between you and your husband sufficient to cause him to take off?"
She frowned, thinking again of the seven-thousand-dollars in cash she had handed Rico a few days ago and came to the same conclusion she had before. It wasn't enough to run away on. "I don't think so."
"Any other problems that might have caused him to disappear on his own?"
On his own? As opposed to, with someone else's help? Teri considered telling the officer about the gambling and the animal that had threatened her, but the consequences of pointing a finger at someone so dangerous without any proof were too great. She still held on to the possibility that Rico might show up later today with a screaming hangover and empty pockets. She elected the coward's answer. "I'm really not sure."
The way the officer's mouth curved downward suggested he didn't believe her. "Well, that's about it, then. Thank you for your help." He put away his pad and pen and walked back to his car.
"Just a moment," Teri called as he opened the car door. "What are you going to do now?"
"Basically, the post office just asked us to keep a lookout for him. There's no official complaint against him. So unless someone files a missing person's report, there's nothing else for us to do."
"But what if... what if Rico doesn't show up today?"
"Anytime after twenty-four hours, you can file a missing person's report. Then the process begins with tracking down when and where he was last seen."
Teri was about to ask another question when Drew's car pulled into the driveway next to the police car. She watched the officer's car back away and tried to give Drew a pleasant greeting. It fell short, which he noticed immediately.
"Good mornin'," Drew said, eyeing the retreating vehicle. "Trouble?"
She would have lied without hesitation except for the fact that he had been part of the audience that had witnessed her previous humiliation. But that didn't mean she had to tell him any details. "I don't know yet."
A big gray tomcat that had been crouching beneath the stairs throughout her discussion with the police officer now sauntered out to inspect the new arrival. When the animal rubbed itself against Drew's snakeskin boot and meowed, he leaned over to pet the creature's furry head. The little kindness earned a mental nod of approval from Teri. Her gaze moved to the photographer's case slung over his shoulder and the shopping bag in his hand, and she changed the subject. "Do you have a lot to do today?"
His grin gave her spirits a little lift. "Yes, thank heavens. Having Ann on my side is getting my new career off the ground in a hurry." Holding up the bag, he added, "I picked up a few props for some still-life pics for a public relations firm. They do a lot of print ads so it could mean a lot of work for me. I sure wouldn't object to any advice you might be willin' to part with." This time his smile was accompanied by a wink.
So far, Teri hadn't been able to keep herself from offering her advice whenever he worked in her studio. Each time she did, she apologized for interfering and he assured her he appreciated her help. When he didn't push her any further about the police visit, she was the appreciative one.
On the climb back up to her studio, Teri replayed her conversation with the police officer. Maybe she should have told him about Rico's gambling. But that only brought her back to the potentially dangerous role of accuser. Was she willing to go through mug shots looking for the man who had threatened her? She realized her fearful reaction to the idea was probably what that animal had counted on when he'd confidently issued his veiled warnings in front of witnesses.
Damn! How could Rico have involved her in something so awful? It now seemed entirely possible to her that Rico had blown the money and was hiding out somewhere. In fact, he would probably be calling any minute, begging for her help. The mere thought of his daring to ask her for more money riled her so much, most of her fears
She frowned, thinking again of the seven-thousand-dollars in cash she had handed Rico a few days ago and came to the same conclusion she had before. It wasn't enough to run away on. "I don't think so."
"Any other problems that might have caused him to disappear on his own?"
On his own? As opposed to, with someone else's help? Teri considered telling the officer about the gambling and the animal that had threatened her, but the consequences of pointing a finger at someone so dangerous without any proof were too great. She still held on to the possibility that Rico might show up later today with a screaming hangover and empty pockets. She elected the coward's answer. "I'm really not sure."
The way the officer's mouth curved downward suggested he didn't believe her. "Well, that's about it, then. Thank you for your help." He put away his pad and pen and walked back to his car.
"Just a moment," Teri called as he opened the car door. "What are you going to do now?"
"Basically, the post office just asked us to keep a lookout for him. There's no official complaint against him. So unless someone files a missing person's report, there's nothing else for us to do."
"But what if... what if Rico doesn't show up today?"
"Anytime after twenty-four hours, you can file a missing person's report. Then the process begins with tracking down when and where he was last seen."
Teri was about to ask another question when Drew's car pulled into the driveway next to the police car. She watched the officer's car back away and tried to give Drew a pleasant greeting. It fell short, which he noticed immediately.
"Good mornin'," Drew said, eyeing the retreating vehicle. "Trouble?"
She would have lied without hesitation except for the fact that he had been part of the audience that had witnessed her previous humiliation. But that didn't mean she had to tell him any details. "I don't know yet."
A big gray tomcat that had been crouching beneath the stairs throughout her discussion with the police officer now sauntered out to inspect the new arrival. When the animal rubbed itself against Drew's snakeskin boot and meowed, he leaned over to pet the creature's furry head. The little kindness earned a mental nod of approval from Teri. Her gaze moved to the photographer's case slung over his shoulder and the shopping bag in his hand, and she changed the subject. "Do you have a lot to do today?"
His grin gave her spirits a little lift. "Yes, thank heavens. Having Ann on my side is getting my new career off the ground in a hurry." Holding up the bag, he added, "I picked up a few props for some still-life pics for a public relations firm. They do a lot of print ads so it could mean a lot of work for me. I sure wouldn't object to any advice you might be willin' to part with." This time his smile was accompanied by a wink.
So far, Teri hadn't been able to keep herself from offering her advice whenever he worked in her studio. Each time she did, she apologized for interfering and he assured her he appreciated her help. When he didn't push her any further about the police visit, she was the appreciative one.
On the climb back up to her studio, Teri replayed her conversation with the police officer. Maybe she should have told him about Rico's gambling. But that only brought her back to the potentially dangerous role of accuser. Was she willing to go through mug shots looking for the man who had threatened her? She realized her fearful reaction to the idea was probably what that animal had counted on when he'd confidently issued his veiled warnings in front of witnesses.
Damn! How could Rico have involved her in something so awful? It now seemed entirely possible to her that Rico had blown the money and was hiding out somewhere. In fact, he would probably be calling any minute, begging for her help. The mere thought of his daring to ask her for more money riled her so much, most of her fears
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