I frowned. “I don’t have any idea what Pam could have done in the past.”

“Again,” she said. “Wrong direction.”

“Pam doesn’t have anything to do with this?”

“She killed a man, didn’t she?”

“But she was coerced?” I asked.

She smiled again. “But by whom?”

Was she insinuating that Pam hadn’t asked for the favor? If not Pam, then who? Was her husband behind this after all?

“You need to look at Rob Crimshaw,” she confirmed. “As well as his brother and his father.”

“His brother disappeared, and his father died in prison.”

She looked pleased. “And Rob Crimshaw is scot free. Do you know why his father was in prison?”

“Drug possession with intent to sell.”

“You need to look at the source of those drugs,” she said. “He has the answers.”

Oh, God. Please don’t let it be Hank. “And who would that be?”

“You’re a smart girl. You tell me.”

“Todd Bingham.”

She nodded and my relief was palpable. “Tell him to give you what you need, and I’ll give him what he wants in return.”

“He’ll know what I’m talking about?”

“He will. He’ll be eager to talk.”

“Why not approach him yourself? He’s outside right now. It would be easy to arrange.”

“He won’t talk to me, plus it would be unseemly. I needed a go-between, and you’re perfect.”

“So you’re using me?” I asked dryly.

“Don’t pretend like you’re getting nothing out of this,” she scolded. “All three of us win.”

I pushed out a breath. She was right, but I still didn’t trust her.

“One more thing,” she said. “You can’t tell anyone about our deal. Not my sons and especially not Marco.”

My back stiffened. “I don’t keep secrets from Marco.”

“Don’t be deluded,” she groused. “Everyone keeps secrets from the ones they love.”

That pissed me off. “Not all of us have warped relationships like you do with your husband.”

“There you go with your delusions of love.” She gave me a sideways wave. “You may leave now but send Max back. He and I still have unfinished business.”

I stared at her in disbelief. She thought she could just dismiss me? “Speaking of your husband, where is he?”

“He got called away to the construction site, which gave me more time to spend with Max.” She gave me a shrewd look. “So no, he won’t know that we talked.”

I had other questions, but I didn’t want risk Bart coming back and seeing me with his wife. He was already suspicious of me. I didn’t need to give him any more fodder.

“You’re certain this will bring him down?” I asked as I stood.

“I guess you’ll need to see for yourself.”

I certainly planned to.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Marco was helping Max change the keg when I went back outside. I was torn between telling him what had just happened, Emily be damned, and finding Bingham and pinning him down for a private conversation.

The worried look in Max’s eyes sent me straight toward the two guys.

“Thanks for lookin’ for those cups,” he said as I approached. “I take it from the fact you’re empty handed that you didn’t find them?”

All of the plastic cups were outside, so I recognized we were talking around my visit with his mother rather than bringing it out in the open. “Yeah, sorry. You might want to go look yourself.”

“We should be fine since people are bringin’ their cups back up for refills,” he said as he finished changing the keg. He stood and looked me in the eyes. “I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.”

“Everything’s just fine.”

He held my gaze a moment longer. “If you ever get a request or order you don’t want to fill, then let me know, okay? I’ll find a way to get you out of it.”

His sincerity and concern were overwhelming. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “You too, okay?”

He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a long second before he released me. “We should probably talk soon.”

I nodded.

He went back inside, and I turned back to Marco, who was watching me with narrowed eyes.

“I’m reading a whole lot of hidden context there.”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I said. “In fact, we should probably leave soon to discuss it, but first I need to talk to Bingham. Have you seen him lately?”

“Why do you need to speak to Bingham?”

“That’s what I need to tell you about later.” I scanned the crowd. “I don’t see him.”

“I haven’t seen him for a while, but I’ll be honest—I haven’t been lookin’. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Bart or Emily either.”

“I have it on good authority that Bart got called away to the construction site.”

“But not Emily?” he asked with a lifted brow.

I knew he was a smart man. “I’m going to make a pass around the lot to see if he’s here.”

“Should I come with you?”

I hesitated, but if it had been dangerous for him to accompany me to Jonathon Whitmore’s house, it was much more so for him to be seen with me and Bingham. “No. It’s probably better if you don’t.”

“Carly…”

I walked over and gave him a kiss. “It’s okay. I promise.”

“Okay.”

As I made my way around the crowd, I didn’t see him or Lula anywhere, but Greta and her boyfriend were dancing. The song ended, so I walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Carly!” she said enthusiastically. “Sorry we missed you this afternoon, but I guess I see why.”

“Max outdid himself,” I said.

“I’m sure you had something to do with it.”

“Less than you might think.” I glanced to the side. “Say, have you seen Lula? I saw her earlier and wanted to say hi and ask about the baby, but I don’t see her anywhere.”’

She laughed. “Todd took her home. She was nervous about leaving Beatrice so long.”

“Oh,” I said with a sigh.

The music picked back up and Greta shouted, “I think Todd had a special night planned for her.” She winked. “I can’t wait to hear about it tomorrow.”

Which meant going to see him tonight was out of the question.

“See you later,” she called out as her boyfriend spun her around.

My earlier joyfulness had faded, but I was eager to tell Marco what had just happened. On my way over to him, I saw Hank sitting to the side of the crowd, talking to a couple of older men. He saw me and smiled, then motioned for me to go on my way.

I was thrilled he was having fun, and I hoped this would inspire him to get out more. His accessibly fitted car would help.

When I reached Marco, I pressed myself to his side, wrapping my arms around his waist as I leaned into him.