LITMIR.BIZ

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writing this off. For not giving me that look the cops did, the minute I told them about the note.”

      Although she looked pleased, she waved his thanks off with a gesture and refused to bash the police. “They have different priorities, and too darn many rules. We don’t. And we have access to Redstone’s resources. That’s why we’re so successful. So what did the note say?”

      “Just that she had to go somewhere, not to worry, and she’d call when she could. But she’s supposed to start college in the fall, at U.C. Davis. She wants to be a vet.”

      “And did she? Call, I mean?”

      “No. And she’s not answering her cell.”

      “Didn’t even call friends?”

      “Her best friend is spending the summer in Australia. Graduation present. She said she didn’t know anything, even laughed at the idea of Trish taking off on her own.”

      Sasha nodded thoughtfully.

      “Boyfriend?”

      “No. She never dated much. She was focused on school. She was seeing one guy a year or so ago, but they broke up. I don’t know why.”

      “Nasty break?”

      Ryan looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know. I only barely knew about the guy.”

      “Would your parents know?”

      “Probably. They keep a close watch—” He stopped, as if realizing that however close his parents had watched their daughter, it apparently hadn’t been close enough.

      “I’ll talk to them about it,” Sasha said. “And I’ll want to see the note.”

      “There was nothing in it about where she was going, or how long she’d be gone, or even if she’d be back. Nothing,” he repeated in obvious frustration.

      “Did she have a car?”

      “Yes, my dad’s old one, but it’s at home still.”

      “How about finances? Credit card?”

      “She had a checking account, and savings, but that’s it. My folks wouldn’t let her have a credit card, afraid she’d do the kid thing and get in way over her head.”

      “She’ll get a million credit card offers once she gets to college,” Sasha pointed out, refraining from stating her opinion on that common practice.

      “They knew that. They just flat out told her she couldn’t have one while she was underage and they might be held responsible for her irresponsibility, and that if she got one once she left the house, they wouldn’t help her with it.” One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “I got the same lecture at the same age.”

      “Good for your folks.”

      “I knew you’d say that,” Ryan said, but with a smile.

      “She’s never expressed a desire to take off when she was old enough, see the country or the world?” Sasha asked.

      “Trish? Hardly. She didn’t even like going on family vacations. She’s never even talked about wanting to go anywhere. She was looking forward to going to school, but she was even a bit nervous about that, it being so far away. In her eyes, anyway,” he amended, as if realizing that to many people, especially those connected to a worldwide entity like Redstone, a distance of less than five hundred miles was almost negligible.

      “So she’s a homebody?”

      He shrugged. “She liked life here. Her friends, going to the beach. And she volunteered a lot at Safe Haven.”

      “Safe Haven?”

      “It’s an animal shelter, sort of.”

      “Sort of?”

      “It’s mainly for the pets of people who have to go to the hospital, or older people who have to go into a nursing home, to take care of them while the owners can’t.”

      Sasha smiled widely. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

      Ryan nodded; even he had had to admit his little sister had found a worthwhile cause. “It’s the main reason Trish wanted to be a vet, to come back and work for Safe Haven one day. They take care of the animals until the owner can take them back, and when it’s an option, they take them to visit their owners until then. That’s one of the things Trish was doing as a volunteer.”

      “Good for her.”

      “She was helping with adoptions, too, when they knew the owners wouldn’t be able to take their pet back. They always try to place them with people willing to make the effort to continue the visits.”

      Sasha blinked. “To their original people?” Ryan nodded. “That’s beyond wonderful, that’s beautiful. Whoever thought of that should be very proud.”

      “Actually, there’s a Redstone connection. Emma McClaren runs it. She’s married to Harlan McClaren. Also known as Mac McClaren.”

      Sasha blinked. “The treasure hunter?”

      “The same.” He wasn’t surprised she knew the name; anybody even vaguely aware of world happenings had heard of the man who had such a knack for finding and salvaging fortunes both sunken and buried.

      “Wow.” Her brow furrowed. “But what’s the Redstone connection?”

      Ryan grinned. “Who do you think bankrolled Josh Redstone when he was starting out?”

      Her eyes widened. “Really?”

      “And now he’s Josh’s right-hand financial go-to guy. He’s got as much of a knack with finances and investments as he does finding treasure. And he’s available to anybody who’s Redstone. He’s why even our file clerks have a retirement plan that’s the envy of the corporate world.”

      “I had no idea.”

      “Few people do. Neither he nor Josh brags much.”

      “You’re quite the Redstone booster, aren’t you?”

      He bristled slightly. “Redstone doesn’t need me to boost it. It speaks for itself.”

      “That wasn’t criticism. I have the highest opinion of Redstone, and Josh. We wouldn’t exist if not for them, and him, and if we didn’t, I’d be trying to get a job there.”

      “Oh.” He felt a bit foolish.

      “I like that you want to defend it, though.”

      He shrugged, tracing a path through the condensation on his glass. “I don’t know where I’d be if Josh hadn’t…been who he was.”

      She knew his story, he’d told her himself when he’d realized he wanted to keep seeing her. He’d told her before she’d heard it from someone else, not wanting her to get some slanted version of his youthful exploits as a malicious hacker who’d tackled Redstone just because they were the biggest kid on the block.

      “So how’s your retirement looking?” she asked. Startled, he looked up. Saw the twinkle of humor in her dark eyes. Felt the smile start to curve his mouth before he even realized he was doing it.

      “Great,” he said. “Even my dad approves. Thinks I’m finally being responsible. I haven’t had the heart to tell him I signed up half because I wanted the kick of Mac McClaren doing my investing for me.”

      She laughed at that, but then, rather more intently, asked, “And the other half?”

      Of course she hadn’t missed that. He hadn’t forgotten how rarely she missed anything. The very trait that made her so good at what she did also made her sometimes uncomfortably observant to be around. Especially if you were prone to sliding easily along the surface of life.

      “I’m trying,” he said at last. “Somebody told me once I didn’t worry enough.”

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