Rocky Mountain Maneuvers by Miles Cassie

Author:Miles, Cassie [Miles, Cassie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-03-13T12:56:21+00:00

MOLLY’S MIND RACED as they drove to their midday appointment with Ronald Atchison. What could Gloria be hiding at Pierce’s loft? Possibly the missing items from the magpie thefts. But that didn’t make sense; none of the stolen objects were especially valuable. Why bother hiding them?

“Maybe Gloria is a fence,” she said. “Selling stolen goods.”

“She makes plenty of dough at her boutique,” Adam said. “I think we should be looking at Denny Devlin.”

“What could he be hiding?”

“Not sure. Think about his business.”

She visualized Denny’s shop with the kitchen where he did his cooking. A lot of that equipment was expensive, but she really didn’t think he’d be stashing bread mixers and pizza ovens in Pierce’s downtown loft.

It had to be something easily transported—something simple. A lightbulb went on inside her head. “Oh my God! I think I’ve got it. He’s hiding people. Illegal immigrants.”

“Possible,” Adam said.

Denny’s catering business relied on low-wage workers—cooks, servers and delivery people. He might have nefarious connections through his employees. “But everybody who works for him is bonded.”

“That wasn’t always the case. He was careless enough in his hiring to take on an employee with hepatitis.”

A people-smuggling business? She frowned. Something about her idea didn’t ring true. Pierce’s loft was in a fancy, high-rent building. Surely, the other residents would notice if mobs of aliens came shuffling through.

Maybe there weren’t mobs. Maybe it was only one or two important immigrants. People who needed to slip into town under the radar. “Terrorists,” she concluded enthusiastically. “Denny Devlin is running an undercover terrorist operation.”

Adam gave her one of those looks—a sidelong glance that measured her sanity and found her a few cups short of a gallon. “He’s a chef, Molly. His expertise is hot cookies and cheese puffs.”

“Which is why it’s a perfect cover,” she said. “Nobody would suspect a wedding caterer of international espionage. That’s just about as likely as me being engaged to a wealthy Australian kangaroo farmer.”

“Which you’re not,” Adam pointed out.

“But I could be.”

She might not have all the loose ends tied together, but her conclusion was right on target. The loft was being used to hide people—important people who needed to come and go without leaving a trace. If they weren’t terrorists, who were they? And how were they connected to the wedding business?

Adam said, “When you were attacked last night, you said that you injured your assailant.”

“Right.”

“Did you notice if Denny or Gloria were limping?”

“They weren’t.” That was the first thing she looked for. “But Denny gave me a weird look. As if we shared some kind of secret.”

Adam parked on the street in front of a quaint adobe-style church where she had arranged to meet Ronald Atchison.

“We’re here,” he said. “What’s our interest in Ronald?”

“He was at all the weddings where there were thefts.”

“He took photos?” Adam asked.

She nodded. “I asked him to bring some along. Also, he’s the only suspect who has a criminal record.”

“For what?”

“Fraud. And he’s been charged with other white-collar crimes. When I talked to him on the phone, he suggested that Pierce was attacked because of the money, honey.

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