What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) by Rose Pressey Page B

conversation.
    “I’m aware of that.”
    The doorbell chimed and we turned to look. A customer had entered. Justin waved at the man. He was a lot friendlier than he’d been when we’d come into his shop.
    “I’m aware of what happened to her, but I didn’t do anything to the women. Are you the cops?” he asked.
    “No, we’re private investigators,” Derek said.
    He scoffed. “Good work on tracking me down.”
    “The police haven’t been by to speak with you?” I asked.
    He shook his head. “Nope.”
    Wow, maybe we were that good. Or I guessed Derek was that good. He had been the one to track this man down. Just because this man said he had nothing to do with Amber’s murder didn’t mean he was innocent. It wasn’t like he would confess to us.
    “Why did she borrow money?” I asked. Okay, that was a dumb question. Obviously she needed the money. “What I mean is Morgan has a business. I would think she’d have plenty of money.”
    “I guess the gambling was finally catching up with her.”
    So this guy gave her more money to gamble with?
    “Listen, if you’re finished with the questions, I have customers to take care of.”
    I looked around and saw no one. The man who had entered had disappeared. I supposed he’d gone into a back room. What was going on back there?
    “We might be back around if we think of more questions,” Derek said.
    “Great,” Justin said sarcastically.
    Derek and I turned to leave. When I glanced back Justin was still watching us. His stare was a little unsettling.
    We stepped outside and Derek said, “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
    I scoffed. “It would be hard to know if that guy was ever honest. I can’t believe the police haven’t talked with him.”
    “I guess they don’t have my kind of connections.” Derek winked.
    Suddenly our kiss flooded back into my mind. I wondered if it had crossed Derek’s mind too. Regardless, I needed to forget about it. I had work to do.
    Derek ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m not sure that I believe this guy. Something tells me we’ll see Justin Mark again soon.”

Chapter 15
     
    Derek’s cell rang and he picked up. He often received a lot of calls from his friends. My friends rarely called because they didn’t know how to use their cell phones. But I digress.
    When Derek ended the call he looked at me and said, “That was Russell. He said he is sure that Morgan is at the casino right now.
    “Now? Wow. That’s odd that she would disappear and then just show up there as if nothing happened.  We’re going there right now, right?” I asked.
    “Damn skippy we’re going.” He motioned for me to follow him.
    I grabbed my bag and raced out of the office. Next thing I knew, we were in Derek’s SUV headed toward the casino. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic slowing us down.
    “I hope we get there before she leaves,” I said. “What was she doing? Did he say?”
    “He didn’t say. He just told me to get there as soon as possible.”
    We wheeled up to the casino forgoing the valet parking this time. We needed to get in there as quickly as possible. After pulling into the first spot Derek found, we hopped out.
    Without saying a word, Derek and I ran toward the casino. As we neared the entrance, we slowed down so that people wouldn’t think something was seriously wrong. I didn’t let the lights and sounds get to me this time. I was on a mission.
    Once in the casino, we rushed over to the desk to ask for Russell. The woman from before wasn’t there today. Luckily, someone else helped him. Derek returned while we waited for Russell to show up. I scanned the crowd to see if I spotted Morgan. It would be impossible to pick her out. The place was packed. 
    After a couple minutes, Russell approached. I hoped it hadn’t been so long that she’d left. When I saw the look on his face, I worried that was exactly what had happened.
    “Hey, where is she?” Derek asked.
    Russell shook his head.