Once they were in the car, Gabi sucked in a deep breath. “Take me to Hunter’s office.”
“You got it, Mrs. B.”
Half a mile away from the mall, Solomon said, “I should have jumped in sooner. I failed you.”
“She could have been a friend. I doubt many assailants are pushing around babies. You had no way of knowing.”
“It won’t happen again.”
Gabi tried to put the man at ease. “Don’t worry about it.”
Tiffany ushered Gabi into Hunter’s office without an announcement. Solomon stayed behind by Tiffany’s desk.
Hunter’s face lit up when she walked into the office. He kept the phone to his ear but waved her over to his side. “That’s right. I really don’t care how you deal with it, just deal.”
Hunter stood as she approached and wedged herself between his desk and his chair. His hand found her waist and squeezed.
“I don’t have time right now,” Hunter said to whomever he was talking to. “Something important just showed up on my desk.”
Gabi felt the tension placed by Sheila drift away.
“Right . . . do it.” Hunter reached around her and hung up the phone before nuzzling her neck. “If it isn’t Mrs. Claus. What did I do right to have you visiting me here?”
Gabi leaned her head back, liked the feel of his lips on her neck . . . distracting as it was. “It’s not for pleasure, I’m sorry to say.”
He stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Was she so transparent?
“I met Sheila.”
The hand holding her waist tightened, his face darkened. “When? Where?”
“The mall, thirty minutes ago.”
Hunter set her up on his desk and gripped her knees as she told him about the encounter. “Where the hell was Solomon?”
“Right there. I didn’t call out to him . . . he had no way of knowing she was a threat.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
“Yes it is. Having a bodyguard glued to my side is unnecessary and uncomfortable. She was sizing me up, not assaulting me.”
“Once we have Hayden, that might change.”
The memory of Hayden’s tiny face, pouty lips parted in his sleep, placed a soft smile on her face. “I saw him.”
Hunter paused. “Hayden?”
She nodded. “He’s beautiful, Hunter. He was sleeping in the stroller. I didn’t get more than a glimpse before Sheila started in on the ugly.”
“It’s the ugly I’m worried about,” Hunter said.
Gabi agreed. “Which is why we need to be slow and methodical about this. The woman wasn’t right. Pulling Hayden away if she can still manage partial custody would be tragic.”
“She isn’t expecting me to petition for custody. She’s expecting a payoff.”
“Makes me wonder what kind of crazy is going to happen when Hayden is removed as a bargaining chip.”
“The kind of crazy that requires a bodyguard . . . or two . . . or three.” He looked worried.
The phone on his desk buzzed.
He dropped his hand on the intercom. “Yes, Tiffany.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but there’s an Officer Delgado on the phone.”
“Did he say what this was regarding?”
“Something about a missing person report.”
Gabi shifted as Hunter brought the call to the speaker on his phone. “This is Hunter Blackwell.”
“Mr. Blackwell . . . thank you for taking a minute to talk to me.”
Hunter shrugged and looked at her. “I find when the police call, not talking to them isn’t an option.”
Delgado offered a short laugh. “True. I’m an investigator with LAPD. We had a missing persons report filed this afternoon on an electrician that was at your residence yesterday and wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Gabi sat taller. “Who?” she asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“My wife coordinated the staff at the house yesterday. She’s here in my office with me now and I have you on speaker.”
“OK . . . good. Mrs. Blackwell?”
“This is her . . . who is missing?”
“Name is Mark Collins.”
The name sounded familiar. “There were over thirty people at the house yesterday, officer . . . you’ll have to forgive me.”
“He wired your televisions—”
“Oh, yes! Right. Nice boy . . . he’s missing?”
“He phoned in to his employer that he’d completed your job and was returning the work truck but never showed up.”
“I’m not sure how I can help. He left in the rush with many others. I couldn’t even tell you exactly what time.”
“Anything you can tell us will help. I’d like the names of those at your house yesterday, too.”
Gabi didn’t know where to begin.
Hunter laid a hand on her thigh. “We will come up with a list and get back to you.”
“Time is our enemy, Mr. Blackwell.”
“My decorator will have a list of the kids, and the name of the tree lot . . . the men who set up the lights outside. All those numbers are at home, Officer.”
“As soon as you can get them, Mrs. Blackwell . . . the better.”
“Of course.”
Hunter took Delgado’s number and hung up.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Gabi asked.
“Couldn’t tell you. What do you remember about him?”
“Kid . . . twenty-three, maybe. Some of the college girls were flirting with him. Felicia kept snapping her fingers, telling them to get on with their work and hook up later.” She felt a little smile. “You think that’s what he did? Skipped out on work, hooked up with someone?”