Angela Campbell - On the Scent - A laugh out loud pet detective rom com!

As she watched Sarah climb into her car, Hannah’s gaze drifted to the vehicle still sitting in her driveway. Zach’s SUV. Was he out of the hospital yet?

And did he hate her for not listening to him?

“You left her alone?” Zach bit back a painful groan as he slid his arm into his jacket. Every movement of his body seemed to stir the tiny imp that was driving nails into his skull.

“Her friend was there,” Brian said, reaching awkwardly to help his partner stand from the hospital bed. “And E.J. is keeping an eye on her. I figured the kid could handle that.”

“What about the cops?”

Detective Ryan with the Atlanta Police Department had stopped by earlier to ask Zach some questions. It had been a humiliating experience, starting with the detective’s comment, “Hey, weren’t you the P.I. that was involved in that Kirkwood case—what?—about six months ago?”

Brian had stepped in before Zach could respond, which had pissed him the hell off. He was a big boy and capable of responding on his own, dammit.

“Nasty business. Sorry for the way it ended.” The detective had given Zach a curious look before moving on to Hannah’s situation.

He hadn’t instilled much confidence with his departing words. "We'll have a patrol go by Miss Dawson’s more often. In the meantime, we’ve advised her to consider an alarm system and maintain her private security."

Brian opened the door. “You know how it is, Zach. The APD is overloaded with cases. Sure, they take robbery seriously, but they give priority to cases they have leads on.”

“You mean the fact someone tried to kill me inside her house didn’t give them proper cause to station a patrol there twenty-four seven?” Damn cops.

The idea of Hannah being left unprotected made him feel edgy.

When he’d been parked in front of her house all night, keeping an eye out for trouble, Zach had spent half that time thinking about her. Why had she sought him out, only to turn him away the next day? His gut told him she was keeping something from him. But what, and why? He’d also noticed the way she looked at him when she didn’t think he was watching. Maybe he was arrogant, but he could tell when a woman found him attractive.

At least they were even on that score.

This woman posed a serious threat to his vow never to fall for a client.

“The cops are doing what they can,” Brian said, bringing him back to the conversation.

Zach took a few steps, felt the room spin around him, used the wall as a guide, and forced himself to keep moving. As he’d hoped, the weird sensation faded as quickly as it had come. Concussion . Wasn’t the first time he’d had one, but it was definitely the worst.

“The cops advised her to leave the house. We arranged a hotel for her last night.” Brian opened the door to the hospital room. “Do you know how damned hard it is to find a hotel willing to take both a cat and a dog? It’s ridiculous.”

Zach could only imagine.

“So she’s at a hotel? Good.”

“ Was at a hotel,” Brian corrected. “When I called her earlier, she’d already checked out and was back home.”

Zach swore beneath his breath. She was going to have to learn to listen to them if she wanted to stay safe.

“As soon as I get you home, I’m going to head back over there. She’ll be fine.” Brian squeezed Zach’s shoulder.

“Does that mean you convinced her to keep her contract with us?”

Brian smiled a bit sheepish. “I didn’t have to do much convincing. I think she feels guilty about you getting hurt. Plus, she’s scared. Can’t say I blame her.”

Zach shook his head. “Why would someone try so damn hard to kidnap a cat and a dog?”

“Ten million dollars isn’t motive enough for you?”

Not really.

Zach had a feeling the reason went deeper than that. He had no idea why he felt that way. He just did.

“No. Call it a hunch.” He reached for the keys he’d put in his pocket, then realized he didn’t have his car.

“No driving for at least another twenty-four hours,” Brian chided, guiding him toward the parking lot. He waited until Zach was seated in his truck to say, “Maybe you were right. Maybe it’s too soon for you to take another case.”

“I’m fine,” Zach growled.

Brian held up his hands. “I know she hired us, but we do need to consider another possibility here.” He gave Zach a sideways look as he buckled his seatbelt. “What happens to the money if the cat and dog get killed? Does it all go to Hannah, and if so, that’s one helluva motive right there.”

The jolt of anger he felt at that suggestion was immediate. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you know? I mean, what the hell do we really know about her? You have to admit. Greed makes people do some crazy shit. She could think hiring us gives her a cover.”

Zach glared at Brian until he realized his friend hadn’t intended the comment as a jab against Zach’s own character. He tugged at his seatbelt and buckled up. “I already asked E.J. to do some digging on that front. Don’t worry. I still remember how to do my job.”

Besides, Hannah could get rid of the cat and dog easy enough. There were no other heirs to hold her accountable.

He reached for his phone and dialed E.J. They’d taken him in four months ago as a favor to E.J.’s grandfather. The kid had gotten mixed up with a gang but hadn’t been in so deep he couldn’t get out. Brian thought he’d shown potential, and he worked for peanuts. Right now, Zach wasn’t above using him as a spotter on this case.

“Did you find anything on those background checks?” Zach asked when E.J. answered.

“Hey, man, you alright?” E.J. asked. “Brian said somebody put you down good.”

He clenched his jaw, felt a shot of pain at his temple and sighed. “I’m fine. Tell me what you found.”

“Hold on. I got my notes right here. I think I found something good, too.” The sound of papers being rustled filled the slight pause in conversation. “Ellie Parham is the lady who left the money to Hannah, but funny thing is, Ellie Parham didn’t exist before thirty years ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there is no Ellie Parham of that age or race anywhere in the system before 1983. No social security number. No driver’s license. No address. No employment records. Nothing, not even a birth certificate I can find.”

“That’s impossible. Maybe she was married.” Or maybe the kid hadn’t done something right.

“Already checked, and before you start thinking I screwed up, Kellan did a search too and came up empty. The lady didn’t exist, boss. Hannah said Miss Parham told her she’d never been married, and I called the broad’s lawyer. He seemed kind of shifty about it, like he knew more than he was telling, but he swore she hadn’t mentioned being divorced or widowed either.”

Interesting.

“What about her will? Who gets the money if something happens to the cat and dog?”

“Hannah does.”

Zach refused to think that meant anything. “What if something happens to all three of them? Who gets the money then?”

The sound of papers shuffling again filled the line. “It all goes to charity.”

Zach rubbed at his forehead, not liking that answer. That answer left them without another obvious suspect. “What about Hannah? Did you run a background check on her?”

“No criminal record. Never been married. No kids. Went to nursing school at Emory. Worked five years at Saint Joseph’s before going to work for a homecare service. That’s how she met the old lady. She worked as a part-time nurse for a few different clients for about a year before moving in with Parham and working for the old lady full-time.”