She didn’t have the luxury of examining her motivations too closely. If there was that much money at stake, the Chamber would pay. And if she could find a missing girl in the process of keeping her father’s business open, even better.
They eyed each other across the desk for a moment. The light from the window caught on Landros’s left earring, and for a moment it was so overwhelmingly bright Veronica had to blink. Finally Landros nodded.
“Not a saleswoman, but certainly a businesswoman.” She smiled. “All right, Ms. Mars. You have a deal.”
Veronica pulled a pen from the barrel-shaped holder on the desk. “What do you know about the case? Where was Hayley last seen?”
“At a party up on Manzanita Drive. None of the girls she was with seems to know whose house it was, but according to Lamb it belongs to a rental agency. He’s supposed to be looking into who had it rented.” She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with a careless hand. “I’ve donated the main conference room of the Neptune Grand for the search efforts. We’ve also set up a website for tips and donations to help fund the search—you’ve probably heard Trish Turley talking about it. It’s pulled in nearly a half million in three days, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. We’ve siphoned off ten thousand dollars as reward money, so if you do find Hayley, there’s an extra incentive for you.”
“Where’s her family staying?”
“I have them in one of the business suites. They can put you in touch with the friends who were with Hayley at the time.”
“Have there been any tips yet? Anything credible?”
Landros snorted. “The usual disgusting pranks. If I had any particular faith in humanity, the messages I’ve seen come in from anonymous ‘tipsters’ would have shaken it. So far we’ve at least kept her parents from seeing them—we have volunteers filtering through the inbox.” She adjusted a delicate bracelet on her wrist. “I’ve set up a meeting with Sheriff Lamb this afternoon. I’d like you to come.”
Veronica tapped her pen lightly on the desk. “I’m not exactly his favorite person.”
“Neither am I.” Her smile was a tight, humorless curve on her face. “But you’re technically working in tandem on this case, and I want to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. Besides, he can bring you up to speed on the details better than I can.”
She stood up. For a moment, Veronica could picture what she must have been like on a runway, hips pivoting to the beat of a cranked-up techno soundtrack, feather wings strapped to her back in a pure white spray. She fought a smile. This was a woman who’d figured out how to be fearless, even standing in her underwear.
Landros smoothed her skirt. “I need to get back to work. Have your girl e-mail me the contract and I’ll have it in your inbox by the end of the day.”
“Of course.” Veronica followed Landros to the front door and opened it for her. The woman paused for a moment, then turned to face her.
“Do me a favor, though, Ms. Mars. Please do try to keep a low profile on this. We want answers. Not theater.”
Veronica smiled. “Understood.”
They shook hands once more. Then Petra Landros was gone.
Veronica pivoted slowly around. Mac sat at her desk, her mouth hanging slack. Their eyes met, and Veronica couldn’t help it. She grinned.
“Feel like working for Mars Investigations a little longer?”
Mac’s cheeks flushed with dawning excitement. “We’ve got a case?”
“A big one.” She strode across the room and leaned down on Mac’s desk to look at her, face to face. “I’m going to need background checks on Hayley Dewalt’s immediate family members, along with Hayley’s phone records and e-mails for the past few months. But first things first. Where are we ordering lunch from today? Because I’m starving … and Neptune is buying.”