She hesitated. “I came here because I believed Miranda’s story. I thought I could work out a payment plan because we were, you know…related.”

He chuckled again, and she couldn’t help smiling at him. She would bet he had most juries in the palm of his hand.

“I won’t charge you. This probably isn’t any big deal. Just leave the papers.” He reached across the desk, and she handed him the document. It was slightly curled from her death grip. “I’m interested in your cousin and why she made up such a wild story. Tell me about her.”

Whitney wasn’t sure where to begin. Miranda’s deception had been so unexpected. She hadn’t had time to think.

“Miranda Marshall. Do I know her?”

“Maybe. She’s my age, thirty-two going on thirty-three. We’re first cousins and look a lot alike. Blond hair. Green eyes. We’re the same size.”

“I’ve never seen you before. Trust me, I have a good memory for faces.”

She believed him. Broderick Babcock probably kept an entire law library in his head.

“Where does your cousin work?”

“She owns-owned-Marshall’s Pet Concierge. That’s a dog-walking and pet sitting service. Mostly dogs and a few cats.”

He leaned back in his chair and frowned. “I don’t have a dog. I can’t imagine where we crossed paths.”

“Maybe she just made it up. You’re very well known. It-”

“It’s still odd. I hope she didn’t spread this all around town. I’m divorced-”

“I’m sure she didn’t,” Whitney quickly told him. “Miranda warned me not to tell anyone. She claimed you wanted to keep it secret so your clients wouldn’t know you were out of town.”

“Does your cousin have a history of mental problems?”

“No, of course not,” Whitney assured him. But she realized how little she actually knew about Miranda.

RYAN CAME OUT OF Le Bistro, a fine sheen of sweat coating his entire body. Domenic Coriz had him by the balls and the prick knew it. There wasn’t any way out of this mess except to let Coriz have his way.

He sat in his Porsche and checked the messages on his cell phone. He’d had it on vibrate and knew several calls had come in while he’d been with the Native American. Ashley had left three messages. Walter Nance, the head of the group of cosmetic surgeons he was joining, had called.

Shit!

What was he going to tell Walter? He didn’t have his share of the money for the new building. He had little chance of getting it for a while.

Last night, Lady Luck had spit in his eye. He’d left Ashley for the casino in hopes of accumulating enough money on the slot machines to have a run at the craps table. He’d bottomed out.

Ryan pressed speed dial and Ashley answered on the second ring. “What’s up, babe?”

“Lexi’s back with Whitney. She called to tell us and apologized for being so hysterical last night.”

“I hope you were nice, considering…”

“Of course. I was very pleasant. She insisted I call you. She didn’t want you contacting a bunch of testing labs when Lexi was already home.”

“I appreciate that. Listen, sweetie. I’ve gotta go. I have a meeting with Walter.”

He pressed End and heaved a sigh. Under normal circumstances, he would have ridden Ashley hard for having her girlfriend swipe Lexi, but he was nearly at the point where he was going to have to confess how broke they were.

Busted!

He couldn’t imagine how Ashley would handle it if he confessed he had a gambling habit of this magnitude. She’d tried to be nonchalant but Ashley hadn’t been able to conceal from him how happy she’d been to quit her job at the cosmetic surgery center. Money had been tight her entire life. She was counting on him to support her in a lifestyle that suited someone as beautiful as Ashley.

He stared beyond the steering wheel at the wall of the restaurant. He was positive Ashley loved him. But his financial situation and his status as a doctor meant a lot to her. She deserved the best and he was going to give it to her. No matter what it took.

IT WAS AFTER LUNCH BEFORE Preston Block appeared at the gym. According to the punk manning the reception desk, Block had spent the morning visiting clients at home.

“Block,” Adam called as the buff guy slammed his car door shut.

He turned around and looked across the lot to see who had called his name. Block tried for a smile, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the guy wasn’t thrilled to see him. “Hey! How’s the dog?”

Adam walked close enough to look into Block’s eyes. “Lexi’s home where she belongs.”

Block switched the backpack he was carrying from one hand to the other. “I really don’t want a reward. I-”

“I didn’t come about a reward. I want to know the truth. You weren’t jogging when you found Lexi, were you?”

“Of course I was.”

“Bullshit. There isn’t a Stop ’N Go on Harborside. You didn’t buy the leash there. Why did you steal the dog?”

“Man, you’ve lost it. I found her, just like I said I did.”

Adam glared at Preston Block and let his words hang like a noose in the air. Lies were like cockroaches. If you spotted one, others were nearby. A minute dragged by before Adam said, “I checked with Jake Conavey at Boomerang’s. You didn’t help out there last night.”

If Block was surprised that Adam had contacted the owner of the punk bar, it didn’t show in his face. He shrugged as if to say: So?

Adam was tempted to ram his fist down the cocky jerk’s throat. Instead, he told him, “Before my unit was called up for duty in Iraq, I was a detective with the San Diego P.D.”

That got Block’s attention. His nostrils flared ever so slightly, a visceral sign of his anxiety. Adam didn’t add that he was no longer affiliated with law enforcement. He allowed Block to assume he’d be going back to work on the police force.

“Now, this can go one of two ways,” Adam said in a casual voice. “You can tell me the truth or you can expect a lot of nosing into your personal life. I’m sure you don’t want to be looking in your rearview mirror every time you get in your car. I’m sure you don’t want to smoke a joint and wonder if you’re going to be busted. I’m sure you don’t want to be late to your clients because you’ve been pulled over for something.”

“That’s harassment. I’ll report you.”

“You’ve got a sealed juvenile record. Maybe your clients wouldn’t like you so much if they received copies of that report.” Adam was bluffing with this. It was nearly impossible to access a sealed juvenile record.

“Oh, shit!” Block glanced toward the entrance to the gym as if he expected someone to come out and help him. He inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring out even more this time. “I didn’t mean any harm. I brought the dog back, didn’t I?”

“Why did you take her?” Adam ground out the words.

Block ran his shovel-like hands through his hair. “It was my plan-all mine. It seemed like a good idea at the time. She didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“She? You mean Ashley Fordham?” Seeing the pretty women featured on Block’s Web site had made Adam wonder about Ryan’s new wife, but Dr. Jox was so far from where they lived that he hadn’t been sure about the connection.

“Yeah. Look, man…Ashley wanted this new house. She was really upset. She’s been on the road her whole life. One apartment after another; one city after another.”

“A tragedy, sure, but what does this have to do with the dog?”

“I’ve been working with Ashley for three years, since she moved here to try out for Miss San Diego. We’ve become close friends. I was the only one at the funeral when her mother died. We celebrated together when the doc gave her that killer ring.”

Adam just bet Preston Block was overcome with joy at Ashley’s engagement. Any jerk could see the guy was bonkers over the bombshell Fordham had married. “Okay, pard, I get the picture. What does your friendship with Ashley have to do with the Golden retriever?”