Full Blast by Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes Page B

doughnuts in two days flat.”
    She frowned at Max but took a bite from the second doughnut nevertheless. “I was under a lot of stress at the time. So the guys you mentioned seemed to check out okay?”
    “Yeah. Their ages vary, but most of them just want to meet someone who likes to go to a movie or dine out, that sort of thing.”
    “Um, what about the guy Destiny and I thought was so cool. You know, the ad that read ‘Deeper Than the Night’?”
    “I was waiting for you to ask about him. What do you know about Samuel Alister Hunter, or Sam Hunter as he’s called?”
    Jamie arched both brows. “I didn’t recognize the name until just now, but then I’m not used to seeing his full name. And I can’t tell you much about him except that he was a hunk in high school. Unfortunately, I was in middle school at the time so I didn’t stand a chance. He went off to college, and eventually went to work on Wall Street. I haven’t seen him since. I had no idea he’d returned to Beaumont.”
    “He just moved back. He’s semiretired after making his money in the stock market, but he’s looking to buy land which he plans to develop.”
    “No kidding? I wonder if he’s still a hunk.”
    “Control yourself, Swifty. You’re hot for me, remember?”
    “I should probably try to set up a date with him,” she said. “Just in case he’s the murderer,” she added.
    “You’re a brave and admirable woman,” Max said, “to put yourself in harm’s way in order to protect others.”
    “That’s me, Max, brave and admirable. Willing to risk life and limb for the safety of others.”
    Max leaned back in his chair and regarded her with a half-smile. “You didn’t sound so brave last night when we were discussing the supernatural.”
    “I hope we’re not going to get on that subject again,” Jamie said.
    Fleas scratched at the back door. Jamie let him in, gave him a doughnut and poured him a bowl of milk.
    “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Max said. “He should be eating meat.”
    “He has a cheeseburger every day for lunch.” Jamie put on a fresh pot of coffee, hoping it would ease her throbbing head. She leaned against the cabinet.
    “Back to the subject of Sam Hunter,” Max said. “We don’t really know much about the guy, and he returned to Beaumont three days before running his ad.”
    “Why would a guy with his looks be interested in someone like Luanne Ritter?” Jamie pondered aloud.
    “Maybe he didn’t know her.”
    “That’s hard to believe, everybody knew Luanne.”
    “What did she look like?”
    “She was so-so,” Jamie said, trying to think of a nice way to describe the woman.
    “I’ve got all the addresses, information, everything. We need to check these people out. You’re going to have to arrange a date with them. Quickly,” he added.
    “I can’t date all these men that fast,” Jamie said.
    “You’re only going to contact the ones who allowed their phone numbers to be printed,” Max said. “Unless you want to tell them that you were processing their ads at the newspaper office and liked what you saw. Maybe we can enlist Destiny. She can contact half of them. Besides, she already knows what’s going on.”
    “That’s a great idea,” Jamie said, sarcasm slipping into her voice. “Ronnie can chaperone.”
    “Yeah, well, we’ll have to talk to her about bringing Ronnie. We don’t want to spook these guys. But I think between the two of you, we’ll be able to get the job done quicker. I’ll be close by, of course.”
    “We’re not going to be able to find out who the murderer is in one date,” Jamie said.
    “You’re right. We’re going to have to watch them. If I have to call in some of my people, I will.”
    “We don’t have a minute to waste, Max. We need to get to work on this immediately.”
    He stood, crossed the distance between them, and pulled Jamie against him. “It’s still early. We could toss out that