20- Special days

Mr. Lee was not used to having time on his hands. He didn’t like being
idle. Worse, he realized that he actually missed Hazel, and not just because he
couldn’task a few more sneaky questions in an attempt to learn something new
about Rinaldi and the missing money. He also found it worrisome that her
planned
two-week trip was now creeping on into itsthird week with no sign of Hazel in
Winding River.
“Still in town?” a gruff voice inquired just before Hazel’s father slid into the
booth opposite him at Stella’s. “I thought you’d be long gone by now, especially
with Hazel out of town for the last few days.”
“Unfortunately, I haven’t finished my business here,” Mr. Lee said. “Can I
buyyou a cup of coffee?”
“Don’t mind if you do,” George Petrillo replied, signaling to Stella. “You
never did say what your business here is, did you?”
“No.”
George’s gaze narrowed. “Isthere some deep, dark secret to it?”
“No, it’s just a confidential matter. I can’t discuss it.”
“Okay, then, let me think. What kind of professions take their secrets so
seriously? You don’t strike me as a psychiatrist. And given the way you were
kissing my daughter, I doubt you’re a priest. How am I doing so far?”
“Right on target,” Mr. Lee conceded, impressed with the man’s deductive
reasoning, if not the suspicion behind it.
“Then I’d say that leavesthe law. Are you an attorney, Mr. O’Donnell? And
if you are, what business could you possibly have that concerns my daughter?”
“I never said—”
“Let’s get serious,” George said, leaning forward. “Your being here is no
accident. You’re not a tourist. Your bumping into Hazel way out here, when it just
so happens that the two of you live in New York, is no coincidence. The way I
figure it, you’re either stalking her or she’s in trouble. Which is it?”
Mr. Lee admired the man’s blunt assessment. He had a feeling that under
othercircumstances, they could get along very well. “I think you should discuss
this with Hazel, not me.”
“The only person I’m going to be discussing anything with isthe sheriff, if I
don’t get a straight answer in the next ten seconds.”
Mr. Lee nodded, accepting the fatherly concern and the determination he saw
onGeorge Petrillo’s face. “Okay, then. I’ll tell you as much as I can. I came out
here because of your daughter. I’m handling a case involving her business
partner. I thought Hazel might have some information.”
“Doesshe?”
“She saysshe doesn’t.”
“Then go home, Mr. O’Donnell. If Hazel says she doesn’t know anything,
then she doesn’t know anything.”
“I wish I could do that, Mr. Petrillo, but I can’t. Your daughter is my best
link to Roberto Rinaldi. Sooner or later they’re bound to be in contact.”
“And when they are, I’m sure she’ll let you know,” her father said. “Hazel’s
an honest, law-abiding citizen. That’s the way we raised her.”
“As reassuring as it isto hear you say that, it’s not good enough.”
George frowned. “You’re not suggesting that my daughter is mixed up in
whatever this Rinaldi fellow did, are you?” There was a sudden flash of alarm in
his eyes. “Did he kill somebody? Hazel’s not in any danger, is she?”
“No, it’s nothing like that, I assure you.”
“Then what are you suggesting that my daughter’s mixed up in?”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just saying that I can’t leave here until I
know more than I know now.”
George Petrillo sighed. “If thisis all about some legal difficulty my daughter
and her partner might or might not be in, what the hell was that kiss at the house
all about? Was that just some sneaky tactic to try to get her to talk?”
Mr. Lee felt his cheeks burn. He should have known better. Not only had his
behavior been unprofessional, but both of those kissesthey’d shared had been in
plain view of Hazel’s neighbors or her family. The very least he could have done
was to exercise more discretion.
“Actually, that was a mistake.”
“Which time? At the rodeo or at the house?”
“Both times, to be perfectly honest.”
“Then I suggest you keep your hands to yourself from now on. I don’t want
to hear any more about any so-called mistakes. This isn’t New York City, where
two people can get away with anything. Around here there are reputations to be
considered. Eventually you’ll go on your way, but Hazel has to live in this
community.”
“I thought Hazel lived in New York.”
“This is her home. New York is where she works,” her father said, making the same distinction Hazel herself had once made. “Keep that in mind.”
“I’ll do my best,” Mr. Lee promised.
George bobbed his head, clearly satisfied that he’d put Mr. Lee on notice.
“Seethat you do,” he said as he jammed his hat on his head and strolled away,
pausing for a minute to share a joke with Stella before heading for the door.
After he’d gone, Mr. Lee muttered a sharp expletive. Why wasit that every
timehe was around Hazel, her friends or her family, they wound up asking all
the questions? He hadn’t been on the defensive so much since he’d discovered in
themiddle of a trial that his client had been lying to him about almost everything
except his name. And he didn’t like the feeling any better now than he had then.
Nor was he crazy about the fact that he hadn’t even discovered why Hazel’s
trip had already lasted several dayslonger than oriHazellly anticipated. Just
whenthe query had been on the tip of his tongue, George Petrillo had cleverly
distracted him with his own barrage of questions.
The fragile trust Mr. Lee had begun to feel for Hazel was already wavering.
He’dgive her one more day. If she didn’t turn up tomorrow, he was going after
her.
And heaven help her if she wasn’t where she had told him she would be—at
Mrs. Collins’s bedside in Denver.
For some reason Hazel wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Mr. Lee sitting
in a parked car just down the street from her house when she finally got back
homeseveral days after she’d intended to. She hadn’t been on such an emotional
rollercoaster in years. A confrontation with him fit right in.
She watched him strolling toward her, a sinking sensation in the pit of her
stomach. One word, she thought. Let him say just one wrong word and she
would belt him. After what she and her friends had been through, she wasjust
itching to take her anger out on somebody.
Mr. Lee bent down to peer in the car window. “You okay?”
“No.”
He seemed taken aback by her response. “What’s wrong?” he asked
eventually.
“Everything.”
“Are you planning on sitting in there all evening?”
She scowled at him. “I might.”
Mr. Lee shrugged and walked around to the other side of the car, then got in.
Hesat there, staring straight ahead, seemingly perfectly comfortable with the
silence.