"I'll track them both down, and I will call you as soon as I learn anything."

I felt a wave of relief at his words. I knew the police were working on the case, but this man was working for me. "Thank you."

He got to his feet. "Take care."

As Jeremy left, I turned to Kade. "I feel like a weight just slipped off my shoulders. He seems like he knows what he's doing, right?"

"I don't know. He said little about his experience or his tactics."

My relief dimmed. "You're right. But my brother-in-law, Steve, knows him. He wouldn't send me to anyone who wasn't good. At least, we have someone digging into things."

"It definitely can't hurt."

As a burst of loud conversation rang out near us, I realized how crowded the bar was getting. "We should go."

"I agree. There's a pizza place on the way back to the house. Should we pick up some food? Or are you eager to find a hotel?"

"I never say no to pizza," I said. But as I followed Kade out of the bar, I wondered if I should start saying no to him. He was becoming very entwined in my life, and he had an odd connection to my mother. I could hear Dani screaming in my head not to ignore the big red flags.

But it was just pizza. And Kade was the only friend I had in the city, the only one who could understand what I was going through, because he was now going through it, too. It wasn't a coincidence that he'd ended up in my mother's house. She'd wanted him there, and we both needed to know why.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After picking up pizza, we returned home around eight thirty. I walked up the steps with trepidation, seeing several boxes and bags on the front porch. The flowers that Tom Wells had given me were still there, as well as a second bouquet, a plastic-wrapped bag of cookies tied with a bright red ribbon, a fruit basket, and a couple of cards.

"My mom has friends who care about her," I murmured.

"Like I told you the first time you asked, Laura is a really nice person."

The sound of footsteps drew my head around, and Kade stepped in front of me as someone came up the path. Then he relaxed and moved to the side as a middle-aged woman came into view.

"Brenda," he said.

"I was hoping to catch you, Kade," Brenda replied. "Do you know how Laura is doing?" She halted when she saw me. "Oh," she said in surprise. "Who…who are you?"

"I'm Laura's daughter. Brynn Landry."

"Her daughter?" the woman echoed in surprise. "I heard someone was staying at the house, a young female relative, but I didn't know Laura had a daughter."

"She does," I said shortly.