeff and TJ that the four of us meet tomorrow to discuss it.”