Page 6 (1/2)

Other than giving her a sign that she wasn’t dealing with someone currently drunk or obviously down on his luck

Well-to-do, well-dressed, gorgeous fathers abused their kids And cowboys with stained shirts could, too

“May I coet a warrant Then there’d be a strike against him in her estimation

“Of course” He stepped back

Once she was inside, she could see the living roo area with books and a piano off to her right The home was one of the older, antebellum-type houses that dotted the town of Santa Raquel But where the big mansions on the beach, and across froes’s hoe

“What can I do for you?”

The contractor stood directly in front of her Ar her to come in any farther?

She’d followed protocol, had logged her intent to make the home visit and had her phone’s GPS location on Her whereabouts could be traced If he tried anything untoward, he’d get caught

Still, she could have waited for another agent to accompany her If she’d been so inclined If she’d have been able to sleep without assuring herself that little Levi wasn’t in ier

She could also have called the police—they often partnered on child protective services cases that involved anything of a criminal nature

Looking around, taking her tiuard over his home, Lacey assimilated as she’d been trained to do

She didn’t have definitive proof of illegal activity But Mara had noticed finger-shaped bruising weeks ago

A broken arhtened, just cautious by nature

“My office received a phone call,” she started slowly, softly, as she heard sounds co on a table or counter?

“Is your son here?”