LITMIR.BIZ

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referring to the fact that the place where they all worked, Fortunado Real Estate, had suddenly and inexplicably seen a turn for the worse in the last two months. They’d lost a good share of their best clients.

      Taking Maddie’s hand in his, Zach McCarter gave Connor a sympathetic look, as if to say that he was glad he wasn’t the one in his brother-in-law’s shoes, although for now he wisely remained silent.

      Connor looked around the room. There were members of his immediate family who were missing from the gathering although he had put the word out that he wanted to speak to all of them at the same time. He saw no sense in having to go through this little drama twice, but obviously his message hadn’t registered properly.

      “I was hoping to say this when everyone was here,” Connor told his father.

      “You’re going to have to settle for half the family,” Kenneth told him, his tone already growing impatient. “In case you haven’t noticed, trying to get everyone together in one place—apart from holding a wedding—is like herding cats—”

      “More like herding chickens,” Valene said under her breath, then flashed a smile at her father when Kenneth shot her a look. It was obvious she hadn’t thought she was going to be overheard.

      “Connor, please tell us,” Barbara entreated her son. “You’re getting me very nervous.”

      Feeling guilty that he was adding to his mother’s concerns, Connor stopped stalling. Half a family was better than none.

      Taking a deep breath, he launched into the reason for his unexpected return home.

      Connor started slowly. “It’s nothing to make you nervous, Mother.”

      “Spit it out, Connor,” Kenneth ordered. “If you beat around the bush like this at that corporate search firm of yours, it’s a wonder that they haven’t shown you the door yet.”

      This was as good an opening as any, Connor thought. “Well, that’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he began.

      Kenneth cut him off. “They fired you?” he cried, astonished despite what he’d just said.

      “No,” Connor replied firmly. “They didn’t fire me, but I’m not working for them anymore.”

      His father’s complexion was turning a shade of unflattering red. “What do you mean you’re not working for them anymore?” Kenneth demanded.

      “Kenneth, please, let him speak,” Barbara pleaded, putting her hand on her husband’s arm as if she was trying to gentle a wild stallion. “I’m sure he has a good explanation for all this.” She looked at her son hopefully. Waiting.

      “Well?” Kenneth demanded, his eyes all but pinning Connor against the wall.

      Connor took in another breath, as if that would somehow shield him from the explosion he sensed was coming. “I’m not with that firm anymore because I’m a private investigator now.”

      “You’re a PI?” Maddie cried in awed disbelief. Suddenly, a smile bloomed on her lips. “You mean like Magnum?”

      Valene looked at her sister, lost. “Who’s Magnum?” she wanted to know.

      “Some guy on a classic TV show,” Zach volunteered. “I caught a few episodes on one of those channels that show nothing but programs from the seventies and eighties.”

      “No, not like Magnum,” Connor corrected tolerantly. “Most of the work isn’t as glamorous as TV makes it out to be. It requires a lot of patience and a great deal of attention to detail,” he told his family, hoping that was enough.

      Apparently, it wasn’t. Exasperated, Kenneth waved his hand for everyone else in the room to be quiet. He obviously intended to go toe to toe with his son.

      “You’re a private eye?” Kenneth cried, completely stunned and grossly disappointed. There was no question of that. “What the hell were you thinking?”

      “It’s ‘private investigator,’ Dad,” Connor told his father patiently. “And what I was thinking was that maybe I could help find out who’s responsible for everything that’s been going on around here lately.”

      “There are professionals for that sort of thing, dear,” Barbara told her son, speaking up.

      Connor turned to look at his mother. He hadn’t thought this was going to be easy, he reminded himself. “I am a professional, Mother.”

      Kenneth let out an exasperated breath. “Since when?” he mocked.

      Connor turned his attention to his father. He couldn’t back down now. If he did, it was all over. “Since a few months ago.”

      Kenneth frowned, shaking his head, unable to accept the information or come to grips with it.

      “I don’t believe you,” Kenneth countered. “You wouldn’t do something that was so life-altering without telling me.”

      “I am telling you,” Connor pointed out. “Now. There was no reason to say anything earlier.”

      It was plain to everyone that Kenneth found the explanation entirely unacceptable.

      “How did this happen?” his father wanted to know. “Did you wake up one morning and just say, ‘Gee, I’m tired of my high-paying executive job. Let me throw it all away and do something totally mindless, like become a private eye.’ Is that what happened?” Kenneth demanded hotly.

      “Private detective, dear,” Barbara corrected her husband.

      “Private investigator,” Connor said calmly, correcting them both. “And no, I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to become a private investigator,” he told his father. “My boss suspected that there was someone embezzling money from the firm, but he didn’t know how to go about finding out who was behind it. He shared his concern with me and I told him I’d do a little snooping around. I did and as it turns out, I discovered who was stealing the firm’s money in a little less than a week.”

      Kenneth dourly dismissed the accounting. “You got lucky.”

      “No, I didn’t,” Connor informed his father. “I was persistent. And I found that I had a natural aptitude for ferreting things out.”

      Kenneth snorted. “My son the Ferret. I can’t wait to tell people your new job description.”

      “Dad, you’re missing the point here,” Valene insisted, looking at her father with a touch of annoyance as she came to her brother’s aid. “Connor said he was here to help us get to the bottom of what’s been happening to the family lately.”

      She looked at her father, waiting for her words to sink in.

      “That’s for the police to do,” Barbara reminded her children. No doubt she didn’t like the idea of any of her children getting involved with something that could be dangerous.

      “And how far have they gotten with their investigation?” Maddie challenged her mother.

      Barbara raised her shoulders in a helpless shrug, then offered an excuse to Maddie. “It’s still early,” Barbara said.

      “Do you really want to wait until someone’s killed before we do anything, Mother?” Connor asked his mother gently.

      Barbara’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t thought about that possibility. “Do you really think that could happen?” she asked Connor.

      His inclination was to shelter his mother, but he had to be honest. “The way things are escalating, there’s no reason to believe that it couldn’t.”

      Kenneth was still unconvinced. “Okay, hotshot, let’s hear it. What’s your big ‘theory’ about what’s been going on?” the senior Fortunado asked. “Do you even have one?”

      Mindful that his father was judging every word

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