She had the name of the high roller who’d held Parkland’s IOU, and she intended to put it to good use. With any luck, she’d be spending a few days in Lake Tahoe.

She needed to bring Devereaux around. He’d want to use his own agents on any kind of a sting, and she had to come up with several solid reasons why she and Sebastian would make better bait.

Her assistance and cooperation in the Merrick case would work in her favor, but Mel didn’t think it would swing the deal. Her record was good, she didn’t do flashy work—and she sensed that Devereaux would disapprove of a hotdogging PI. Her partnership with Sebastian was in her favor, as well. And the fact that she was perfectly willing to let the feds take the lion’s share of credit for the collar would add a little weight to her side of the scales.

“Open for business?” Sebastian asked as he pushed open the door.

She struggled to ignore the quick, giddy fluttering in her stomach, and she smiled. “Actually, I’m closing for the day in five minutes.”

“Then my timing’s good. What’s this?” Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet to examine the trim peach-colored suit she wore.

“Court appearance late this afternoon.” She moved her shoulders restlessly as he toyed with the pearls at her throat. “Divorce case. Kind of nasty. So you want to go in looking as much like a lady as possible.”

“You succeeded.”

“Easy for you to say. It takes twice as much time and trouble to dress like a lady as it does to dress like a normal person.” She rested a hip on the desk and handed him a sheet of paper. “I got a copy of Parkland’s statement.”

“Quick work.”

“As you can see, he’s a pretty pathetic type. He was desperate. He didn’t mean to hurt anybody. He was over his head. Gambling problem. Afraid for his life.” She gave a quick, unladylike opinion of his excuses. “I’m surprised he didn’t toss out how his father had traumatized him by not giving him a little red wagon for Christmas.”

“He’ll pay,” Sebastian said. “Pathetic or not.”

“Right, because he was also stupid. Taking David across the state line really upped the ante.” She kicked off her shoes and rubbed her calf with her foot. “Now he claims he got the offer of the job over the phone.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Sure. Want a drink?”

“Mmm.” Sebastian read over the statement again while she moved into the kitchen.