Detective On The Hunt

They’re tracking a missing person

But will they be the next victims?

New-in-town detective Jennifer “JJ” Logan is thrown into the deep end with her first case. Assigned to unearth a missing socialite, JJ must also deal with a new colleague: Officer Quint Foster.

Quint bristles at having to work alongside JJ. But as they dig for clues, he feels alive for the first time in years. The hunt puts them both in the crosshairs, and their deepening emotions have to take a back seat to getting out alive.

Oklahoma, dogs, beaches, books, family and friends: these are a few of MARILYN PAPPANO’s favorite things. She lives in imaginary worlds where she reigns supreme (at least, she does when the characters cooperate) and no matter how wrong things go, she can always set them right. It’s her husband’s job to keep her grounded in the real world, which makes him her very favorite thing.

Also By Marilyn Pappano

Copper Lake Secrets

In the Enemy’s Arms

Christmas Confidential

“Holiday Protector”

Copper Lake Confidential

Copper Lake Encounter

Undercover in Copper Lake

Bayou Hero

Nights with a Thief

Detective Defender

Killer Secrets

Killer Smile

Detective on the Hunt

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Detective on the Hunt

Marilyn Pappano

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09465-8

DETECTIVE ON THE HUNT

© 2019 Marilyn Pappano

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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“I said, thanks for your time.” JJ left it at that, but her smile suggested what she left unsaid. Though it wasn’t your choice.

“Not a problem.” Another of those annoying phrases. When had people stopped saying “you’re welcome”? He couldn’t recall.

She dug out her car keys and used the remote to unlock the Challenger before she opened the door. He watched her slide into the seat, a fluid movement of heavy brown coat and snug-fitting denim. When she moved to close the door, he hastily spoke.

“If you have any trouble with the neighbors…”

Now, why had Quint gone and said that? He was done. He’d followed Sam’s orders—had gone beyond them by going shopping and having lunch with her. Why give her even the faintest idea that he might be willing to do it again?

But he couldn’t take back the words, and when that naughty-little-girl grin lit up her face, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Dear Reader,

There’s an old saying to write what you know, which is one of the reasons I write so many small-town books, but not the only one, mind you. I know small towns, and I love them. Though our few big-city years created great memories—hello, San Diego—I can’t see myself living anywhere now but the little Oklahoma town where I grew up. Granted, there’s a shortage of restaurants, and shopping’s limited pretty much to Walmart and the farm-supply store, but I can cook, and shopping’s overrated, anyway. Besides, where in a big city can you buy fried frog legs to munch on while you fill your gas tank?

This particular little town, Cedar Creek, is my hometown in disguise. Well, maybe not fully disguised. Slightly camouflaged might be more accurate. There are a few fictional places mixed in with enough real ones that the locals recognize it in spite of made-up names. It makes writing the books feel like…well, coming home.

In this book, I combined a second love—heroine JJ is from South Carolina. We lived there three times while my husband was in the navy, and it’s a special place. Of course, by the end of the story, JJ is willing to leave home and settle in Cedar Creek with Quint, just like I once moved from Oklahoma and settled a lot of places with my husband.

Because, after all, home is where the heart is, isn’t it?

Happy reading,

Marilyn

To my childhood partner in crime, my cohort and conspirator, and one of the very few people I know who really would be sitting beside me if I ever wound up in a jail cell, saying, “Dang, that was fun!” You’re the best cousin ever.

Yes, Hope Cooper, I’m looking at you. Love you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

About the Publisher

Prologue

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t fire you.”

Quint Foster kept his gaze steady on the upturned Stetson on Sam Douglas’s desk, kept his jaw shut tight and every muscle in his body wound like a spring. If he tried to answer the chief’s question, if he relaxed his control just that little bit, he would fall apart in a way he never had before. Never could.

Because he didn’t have the courage to put himself back together again.

“Damn it, Quint, you showed up drunk at a crime scene. You assaulted a prisoner in custody. What the hell—”

Sam broke off. Quint knew the question: What the hell is wrong with you? Just as Sam knew the answer: Belinda. The day she’d died, so had Quint. His body just hadn’t been smart enough to catch on. His brain functioned enough to keep his heart beating, but not enough to make him care about a damn thing. He’d lost everything that mattered except his job, and that was coming.

The thought echoed through the hollowness inside him. Losing his job… All he’d ever been, all he’d ever wanted to be, was a cop. For nearly twenty years, he’d been a good one. He’d advanced through the ranks to assistant chief. If things had continued as they’d been, he likely would have succeeded Sam as chief, if he didn’t retire before the boss.

Now, in another ten minutes, maybe fifteen if Sam was pissed enough, he would be turning in his badge and commission. He would walk out the front door for the last time, and he would truly have no reason to get out of bed again.

Sam remained silent, his steely glare unwavering. Quint didn’t have what it took to look at him, but he could feel the disapproval and disappointment and disgust radiating around him. He’d never imagined the day he would lose his boss’s respect, but here it was. It was only by the grace of God that Sam hadn’t thrown his ass in jail.

By the grace of something. Quint didn’t believe in God anymore. Maybe he was real, maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he existed for other people but not for Quint. Every prayer, every plea, every moment he’d spent begging on his knees had been for nothing. Linny had died. He hadn’t.

“Damn it, Quint.” This time the words sounded more sorrowful than angry. Sam raked his fingers through his hair. “What am I supposed to do?”

For the first time in seventy-two hours, Quint made eye contact with his boss. His gut was knotted with dread at losing that last part of himself. He wanted to go to the men’s room and puke up everything in his stomach, then he wanted to go to the nearest bar and refill it with the cheapest crap they had. He wanted to die.

What he did was stand up very carefully. He pulled his badge from his belt, took his credentials from his back pocket and unholstered the gun on his hip. He had to clear his throat twice to make his voice work. “I’ll make it easy for you, Sam. I quit.”

Sam wasn’t surprised. “I don’t want you to quit. You’re a good cop, and I need good cops. I just need you to…”

If he said, “Get over it,” Quint would punch him in the face, and if he hit him once, he wouldn’t stop until he was pulled off.

“I need you to deal with it, Quint,” Sam said quietly. “I can’t even begin to guess how hard this is for you. Belinda was your world, and it’s unfair as hell that she’s gone, but you’re not. You can’t just crawl into your grief and wait to die. It’s not what she’d want. It’s not even what you want, or you would have already done something.”

Quint didn’t know if he should argue that last statement. He felt every year of his forty years twice over. He was tired. Worn-out. Hopeless. Faithless. Alone. Every morning since her death, he’d woken up and thought, damn, he’d survived another night. For a while, it had been a good damn. Everyone had told him—his family, his friends, Linny’s pastor—that recovery was a one-day-at-a-time deal. He was supposed to be grateful for each day he made it through, and in return, God was supposed to make each successive day a little easier.

It hadn’t happened.

“I don’t want you to quit,” Sam said again, “but I can’t keep you as assistant chief. I have to put you on probation. Back in uniform. Back on the street. Are you willing to do that?”

A sound halfway between a snort and a laugh escaped Quint. He sank into the chair again, rubbing hard at his eyes. He hadn’t been in uniform since he’d met Linny twelve years ago. He didn’t even own the current uniform; suits or tactical pants and polo shirts had been his work clothes. Everyone in the department—hell, in the whole damn town—would know he’d been demoted. They would scorn him or pity him. No one would ask his opinion, respect his judgment or even acknowledge all his years of good work. He’d be a patrol officer again, writing tickets, filling out reports on inconsequential incidents, turning the important cases—the cases he’d handled himself the past twelve years—over to detectives to investigate.

But he would still be a cop. He would still have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. And given what he’d done, that was a hell of a lot more than he deserved.

His jaw didn’t want to unclench. His mouth didn’t want to form words, but he forced them out. “Yes, Chief. I’m willing.”

Chapter 1

The sixth sense that JJ Logan considered as much a tool in her line of work as any of the physical, tangible ones made the back of her neck tingle. She lowered the binoculars from her eyes and shifted her gaze to the rearview mirror. A police vehicle, its lights on, was pulling to the side of the road behind her. She’d half expected this—a stranger with out-of-state tags on her car surveilling a local’s house just screamed for police intervention—but it gave her an odd feeling, being on the wrong side of the flashing red-and-blue lights.

A tall, lean man dressed in khakis got out. He seated his hat before he began walking toward her, tipping it so it shadowed most of his face, then stopped far enough away from her car that she couldn’t open the door and knock him off balance.

She liked caution in a cop. That was why she kept her hands resting loosely on the steering wheel. She waited, prepared to tell him right up front that she was a cop herself, to show him her ID, driver’s license and proof of insurance and tell him that she had a pistol in the console and a Taser on her hip.

Before she had a chance to even say hello, though, he surprised her.

“Are you Jennifer Jo Logan?”

She blinked, her mouth quirking the way it always did when she was called by her full name. Growing up, it had meant trouble, with consequences she deserved. Today, though, she couldn’t possibly have done anything to earn consequences. She didn’t know a soul in Cedar Creek, Oklahoma, and no one knew she was here besides her parents, her sisters and a few people back home. While watching someone’s house might provoke curiosity, it wasn’t actually illegal.

Except…one of those people who knew she was here and why was the person she trusted least in the world. Police Chief Bryan Chadwick. Her boss.

The officer was waiting, his expression immobile, and she forced a smile. “Yes, I’m JJ Logan. Can I help you?”

His carved-stone features didn’t shift. “Chief Douglas would like to have a word with you. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the station.” His voice was deep, reminding her of the long-ago times of midnight radio broadcasts, sultry music and a honey-sweet, soothing voice. This morning, the voice was a little short on the honey. Instead it was raspy, heavy, what she would expect from someone who didn’t talk a whole lot.

“I know where it is, Officer…” Her gaze flickered to the brass nameplate on his shirt. “Foster.” She’d studied online maps of Cedar Creek, familiarizing herself with the places that would be important while she was here: the hotel, the police station and sheriff’s departments, the house she’d been watching just ahead and, of course, restaurants. Creek Café had a zillion five-star reviews, and there were Chinese, barbecue and steak places that were similarly popular. She was a real fan of food that someone else had prepped, cooked, served and cleaned up after, so she intended to visit every one of them.

Her smile, her cooperation and her friendly use of his name didn’t soften him one bit. “Then I’ll follow you.”

Ah. The chief’s request to see her wasn’t a request at all. Like a lot of small-town police chiefs, he probably didn’t play well with others, especially when those others wandered into his jurisdiction and didn’t show the courtesy of dropping by to introduce themselves. She’d told Chief Dipstick—er, Chadwick—that she wanted to check in with the locals, but he’d instructed her not to. This was family business, private—no need to involve anyone else.

That hadn’t been a request, either. Chief Dipstick considered himself so far superior to women that asking them for something would never cross his mind.

Suppressing a sigh, she looked up at Officer Foster again. Barely visible under his hat, his hair was blond, streaked with lighter strands that would be a definite gray in a few more years. Dark glasses hid his eyes, but with the blond hair and golden skin, she would put her money on blue. She would also bet they were as steely as…well, steel. To match the hard line of his jaw. He looked like a guy who was having a bad day. A guy who made other people have bad days.

Don’t get confrontational with a cop who is armed. One of her personal rules. With a thin but notoriously compliant smile, she said, “I appreciate the escort, Officer. Okay if I make a U-turn?”

His response was a slight tilt of his head.

As she started the engine, he stepped back, then returned to his vehicle, a huge black pickup truck emblazoned with the usual police stickers. A drug forfeiture? Or was Cedar Creek more generous with its police budget than Evanston, where her official car was a beater practically as old as she was?

The thud of Foster’s door sounded through her window as she shifted into Drive. The house holding her interest was the last one on this lonely street. Its nearest neighbor was half a block behind her, and the street ahead ended a hundred feet past its driveway, the pavement abruptly chopped and blocked to traffic with steel barriers. She’d intended to drive up there when she left, to use the driveway to turn around. To see whether there was a gate, any obvious security system, possibly a security guard.

She would have to come back to find out. This job required a face-to-face visit with Maura Evans, and JJ never left a job undone.

There were no curbs on the sides of the street, the newly greening grass growing right up to the concrete. Her Challenger didn’t require a lot of room to turn around. Frustrated, though, that the locals knew she was here—and pretty sure it was Chadwick who’d told them—she vented by expanding what should have been an easy three-point turn into five or six points.

“Yeah, no passive-aggressiveness in you, Detective Logan,” she murmured as she drove past the scowling Officer Foster with a half-hearted wave and back down the block.

She’d seen nothing worth seeing in her hour at the house Maura was renting, unless she counted the cat sunning on the patio table. Funny. She remembered Maura as a fierce dog lover with no interest in felines whatsoever. Granted, that was over fifteen years ago, and Maura had been a little kid. She’d changed, like all little kids did when they grew up, and JJ knew next to nothing about the woman she’d become.

Except that, according to the Evans family lawyer, she’d gotten lost in her grief after her parents’ deaths. She’d closed up the family mansion and hit the road in the überexpensive Mercedes that had been their last gift to her, and six months ago she’d settled in Cedar Creek. Three months ago she’d cut off all contact with her past life.

And now JJ was here to make sure everything was okay with her. According to Chadwick, she’d been his first choice to look into the matter. If she didn’t detest the man so much—and if he didn’t detest her even more—she might have taken that as a compliment. But she knew better. From his first day on the job, he’d made it clear that women had no place in his department and certainly not in his detective squad. The only problem: he couldn’t fire her without cause, and she was damn well determined not to give it to him.

Which left him one option: making things bad enough that she would quit. He’d alternated between assigning her cases so simple a brain-dead squirrel could close them and ones so lacking in evidence they would stump Sherlock Holmes, Columbo and Steve McGarrett combined. He nitpicked everything she did and everything she didn’t do. He disrespected her within the department and encouraged the real officers—read: male—to do the same. Publicly he was gracious, but privately he made her work life hell.

He hadn’t realized he was butting heads with the most stubborn person in town. JJ intended to outlast him, and the odds were in her favor. He’d come to Evanston after retiring from a small North Carolina police department. He was seventy-two, believed fervently in the Southern food adage If it ain’t fried, it ain’t done, drank like a fish and had high cholesterol, heart disease and high blood pressure. Sooner or later, he would retire again or die, and she would be there to wave him off—or throw the first shovel of dirt into his grave.

With a surprised look around, she realized she’d driven the few miles to the police station without noticing. When she’d worked traffic, she’d made a small fortune for the city of Evanston writing tickets to inattentive drivers, and now she didn’t remember how she’d gotten here.

Officer Foster in his big truck followed her to a parking space, left a couple of empty spots between them, then got out and met her at the rear of the vehicles. Though the morning had started off nippy, it had turned into a glorious March day. Things were greening, coming back to life. The sun was warm, and she would swear she could smell the fresh, sweet, woodsy fragrance of the flowers thirty yards ahead of them.

Unless… She weaved a bit closer to Officer Foster and surreptitiously took a deep breath. Yep, it was him, not the flowers. The scent made her mouth water and her stomach do a little butterfly twirl. Lovely, lovely.

There might be an upside to this gig, after all.

Probably in defense of her gleaming little car, Jennifer Jo Logan—JJ, Quint reminded himself—had parked at the farthest end of the lot from the station, six or eight spaces from the next nearest vehicle. Though she was half a foot shorter than him, she matched his strides without complaint. He was long out of the habit of slowing down to accommodate anyone with shorter legs—Don’t think of Linny—but now he made a conscious effort to shorten his steps.

Which gave him an opportunity to study JJ.

From a purely professional viewpoint.

She would have to stand on tiptoe to pass five foot six, and she was slender, curvy, soft, but she had an assured don’t-mess-with-me air about her. Her hair fell to her shoulders, nothing special, brown with a few reddish streaks, and her eyes were hazel, again nothing special.

And somehow, in spite of all that nothing special, she was pretty. Not beautiful, not the sort who would stop guys in their tracks, not like—

His jaw tightened, and he forced the thought to its conclusion: not like Linny. Linny had been gorgeous, with silky black hair that fell straight and sleek to her waist, skin so pale it might have never seen the sun, delicate and fragile and breathtaking.