Read Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 04 - Saddle Up for Free Online Page B

got up, wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.
    When he let go, he said, “I’m sorry this situation is unsettling you.”
    “I’m fine, Dad. What did you make for breakfast?”
    “Nothing, I’m taking us out,” Jordan said.
    “Really?”
    “Yes. I have just enough time to eat breakfast and then come back here, pick up Fifi, and make it to the airport. But we’ve got to get going. I thought you’d never get out of bed.”
    The clock in the kitchen range said 6:45. Some things never change.
    “Dad, is it okay for you to be seen with us?” I asked.
    “I don’t think the FBI will be out looking for me at the local Denny’s,” he said.
    “She may be right, Dad,” Jordan said. “We find people in the craziest places. They sit down to have a meal or grab an item at a store and someone spots them. The next thing you know, the Feds slap the handcuffs on them. Maybe we should just stay here.”
    “Nope, we can go out.” Dad went into his bedroom.
    I looked at Jordan and asked, “Now what?”
    She put up her hands to indicate that she didn’t have a clue.
    A few minutes later, Dad came out. But he didn’t look like Dad. He had a full head of black hair, stylish wire-rimmed glasses, and had changed into a pair of tan slacks and a white shirt.
    “You look like a salesman,” Jordan said.
    “Great, as long as I don’t look like your dad. We’ll be fine.” He put his arm around my shoulder. “I can be Liza’s new boyfriend she’s introducing to you, if anyone asks.”
    “You’re too old to be my boyfriend,” I told him.
    “We’ll tell them that I like them young and you have no other prospects, if anyone asks.”
    I held up my left hand and wiggled my fingers at him.
    “That cop doesn’t count,” he said.
    Jordan drove us in her bright red convertible Mustang rental car to Denny’s a few blocks from my house. Jordan and I ordered the Grand Slam Breakfast – 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 pieces of bacon and 2 sausages – enough food to feed an entire family. Dad had a vegetarian omelet made with egg substitute.
    “Remember when we ordered this in Hawaii?” Jordan said between bites of pancakes.
    “I remember. It wasn’t $2.99,” Dad remarked.
    “Yep, we spent the rest of the vacation saying, ‘$6.99? Are you out of your mind!” I added.
    We all laughed.
    “Dad told me about the clowns and the eating contests, Liza. That was really cool the way you caught the bad guys.”
    “Thanks Jordan,” I said.
    “Both of you girls like to see justice done,” my dad said. His face showed the pride he felt for both of us.
    “You have any new cases on the horizon?” Jordan asked.
    I hesitated. I never shared my cases with anyone but Justin in the beginning. Maybe it was time to change things. But since Tom was there during the last cases, shouldn’t it be him I should be sharing with first and not my dad and sister?
    “Never mind, if you don’t want to tell us,” Jordan said, obviously noticing my hesitation.
    “It’s not that. It’s just that – it is a little different this time.”
    “How?” Dad asked.
    I told them about the message slip I got at the Texas hotel and what the recording said.
    “Dial it and let us hear,” Jordan said.
    I had called it so often the number and code were memorized, so I placed my phone on speaker and set it in the middle of the table.
    The usual voice came on, I entered the code, and the same recording played.
    “That’s weird,” Jordan said.
    “It doesn’t tell you where or who, but just when,” my dad added.
    “How are you supposed to stop it if you don’t know the answers to those other questions?” Jordan asked.
    “Was Justin able to find anything on the Internet for you?” Dad took a sip of his coffee.
    I explained all the information Justin learned about rodeos.
    “But nothing specific about a rodeo family in trouble?” Dad asked.
    “Nope. There is a rodeo near the date, so I hope the message has something to do with that town.”
    “Which