Miranda Vaughn Mystery 01.00 - Chasing the Dollar by Ellie Ashe Page A

tell him that wasn 't technically a lie. My mind drew a blank.
    " Are you going to arrest me?" I blurted out.
    He studied me again. "Should I?"
    " No! I mean, what are you investigating? Is it Bill Macias? Or his disappearance? Why is the FBI so far from home?"
    A long pause and I shifted, my toes digging into the plush carpet. Jake stared at me, his eyes hard.
    "I'm not here on official business," he said.
    " Then why are you here?"
    " If I tell you, you have to come clean with me."
    I nodded, reluctantly. There was no way in hell I 'd tell him everything, but I could dole out some truthful information to placate him.
    " Bill Macias has been missing for several weeks. The local officials aren't taking it seriously," he said.
    I sat on the settee across from the bed and met his very direct gaze, then reached for a pair of socks to put on. "So, the U.S. government is investigating?"
    He paused, his lips tightening. "Bill used to be married to my sister."
    That wasn 't what I was expecting to hear.
    " Is that why you were taken off my case so early? Because your brother-in-law worked for Patterson Tinker?"
    " I was only brought in for support that day. The lead agent knew I had a tenuous connection, and I was barely involved in the investigation," he said.
    " So you flew halfway around the world to investigate? Are you sure this isn't an official investigation?" I slipped a pair of running shoes on. What they lacked in style, they more than made up for in comfort. And I had done enough walking in high heels for one day.
    " I wouldn't be here if it were at anyone else's request, but my sister asked me to find out what trouble Bill's in. And if this were an official investigation, I'd be here with a partner," Jake said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Now you. What are you doing here? And why were you in Bill's office?"
    I bit my lip and tried to think of a good reason for any of that. There wasn 't one. So I went with the simplest explanation.
    " Someone set me up."
    The phone on the desk next to me rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. My hand trembled as I picked up the receiver, the adrenaline coursing through my veins.
    "Miss Vaughn?"
    The caller ID on the phone showed the call was coming from the concierge, not the front desk. The caller 's voice was distinct and low.
    " Yes," I said.
    " Your guests are on their way up."
    " What guests—?" Before I could finish my question, Jake's hand cut off the call.
    " We're checking out," he said.
    I stuffed the clutch purse into a leather messenger bag and followed Jake toward the door, wondering if I 'd be able to return to the hotel room.
    " Wait!"
    I dove into the bottom of the closet, fumbled with the combination on the safe and then withdrew my laptop and the hard drives and slid them into the bag. A folder of papers and a notebook full of my handwritten notes went on top. Then Jake Barnes yanked me up off the floor and out the door, and we were running down the hall toward the stairs.
    We rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and Jake grabbed me and pulled me against him, both of us up against the wall. He peered around the corner, just as we heard the ding of the elevator. He pulled his head back and cursed under his breath. I reached into my bag, fumbled with my clutch and pulled out a compact and handed it to him.
    Jake took it, but gave me an uncertain look. I took it back, opened it and tapped the mirror with my fingernail. He nodded and used the mirror to watch down the hall outside my room. From my position, I couldn 't see anything in the reflection except the gold baroque wallpaper.
    The sound of a hard knock on a door startled me. A moment later, I heard the sound of a door opening, followed by muted voices and a door closing. Jake closed the compact, slipped it into my purse and nodded toward the end of the hall, where there was an exit sign over a metal door.
    Great, more stairs.
    " They're going to know we saw them go into the room," he said quietly,