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urgent. Nicole recognized the prefixas being from the Cayman Islands only because Dr. Cantrell and his wife, Leslie, had just returned from vacationing there. As his office manager, she’d had to call him several times on business matters.
    Perhaps Lee was planning a trip there, as well. Or else he had business there—or investments. There were countless legitimate reasons for him to have received that call.
    Still, suspicionsbegan to bounce around in her mind. If Lee were guilty of taking bribes, he might use a bank in the Islands to hide the extra income.
    Impulsively, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called the number that had been left on Lee’s machine. She reached a recorded message that explained the bank was closed for normal business hours and provided another number in case of an emergency.A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
    “Hello, my sweet.”
    Nicole jumped at the sound of Lee’s voice.
    “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
    “I didn’t hear you come in.”
    “Apparently. So what are you doing back here in my office?”
    “The phone was ringing. I thought it might be you trying to reach me.”
    His brows arched. “Had I wanted you, I’d havecalled your cell phone.”
    “I was poolside for a few minutes. I thought I might have missed a call from you saying why you were running late.”
    “I’m sorry. I guess I should have gotten in touch. There’s been one emergency after another today. Since you checked, did I have any messages that sounded important?”
    “I couldn’t say. I punched the skip button as soon as I realized the messagesweren’t from you.”
    He smiled, and for the first time since he’d arrived, he appeared to relax. He put an arm around her waist and kissed her on the mouth. As usual, she felt nothing. The total opposite of Remy’s almost kiss.
    “The messages can wait,” he said. “I’m starved and I smell Chinese food. I’m glad you decided to come over tonight. Like I said, it’s been a hell of a day.”
    As they ate, Lee detailed a run-in with the D.A. and a problem one of his best detectives was having with a brutality accusation. Nicole only half listened as she forced down a few bites of food.
    She waited until Lee’s plate was almost empty before tackling the subject that had stolen her appetite.
    “Did Remy Comeaux ever find you at the party last evening?”
    Lee’s demeanor changedin an instant. His muscles strained and veins popped out on his forehead as if just the name enraged him. “How do you know Remy Comeaux?”
    “I don’t really know him.” Not actually a lie. “I met him at the Delacroixes’. He said he was a close friend of yours.”
    Lee muttered a string of curses. “Why didn’t you tell me last night that you’d met him?”
    “It slipped my mind. There was a lotgoing on.”
    “Believe me, Remy is no friend. He had no business being there and even less business harassing you.”
    “He didn’t harass me. We only exchanged a few words.” No reason to mention that she’d initiated it.
    “I don’t suppose he told you that he’s a dirty cop I had arrested eight years ago, just before Katrina hit.”
    “Did he do jail time?”
    “No. Unfortunately the evidenceagainst him was lost in the resulting floods, the same as it was in a lot of other cases. Remy left town and I had far more important matters to tend to at that point than a cop who’d disgraced his badge.”
    “Why do you think he’s come back to town now?” she questioned.
    “To cause trouble for me.”
    “Why? You’d think he’d just be glad he escaped prosecution.”
    “It’s a vendetta withhim. His girlfriend drowned in the flooding or else she just took advantage of the opportunity to dump him. Anyway, he blames me for that.”
    “Because you’d had him arrested?”
    “Right. He claimed he’d have been there to keep her safe if he hadn’t been behind bars. More likely he’d have been looting a local business while