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going to tell anyone either.”
    “I’ll keep my mouth shut, I promise. I can’t solve this case if you’re dead. Did you decide where you’re going to stay?”
    “I found a house a few miles from Providence. It’s a month-to-month lease.  I’ll stay there for the time being.” 
    “Are you using your own name to lease it?”
    “Of course not. I’m not as dumb as I might seem.” Hackett laughed.
     
     

Chapter 4
    1.
    The next morning Miranda had an unexpected meeting. Dillon called to inform her that he was in Miami and wouldn’t be able to chat with her in person this week because of the business deal he’d been working on. Then he said he had asked his very good friend Monica Staggs to meet the detective and discuss the case.
    “She’s on her way to see you,” he said.
    Monica Staggs showed up in Miranda's office half an hour after Dillon’s call. She was a dazzling long-legged brunette in her late twenties or early thirties who used make-up sparingly.   
    “My name is Monica,” she said, shaking Miranda’s hand. “I’m Marshall Dillon’s friend.”
    She must have been a really good friend of Dillon's: Miranda remembered seeing her picture on the America Discount Tires CEO’s desk.
    “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Staggs.”
    Monica smiled. “Marshall instructed me to talk to you about the investigation. He would meet you personally if he wasn’t terribly busy, I hope you can forgive him. You know, I’m glad he sent me here. I don’t get out of the house very much. I’m not a big partier.” She flashed another radiant smile.
    “So you’d like to talk about the investigation?” Miranda said.  
    “Yes, right, let’s cut to the chase. We would much appreciate it if you could get us up to date on your investigation. Marshall is very worried that his son’s life is in danger. Do you have any theories or clues?” Monica took a recorder out of her purse. “I don’t trust my memory, so I’m going to use this if you don’t mind.”  She switched the recorder on.
    “We’ve made certain progress. Now we know that someone’s trying to murder Mister Dillon’s son.”
    “Murder Jeff? This is horrible!” Monica frowned. “Do you have any suspects?”
    “We’re working on it.”
    “Why do they want to kill him?”
    “We’re working on it, too.
    “Oh my God! Do you think Jeff is okay?”
    “I believe he’s still alive.”
    Monica heaved a deep sigh. “I’m shocked. I simply don’t know what to say. Do you have any clues yet?”
    “Yes, we have a couple.”
    “What do we do now? How are we going to find Jeff? We must find Mister Dillon’s son before those people get to him.” Monica gave Miranda a pleading gaze. “Are you looking for Jeff?”
    “Yes, we’re doing our best to find him. But as you remember, Jeff said he was going to lie low.”
    “If you find Jeff, please tell him his father wants to talk to him. Marshall asked me to let you know that it’s extremely important. Extremely important.” Monica paused. “Now I understand why Marshall’s been in such a bad mood lately.”
    “Does Mister Dillon have any information that could help the investigation?”
    Monica shrugged her shoulders.
    “He only tells me what he deems necessary to say. I’m only a woman, after all. How smart can my advice be?” She giggled. Then she turned off the recorder and rose from the chair. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miranda. If you have any questions for me or if you find any new information about Jeff, please give me a call.” She handed Miranda her business card.
    When Monica left, Miranda called Jeff Hackett and told him she was going to visit him in Pawtucket. Jeff promised to wait for the detective.
    So, Marshall Dillon was dying to talk to his son. Was it because he knew something about the people who were after Hackett? This theory was worth testing, which meant Jeff had to speak to his father.
     
    2.
    “Dad is a decent person,” Hackett said. “I’m not