Courting Disaster by Carol Stephenson Page A

his arm and along with it his support. I felt the sting of his rejection, but I did need to speak with Kate and Nicole first about the squirrelly ethics here. Jared was a smart guy. If Drew had been his informant, then Jared already knew about the drug operation.
    “Jared.” Sam poked his head out. “Do you want to take a look at something we found?”
    “Sure.” Jared shot me a frustrated look as he rose. “We’ll talk later.” It was a threat more than a promise.
    After he disappeared into the house, I waited for a count of—oh—twenty seconds before I scrambled to my feet and walked inside. After all, I needed to return Jared’s jacket, which I still wore.
    Most of the officers barely gave me a glance as I walked toward the bedroom. They’d already taped off the room and I had no desire to revisit the deck. However, I was interested in taking a closer look at the tossed contents of the office.
    If someone did kill Drew, what had they been looking for?
    Standing in the doorway, I surveyed the office, which contained two work stations. At the moment, no officer was inside although powder residue on the desk and computer monitor indicated a search for fingerprints had been conducted. Smashed CDs littered the floor.
    On the opposite side, shelves crammed with colorful Rocky and Bullwinkle memorabilia lined the walls above the desk. Borys’s prized collection contained everything from lunchboxes to glass figurines. One shelf held videotapes and DVDs. My client had collected every episode of the old cartoon show. There was a gap toward the end.
    Didn’t Drew say his lover had given me one of his favorite collection sets? Excitement raced through me, kicking my pulse up a notch. Had Borys given me something important for safekeeping in the event of his death? If so, where had I put it? I knew I didn’t have anything remotely resembling a moose or squirrel in my movies at home.
    My cell sounded and I muttered a curse as I dug for it. I’d forgotten to switch it off. “Hello?”
    “Carling?”
    “Oh, hi, Mom.” I relaxed marginally only to stiffen as Jared charged from the bedroom.
    “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You know better than to contaminate a crime scene.”
    “I’ve already contaminated it since I was the one who found the body,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
    “What body? Are you all right? Is that Jared?” Mom fired off a rapid series of questions. She hadn’t worked as a legal secretary for years without picking up a few tricks of the trade.
    I decided the latter question was the safest to answer. “Yes, Jared’s here.”
    “Let me speak with him.”
    Not the reaction I had expected, but then again my parents had always liked him. I rather suspected that they held me accountable for our break-up. Rightfully so.
    “Sure.” I held out my phone. “Mom wants to speak with you.”
    His expression softened and he took the phone. “Hi Suzanne. How are you?”
    I could hear the rushing sound of her voice as she now directed her inquisition at him. Jared shot me a dark look before answering, “No, she’s fine. For now. ”
    I missed neither the emphasis nor the inference. He twisted his broad shoulders, turning away from me, speaking in a low tone. As if I couldn’t eavesdrop on his side of the conversation if I chose to.
    Once more I studied the office. If Borys had given me something important in the guise of one of his prized DVDs, where was it? Had I unknowingly tossed it during my crazed—no, I didn’t want to call it that—during my strange phase after being shot? Cartoons wouldn’t fit in with that over-the-top Oriental décor.
    As I half listened to the rumble of Jared’s voice as he spoke with my mother, I realized what I might have done with the DVD. When he said goodbye and held out his hand, I grabbed the phone from him.
    “Mom?”
    “Carling Dent. Are you trying to make me old before my time? Have you no sense, barging into a house where there’s a dead