Colin barely refrained from throwing his paperweight at Jonathan.
How dare Zoe's investigator--her lover--show up at the firm! No doubt Misty was already gossiping about his visit to all the other attorneys, speculating on Colin's involvement. And this, after he'd organized that big search.
There was gratitude for you. It was almost as embarrassing as it was enraging.
Pacing behind his desk, Colin ground his teeth. Zoe's private eye thought he was so tough, didn't he? He didn't know anything, had no idea what Colin was capable of. But he was about to find out. Colin would never allow anyone to get the best of him. He'd turn on his own mother, if necessary--and had done exactly that, many times.
So how could he teach Jonathan a similar lesson? Mr. Scovil had just told him he had to finish the real estate contracts for Joseph Garundy before lunch or he'd be fired, but Colin wasn't about to let that crotchety old bastard dictate what he could and couldn't do. If he'd gotten a job here, he could get a job anywhere. He always landed on his feet.
His phone rang, but he didn't answer it. The jingle on his cell phone went off next, and he ignored that, too. He needed some time to think....
Pivoting, he started back across the room. Jonathan had complained about the state of Zoe's clothes. He'd acted as if he thought that detail might be related to Sam's disappearance. But what suggested there might be a connection? Nothing. He was just jealous, afraid Colin might've enjoyed a little pu**y himself.
That it was the other way around grated on Colin. Jonathan had taken Zoe away from him when he'd been making some inroads. They'd been getting along fine before that trip to Los Angeles. It was Jonathan's fault she'd changed. But Jonathan would pay, and so would she. No woman led him on only to shut him down. He'd show them both just who they were messing with.
A light rap at the door brought his head up. Irritated by the interruption, he snapped, "What is it?"
Easily cowed, as always, Misty called through the door instead of opening it. "Your wife's on line one. She says it's an emergency."
The calls he'd missed. He should've taken them. "Got it." He pumped some cheer into his voice, but the receptionist didn't respond. She was on Jonathan's side, that fat bitch.
Sinking into his seat, he picked up the phone and hit the flashing button. "Hello?"
"Colin?"
Tiffany wasn't whispering, as she normally did when she called him from the nursing home.
"Hey, why aren't you at work?" he asked.
"I am at work. Well, actually, I'm sitting in my car. I'm on break, thank God."
Misty had said it was an emergency. "Why thank God? What's wrong?"
"Jonathan Stivers called me a second ago, that's what's wrong. He was asking some upsetting questions."
"I know. He came by here. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
"How?"
Colin drummed his fingers on the desk. That was the question he'd been asking himself since Jonathan stalked out. But the answer was suddenly very clear. He needed to take the offensive, strike back. And he needed to do it fast, before Zoe's P.I. could get the better of him. "Call Zoe."
"Me?" Tiffany cried.
"Yes, you."
"And tell her what?"
"Tell her my father went missing. Tell her he drove his truck to the pool hall on Saturday night, then disappeared."
"Why would I say that?" Her voice rose. "That'd let her know there are two people who've disappeared from our lives in one week. Isn't that a little obvious?"
"No, it's ideal. Paddy had the opportunity to come into contact with Sam the same way we did. We'll simply hand them the connection they're looking for."
"I don't understand."
"You'll tell Zoe you first thought Paddy had gone on a binge. But when he didn't come back you began to wonder if he could be to blame for Sam's disappearance."
"Colin, no! I don't want to say that about Paddy."
He lowered his voice because he could hear two of the other attorneys talking in the hall outside his door. "Listen to me, damn it. I know what I'm doing. She's missing. He's missing. We can sell the fact that he took her and ran off."
"She disappeared before he did."
"Doesn't matter." Colin started the perpetual motion skier on his desktop as he quickly worked out the best way to spin the details to his benefit. "He was hiding her, but then I grew suspicious and began questioning him, and he took off."
"What would make you suspicious of your own father?"
"The way he talked about Sam the last time he came over."
"He never mentioned the neighbors...."
Colin rolled his eyes. Sometimes it took a while for Tiffany to catch on. "We'll say he did, stupid! We'll claim he often talked about how pretty Sam was."
"I'm not stupid, Colin. I hate it when you call me stupid."
To keep things simple, he tried to backtrack. "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm only trying to figure this out."
"That's what I'm doing, too. And I can't see why anyone would believe that about Paddy."
"They'll believe it because we'll insist he molested me while I was growing up. I'll say it happened to my sister, too."
"That's sick!"
He watched the skier move back and forth with such ease, as easy as the lie he was creating. "Exactly. The accusation alone will be enough to cast suspicion on him. We'll be providing the answer to both mysteries at once, and explaining why we seem to be involved."
"But your mom and sister will deny it, Colin. It's not as if the cops won't ask them."
He held the phone with his shoulder while buttoning his shirt and fixing his tie. "That's okay. Let them. The fact that my mother took my sister and moved away without a forwarding address will seem to support it."
"Tina and Courtney will blame you for that, not Paddy."
It might've bothered him to have Tiffany point that out--nothing angered him more than the fact that his mother and sister had abandoned him--but he was too excited about outsmarting Jonathan Stivers. Colin would be able to indulge his darkest fantasies and walk away without a hint of suspicion. Even better, Jonathan would lose Zoe, and he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. "So? It'll be their word against mine. It's been that way all my life."
Tiffany didn't respond.
"What do you say?" he asked.
"Colin--"
"What?" He found a breath mint in his top drawer and popped it in his mouth. "Have I ever been wrong before?"