Holiday Homecoming Secrets

“Well, it’s not like I have to worry about it anytime soon, but what if you’re wrong? What if there’s something lacking in me?”

She sighed and walked over to press a kiss to his head—much like a mother would. “I’m not wrong, but I guess that’s something only you can figure out.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

Kristy smiled. Then frowned. “I hope something turns up today on Frank. I’m worried about him.”

“Same here.”

“Tell Jade I said hi.”

“I will.”

Bryce tapped his thigh and Sasha rose to her feet. She followed him to his SUV, and he let her into the back seat. “Say your prayers, girl. We’ve got a friend to find.”

When Jade pulled into the parking lot of the shooting range, she was glad to see the Open sign flashing bright red. At the station, she’d written several reports and done some research on Tony Swift, giving him time to open the range before she swooped in to question him.

An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he’d opened the range a little over five years ago. He had no record and appeared to be an upstanding citizen. So why had he run last night?

Jade parked and climbed out of the cruiser, her gaze scanning the area.

The light gray pickup truck sitting in the spot near the door encouraged her to think that Tony was inside. She pushed through the barred glass door and let it shut behind her. Tony looked up from his spot behind the counter and for a moment, she wondered if he was going to take off running. Then he sighed. “What do you need Jade?”

“You hung up on me last night.”

“You called me at three o’clock in the morning!”

“And you left the house shortly thereafter.” Her unruffled responses seemed to worry him. “Wanna tell me why?”

“Not particularly.”

“Come on, Tony. Did you really think that I wouldn’t show up this morning?”

With another dramatic sigh, he grabbed a rag and swiped the immaculately clean glass counter. “I knew you’d show up.”

“So...what? You were just buying time to figure out what story you were going to tell?”

His cheeks flushed a bright red, and his startled glance confirmed her suspicions. “You’re not a liar, Tony.” Not a good one, anyway. “What do you know about Frank?”

He shot a nervous glance at the door. “Not a lot. You said you were looking for him. I don’t know where he is, but if he’s missing, then I guess that means he made the wrong people mad—and I don’t have any desire to do the same.”

“And who are the wrong people?”

“Whoever he was investigating.”

The door chimed. Tony flinched, and Jade spun to see Bryce step inside. He shot her a deep frown. “I thought you were going to wait on me to do this.”

She blinked at him. “Why would you think that? You’re not a cop.”

“I’m Frank’s friend and I’ve had training in investigations, remember? I want to help.”

“We’ll discuss that later.” She glanced at Tony. “What can you tell us about the people Frank was investigating?”

“Nothing.”

Right. “Well, why did he have your name on a piece of paper in his desk drawer?”

“I guess he was going to come shooting sometime. How do I know?”

She paused, trying to find a way through to him. “What was Frank to you? Did he come shooting here a lot?”

The man blinked. “Yeah. I mean, sometimes. Not like on a regular basis, but every so often when he had something on his mind.” He paused. “Come to think of it, he was in here quite a bit in the last few weeks.”

“So, he had something on his mind?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Like what?”

“Don’t know.”

More like he wasn’t saying. “Look, Tony, Frank’s a good friend and we really need your help to find him.” Jade held on to her frustration with effort.

A flash of frustration darkened his eyes—along with a hint of fear. Then he sighed. “I don’t know a whole lot, just that he was looking into people who didn’t want to be looked into, you know what I mean? He—”

The door chimed, and two young ladies in their midtwenties walked in, each carrying a case that held their weapons. “Hey, Tony,” the taller one said. “We’re here to practice.”

“Excuse me.” He went to help the women, and Jade spun to confront Bryce.

“You could make this a lot easier if you would just tell me what Frank was having you help him with.”

Bryce hesitated, obviously agonizing over the decision, then seemed to make up his mind. He motioned her to the corner of the store farthest away from Tony and his customers. “He thought there were dirty cops in the department.”

Jade gaped. “He what?”

“Shh!”

“What made him think that?” she whispered.

“He didn’t go into a lot of details, just that he thought there were some cops on the force who didn’t need to be there and wanted to find out who.”

“But what tipped him off to that? What did he see or hear to make him suspect that?”

Bryce gave a low groan. “He thought there might be some cops—or at least one—on a drug ring’s payroll, but he didn’t know who. He just had his suspicions and told me who he wanted me to ride with. He wanted to know if any of them made unauthorized stops or met with anyone suspicious. Honestly, I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, but Frank seemed to think I’d recognize it when I saw it—probably a phone call or a meeting that didn’t look on the up and up. I don’t know.”

Tony caught her attention and motioned for her to follow him to the back. Bryce stayed on her heels and she let him. Once in his office, Tony jabbed a finger at her. “You’ve got to leave. You’re going to get me killed.”

Jade blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Frank was making enemies left and right. And now you tell me he’s disappeared. You two need to be smart and learn from that. Get out and don’t come back here unless it’s to shoot.”

“Tony, if you’re worried about—”

A shot rang out, and Jade and Bryce ducked as one. Glass from the shattered window hit the floor the same time as Tony, the blood stain on his chest growing bigger by the second. The second bullet whizzed past Jade’s left ear, and she grabbed Bryce’s arm as she threw herself behind the desk.

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