“You dog. You don’t call here often enough, and I miss your smart mouth.”

“I was falling in lust with you, Loretta. I had to stop calling before I embarrassed myself.”

“The terrible things you say, you should be embarrassed, but I love every minute of it. Would you like Ms. Chenier?”

“In more ways than you know.”

“You awful dog. Hold on and I’ll get her.”

Cole was placed on hold and found himself listening to canned music. Harry Connick, Jr., on the piano. He was on hold so long Harry transitioned to Branford Marsalis before she came on the line.

“Hey, you. Sorry I took so long. I was on with a client.”

Hearing her voice, warmth spread through him despite the twinge of discomfort he felt these days when he called. He tried not to phone her as often as he once did, but that was more for her than him. He didn’t want to push. He didn’t want her to cringe when he called.

“No worries. I bill by the hour.”

She laughed.

“Then I’m happy to help. We here at Rotolo, Fourrier, Day, and Chenier want you to make lots of money.”

“Got a few minutes? I could call back later if now isn’t good.”

The joking in her voice was replaced by a warm contralto that always made him feel they were the only two people in a remote mountain cabin.

“Sure, hon. Hang on—”

She told Loretta not to put anyone through, then returned to their conversation.

“Everything good?”

“I’m looking for background on a woman named Dru Rayne and a man named Wilson Smith, both of whom claim to be from New Orleans.”

“Uh-huh. And why does the word ‘claim’ draw my attention?”

“Joe knows the woman, and I’m not convinced she’s been honest with him about their circumstances or even about who they are.”

“When you say involved, you mean like boyfriend-girlfriend?”

Cole described how Pike saved Wilson Smith from the beating, and subsequently met Dru Rayne. He left out the parts about Latin gangs, abductions, and bodies cut so badly their heads were almost severed. The violence he encountered as part of his job was what drove Lucy away.

When he finished, Lucy shifted into lawyer mode.

“All right, first, are we talking about a potential crime here? Is Joe giving them money?”

Cole hesitated, realizing he would have to describe parts of the situation he had hoped to avoid.

“No, it isn’t like that. They’ve disappeared. They might be in trouble, so we’re trying to find them.”

Lucy was quiet for a moment, and Cole hoped he wouldn’t have to tell her Pike was being questioned about the murders of two Venice gangbangers.

“When you say disappeared, are you speaking of a voluntary disappearance or a forced disappearance?”

“Could be either.”

“Damnit, Elvis, you should be speaking with the police, not me.”