Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 by Margaret Daley, Katy Lee

Eagleton.”
    â€œI was just telling my niece I knew your parents. And I was a congressman when your grandfather served in the Senate from Maryland. Any interest in going into politics?”
    Nicholas picked up a white napkin and placed it in his lap. “I’m enjoying my job and don’t see a reason to change.”
    After the waiter took their orders, her uncle sipped his water then said, “Selena asked me to wait until you arrived to find out why she needed to talk with me. You’re here, so why the urgency?”
    â€œWe’re investigating a lead in Saul Rather’s murder.”
    Uncle Preston’s eyebrows hiked up. “Greg Littleton was found guilty. Case closed.”
    â€œWe’re not so sure he’s the one who murdered your intern,” Selena interjected.
    Both men looked at Selena, and she tensed her shoulders. Surprise filled her uncle’s face while Nicholas’s mouth tightened into a hard line.
    Nicholas cleared his throat. “Greg was convicted on circumstantial evidence and some of it has come into question of late. We were at the prison to interview Greg yesterday, and when we left there, someone followed us. We confronted the private detective and discovered you or someone from your office hired him to keep an eye on any people who visit Littleton.”
    Uncle Preston’s forehead furrowed, but he didn’t say anything until the waiter set their orders in front of them and left. He stared for a long moment at his poached halibut with saffron nage, then looked Nicholas in the eye. “Who was the private investigator?”
    â€œBenny Goodwin.” Nicholas picked up his braised short-rib sandwich and took a bite, watching for any kind of reaction from her uncle.
    Popping a sweet-potato fry into her mouth, Selena saw her uncle’s jawline harden and his eyes glint. The scent from her crab-cake sandwich churned her stomach.
    â€œFirst of all, I don’t know what this has to do with my daughter. Second, I don’t know a Benny Goodwin. I’ve never used him for any kind of work. If he told you I hired him, he’s lying.”
    â€œCould someone on your staff have hired Goodwin without your knowledge? When he’s paid, it’s cash and the private detective has never seen a person associated with the request.” Nicholas returned her uncle’s intense regard.
    â€œI guess it’s possible. I certainly know I don’t hire anyone and pay in cash, for accounting reasons. But why would someone from my staff do that?”
    â€œTo keep track of what’s going on with Littleton because they have something to lose if evidence is uncovered to prove his innocence.” Nicholas reached under the white tablecloth and clasped Selena’s hand.
    She was sure her distress was evident on her face. Her uncle had that effect on her. She wasn’t like her mother and had for years wished he would acknowledge that. Her family was small, and she wanted some connection with the few she had. It was lonely being a loner all of her life.
    â€œWhat does this have to do with Erin? Not that I don’t want an innocent man, if he is, exonerated.” Uncle Preston shifted his attention from Nicholas to her.
    Nicholas squeezed her hand, as if to say she should take this question.
    â€œWhen Erin went missing, I was determined to find a way to clear her name. I looked into Michael Jeffries’s personal life and couldn’t find anything that would be a motive for murder. That’s when I decided to investigate his professional life. I knew Michael had a couple of current cases he was working on, and I decided to see if anyone connected to those would have a reason to kill him. Erin didn’t.”
    â€œOf course, my daughter wouldn’t,” her uncle said in a raised voice, then snapped his mouth closed as a few people glanced their way.
    Selena’s grip on Nicholas’s hand tightened. “Michael and