“I don’t have the list with me, but I can email you the names as soon as I get home.”

“That works. I’ll track down their attorneys tomorrow.”

“Are you painting again tonight?”

“Unfortunately, no.” He glanced at the folder on the side of his desk. Grimaced. “I’m speaking at an Elk’s Club potluck dinner.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Your enthusiasm is underwhelming.”

“Public speaking isn’t my strength.”

“You do fine in private. Pretend you’re talking to me.”

“If I said to them what I’d like to say to you, I might raise a few eyebrows.”

Silence.

Uh-oh. Tactical error. Hadn’t he told himself last night not to move too fast? That being flirty could backfire?

But Grace was easy to flirt with.

Too easy.

He straightened up in his chair. “Listen, I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey. Don’t apologize. I was just trying to imagine what it is you’d like to say to me. Why don’t you tell me in person on Saturday, at that romantic restaurant on the lake?”

The sultry undercurrent in her teasing tone goosed his pulse.

“I’ll do that.”

“While I’m waiting with bated breath, I’ll round up those names and send them to you.”

“What’s the timing on your security cameras?”

“They’ll be installed Friday afternoon. Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks. I’d rather be sent on a mission behind enemy lines than face an audience or be forced to glad-hand. Schmoozing isn’t my cup of tea.”

“Every elected position has a PR component.”

“I’m finding that out.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.” He looked at his speaking notes for tonight. Sighed. “Much as I’d like to continue this conversation, I suppose I ought to prep a little more.”

“Couldn’t hurt. Watch for those names this evening. I think we’re beginning to get closer to answers.”

“I agree.”

Yet as they said their goodbyes and he pulled the file closer, a niggle of unease rippled through him.

While they might be closing in, critical pieces of information about the deaths of Mavis and Fred and the attacks on Grace remained buried.

And unless they solved both soon, every instinct in his body told him that wasn’t all that would be buried.

He had no choice. Kimberly had to be told.

Hands shaking, Dave filled the second glass with ice and added lemonade to both.

All these years, he’d done everything in his power to keep the truth about his affair from his wife. To protect her, yes, but also for selfish reasons. Facing a future without the woman he loved was as daunting now as it had been after the accident, when the doctors in the ER had struggled to save her life.

But living a lie ate at his gut. And with people dying, he couldn’t stay on the sidelines any longer. The visit from the sheriff today had been the kick in the pants he needed to shore up his resolve.

Maybe Cox wouldn’t believe his story. He had no proof Mavis and Fred and the others had been killed. Nor could he access the offshore account anymore.