St Kilda Consulting 01 - Always Time to Die

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    “Something wrong?” Carly asked, watching him watch her. “Technically this isn’t underwear, if that’s what is bothering you. It’s workout gear.”
    “Workout.” He smiled slowly.
    “Yes.” She looked sideways at him. “And it’s no tighter than your T-shirt.”
    “Um,” was all he said.
    His pants weren’t going to fit right if he kept looking at her nipples pushing against the sleek fabric. He raised his hand and knocked on the door when what he really wanted to do was find out how Carly’s body shirt stayed in place.
    Instead of calling out, Winifred opened the door herself. “You all right?” she asked Carly gruffly. “Melissa told me about your car.”
    “Other than being angry, I’m fine.”
    Winifred looked at Dan as if for confirmation.
    “She’s a lot tougher than she looks,” he said.
    “She better be. The Senator’s son is a hard one.” Winifred gestured curtly. “Get on in here. Can’t have Sylvia’s room getting cold. Glad you brought your man with you,” she added to Carly. “I have a lot of stuff for you to take out of here.”
    Before Carly could object that Dan wasn’t hers, she saw the cartons, bags, and boxes stacked against the wall.
    “Photos,” Winifred said, following her glance. “Documents, all the stuff you said you wanted. Even my mother’s wedding dress.”
    “I didn’t mean that I had to take everything with me right now,” Carly said. “I can just take a box or two at a time and—”
    “Here’s a list of local women who might have been the Senator’s lovers,” Winifred interrupted curtly. “As for the boxes, take all you can and then come back for the rest. The stuff is no good to me unless it gets into the book you’re going to write. There aren’t any more Castillos in my line to give it to.”
    “What about the governor?” Carly asked.
    “He’s a Quintrell.”
    Carly looked at Dan.
    He was watching the old woman intently, adding up facts and hunches, and not liking the bottom line. A distinct chill blew across his nape.
    Danger.
    He’d felt the same way when he walked out of a hotel in Colombia—and right into an ambush. He’d survived, but only because he’d worn body armor and carried a Desert Eagle. He was firing before the attackers figured out to aim for his legs. The 10 mm Eagle was like carrying a sawed-off elephant gun in his pocket—great stopping power if you were a good shot.
    He’d been good enough to survive. Not good enough to take out the men before the children screamed and fell.
    “If you need help,” Dan said, “you call me or Dad. Anytime, day or night, Miss Winifred. Anytime at all.”
    Winifred waved off the suggestion with a motion that shifted the heavy Indian bracelet she always wore at her wrist. “You just keep the rats off Carly’s pillow and I’ll do fine.”
    “How did you find out about the rat?” Carly asked, startled.
    “Alma’s sister-in-law works for the sheriff,” Winifred said. “She about hurt herself laughing over the rat.”
    “What a sweetheart,” Carly muttered.
    If Winifred heard, she didn’t show it. She just went to the corner adobe hearth and added two more chunks of piñon to the already fierce fire. “With the Senator dead, things are going to change. His son isn’t a patient man. I want my history book in one month, not three. You get it done, and get it done right, and I’ll give you twice as much as we agreed on.”
    Carly looked into the old woman’s blazing black eyes and wondered again just how sane Miss Winifred was. “I’ll do everything I can.”
    “If you need to hire some work done, I’ll pay for it,” Winifred said.
    Dan put his hand on Carly’s arm. “I’m lazing around doing nothing. I’ll help her just to keep from getting bored.”
    “Then start hauling boxes,” Winifred said.
    “Melissa was worried that some of the documents you have might be so valuable that Governor Quintrell would have to approve their removal,” Carly said.
    “Sometimes Melissa is as full of crap as a Christmas goose.”
    Carly blinked. “So I guess it’s not a problem.”
    “Not for me,” Winifred said. “What’s mine is mine and to hell with the Senator’s son.”
    “Okay, then I guess I should pack the things I’ll need in the next few days,” Carly said.
    Reluctantly she started to leave. She really hoped that there wouldn’t be any more gory surprises on her pillow, but she was afraid there would be.
    “I’ll come with you,” Dan