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there was anything more to the shooting than what the OIST determined. And if you were a complete stranger waltzing into my office, I’d tell you the same damn thing!”
    â€œAll right then,” Riley said with measured calm. It was time to play her ace in the hole. “Maybe you’re not the person I should be speaking to.”
    Noah just watched her, saying nothing.
    With as much dignity as she could muster, Riley stood and walked to the door, expecting Noah to call out to her. He didn’t, even as she put her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned. She silently counted to ten, then opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
    She got as far as the supply closet before she spun on her heel and marched back to Noah’s office, stepping inside and closing the door.
    To his credit, he didn’t greet her with a triumphant grin. He said quietly, “You don’t want to involve Kenneth in this matter, because deep down inside, you know if you’re wrong about Trevor, you’ll never forgive yourself for calling his character into question, and causing anyone else to do the same.”
    Riley swallowed with difficulty, her back pressed to the door. He was right. God help her, he was right. And even if her suspicions about Trevor were correct, she knew she would keep the truth to herself. It would be her own terrible secret to bear. Hers—and Noah’s.
    Closing her eyes, she tried one final appeal. “You have inside connections, Noah. People who would give you information, no questions asked. Believe me, if I could do this on my own, I would have a long time ago.”
    â€œI’m sorry, Riley.” For the first time, she heard a trace of genuine regret in his voice. “I can’t help you.”
    She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Can’t or won’t?”
    â€œBoth.” His expression softened. “I think you should see someone, Riley. About the dreams—”
    Anger swelled in her chest. “And here that’s what I thought I was doing,” she said bitterly. “So much for that idea.”
    Without another word, she yanked the door open and started down the corridor, nearly colliding with Janie, who was emerging from the supply closet with an armful of Xerox paper.
    She took one look at Riley’s face and frowned. “Are you all right?”
    Riley blinked back the sting of tears. She would not cry. One way or another, she’d walk out of there with her pride intact.
    â€œI’m fine,” she told Janie, her words belied by the tremor in her voice.
    Janie pursed her lips, glancing in the direction Riley had just come from. “Listen, do you have a minute?”
    Riley glanced at her watch. “I really should be going. I have an appointment with the caterers for my grandmother’s party in a few weeks.”
    â€œOh, yeah, that’s right. Her seventy-fifth birthday bash. Mama Hubbard mentioned something about it a few days ago. She and your grandmother were talking about the party when they saw each other at the senior center. She told us we were all invited.”
    â€œOf course,” Riley said, managing a wan smile as she followed Janie down the hallway to the reception area. “The formal invitations will be mailed out this week. In fact, that’s one of the projects my grandmother and I will be working on this afternoon.”
    â€œI won’t keep you much longer then,” Janie said, loading the package of paper into the printer. “I wanted to run an idea past you. You can take your time and think about it, then get back to me at your earliest convenience.”
    â€œUm, okay,” Riley said slowly, her curiosity piqued. “What is it?”
    â€œWell, I don’t know whether Noah mentioned it or not,” Janie said, frowning as the printer paper got jammed, “but we’re thinking about hiring another private investigator to help with the caseload.