Read Online Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Andrea Kane - Free Book Online Page B

tough enough skin. Besides, I love what I do.”
    “My buddies at the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Department — the ones who ran those off-site training classes you took — said you were the sharpest one in the bunch. A chip off the old block. And, no, they weren’t blowing sunshine up my ass. They meant it. No one believed you were in vet school going for a DVM. They thought you were in the Police Academy, joining the force.”
    “It was one of the best summers of my life. But that’s because of the animals. And because I was spending so much time with you.”
    “What time? I was working a case.”
    “Maybe. But you showed up anyway. A couple of times each day. Kind of like you were checking up on me to make sure I was performing up to snuff. Remember?”
    “Yeah. I remember.”
    “The pride on your face meant more to me than I can say.”
    Monty blew out his breath. “Devon, your instincts are dead-on. Your mind’s like a steel trap. Think about how many pet owners you’ve helped, not in the clinic, but in the field. You’ve managed to locate dozens of missing animals. Pets who were lost for weeks and no one could find — not even with flyers plastered everywhere and big rewards offered.”
    “Just call me Ace Ventura.” Devon squeezed Monty’s arm. “Seriously, that’s not because I’ve got a cop’s mind. It’s because I understand animals. I know their habits. I know their minds. And I know what questions to ask to zero in on their idiosyncrasies. Then I look for clues. And, hopefully, I turn up something.”
    “What the hell do you think a cop does?”
    Devon sighed. “Monty, you know how much I love and respect you, and what you do. And, yes, every once in a while I’d love to play Nancy Drew. But there’s no brutality in her cases — not like the kind you deal with.”
    “Things are different than they were before. I’m a PI now. Not every case I take on has — ”
    He was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.
    “It’s my office line,” he observed. “I call-forwarded everything to my cell while I was here.” He glanced down at the caller ID and frowned. “Private. Well, that really narrows down the prospects.” He punched the phone on. “Montgomery.”
    His brows lifted slightly, and he glanced over at Devon. “Yes, Mr. Pierson, I know who you are. My condolences on the loss of your son.”
    Edward Pierson? Now,
that
was a surprise.
    Devon leaned forward to listen.
    “Care to tell me why? I’m sure the sheriff gave you the exact same story he gave me.” Monty paused. “Yes, I heard from my ex-wife. She’s terrified and on the run. Whoever killed your son tried to kill her, too. She’s afraid he’ll try again. The only reason she contacted me is so I could bring the cops up to speed on what actually happened in that cabin, and so I could let our children know she was alive. She hung up without saying where she was or where she was going. Nope, she never saw the guy. So there’s not a lot more I can tell you. Certainly not enough to warrant your sending down a limo to drive me up to your farm for a meeting.”
    Another pause, as Monty absorbed whatever Edward was saying. “That’s very flattering, and very intriguing. But I can’t imagine where you’re going with this. Care to elaborate? Right. In person. Okay, I’ll bite. Sure, late afternoon’s fine. Four o’clock works. My office is in Little Neck — a semiattached house. One side’s my home, the other’s my office.” Abruptly, Monty broke off, and he snapped around to face Devon.
    Uh-oh, Devon thought, recognizing only too well that gleam in her father’s eyes. He had a plan. And whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it.
    Sure enough, Monty gave a hard shake of his head, as if negating the last part of what he’d just said. “I have a better idea, Mr. Pierson. I want to check in on my kids anyway, make sure they’re holding up. They’re in bad shape, as you can imagine. They’re all