1 Chapter 1

1

It was Monday evening and Jake was at the Copper Bell—or The Copper as it was known locally—having a beer, and thinking about finishing it and leaving when he heard someone say, “Where’s your partner in crime?”

Jake spun around on the barstool, chuckling. “I’m not sure we’re criminals, Paul. Kelly went to KC this morning to try to convince a runaway to come home, and then bring her back if she’s successful.”

“Ah, the joys of running a private investigation agency.” Paul slid onto the stool next to Jake. “Better her than you, huh?”

“No kidding. I’m not a wandering man if I can help it. I’d rather stay here and hold down the fort.”

“I’m sure that keeps you busy enough.” Paul flagged down the bartender to order a beer, asking Jake if he wanted another.

“Nope, I’m good, but thanks.”

“Well, hell. Here I was hoping I could get you to loosen up enough to go home with me.” Paul grinned. “Wishful thinking, I know.”

“On top of which Todd might object, unless you two are suddenly into threesomes.”

“You have a point there. Something to consider, though.” Paul took a pull on his beer. “You do know I’m kidding, right?”

“Yeah. So does he, I hope,” Jake replied when he saw Todd coming up behind Paul.

Paul turned, smiling at his boyfriend, and received a hearty kiss. Todd reached for Paul’s beer, taking a hefty swig as he leaned against the bar. “Trying to seduce my man, Jake?” he asked.

“Yep, but he turned me down flat,” Jake replied with a wink at Paul.

“I would hope so.” Todd paused to order his own beer when the bartender came over. “He’s too damned popular for his own good,” he continued somewhat sourly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. About a week ago, yeah it was on Monday, we were at Donovan’s and some guy tried to hit on him when I went to the john.”

“He was very persistent, even when I let him know I was taken,” Paul said, “which didn’t make him happy from the look on his face.”

“Did he cause trouble?” Jake asked them.

Paul shook his head. “I thought he was going to, then Todd came back and he took off.”

Jake frowned. “Have you seen him since then?”

“Nope. My guess is, he realized he’d had one too many and made a fool of himself. We were there a couple of nights after it happened and he wasn’t around anywhere, which was fine with both of us.”

“Good. Some guys think they’re God’s gift to the world and don’t like taking no for an answer. If he does show up, ignore him,” Jake said.

“Believe me, I will,” Paul replied.

After that, the three of them went on to talk about what had happened since the last time they’d seen each other. Finally, Paul said he and Todd had better head home. “I’ve got to be at work at eight for an important meeting,” he grumbled.

“You’re always at work by eight,” Todd pointed out.

Paul laughed. “I know. But tomorrow I have to have a working brain. See you next time, Jake. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“That leaves the field wide open,” Jake retorted, getting a laugh from Paul before he and Todd took off.

* * * *

Soon after Jake got to work Tuesday morning Kelly called to say she’d found the girl—“Because I’m that good,” she bragged,—and they would arrive at DIA early that afternoon. “I’ll take her home and then come in,” she said.

“You can take the rest of the day off if you want,” Jake told her.

“Aww, aren’t you being magnanimous,” Kelly replied with a laugh. “I’ll be in, if for no other reason than to make certain you haven’t run us into the ground while I was gone.”

“In forty-eight hours? I don’t think even I could accomplish it that fast.”

Kelly snickered. “You never know.”

It was their usual banter when one or the other of them was gone for a time on a job, so Jake didn’t take her words amiss, replying, “I’ll see you when you get here.”

They ended the call and Jake got back to what he’d been doing, which was writing up a report on a stakeout of a possible insurance fraudster he’d done the previous day. When he finished, he printed out a hardcopy which he gave to Carol, the agency’s receptionist slash secretary, so she could prepare a bill to send to their client, along with the report. She would also email everything, but the owner of the insurance agency in question was an old-timer who liked to have the hardcopies on the agency’s official letterhead, too, for his files.