Ultimate Concealer, A Toni Diamond Mystery: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries) Read Free Page A

he glanced at the incoming number, he wondered whether his day was about to get better, or worse. With Toni you never knew.
    “Marciano,” he said.
    “Honey, you know it’s me. Why do you always bark out your name? You think I might have forgotten it?” She had the sexiest voice. He sometimes wondered if that’s why she was such a successful saleswoman. But he doubted it. More likely it was because she was so pushy.
    “Force of habit,” he said.
    “Am I interrupting anything?”
    “Murder investigation.”
    She sighed. “Don’t people in this state ever do anything but kill each other?”
    Her words so mirrored his own thoughts that he had to smile. “Texans like to do everything bigger.” He glanced around, making sure no one could hear him. “Speaking of which, you still coming over to my place later?”
    He and Toni had an interesting relationship. Having met on a murder investigation where her smarts — well hidden, in Luke’s opinion, under more makeup and diamonds than any woman needed — had almost got her killed. Since then they’d become, he wasn’t really sure what. Friends with benefits maybe came closest.
    Between their two insane work schedules and her teenaged daughter, they didn’t see a lot of each other. Usually they got together at his place for an evening. They’d order take-out or one of them would cook, they’d talk, they’d have sex. She’d go home. With the divorce rate in his profession so high — and he’d already struck out once — he knew how difficult it was to sustain a relationship. He suspected Toni was equally skittish of anything resembling permanence.
    “I sure am. And good news. Tiffany’s sleeping over at a friend’s. I can stay the night.”
    He felt his day getting better by the second. “That is very good news.”
    “I’ll see you later.”
    When she arrived at his place later, he kissed her. And then he kissed her again and they discovered they weren’t that hungry. Not for food.
    Sometime later, he found himself lying naked in bed, a satisfied smile on his face and Toni’s head on his chest.
    When her breath had returned to normal, she said, “Oh, I really needed that.”
    He turned to grin at her. “Best stress reliever there is.”
    She played her hand idly across his belly and the reflection of five tiny diamonds winked at him. “Tiffany’s going through something.”
    “Tiffany’s always going through something,” he reminded her.
    “I know, but this is different. It’s about her dad.”
    “What about her dad?”
    “I think he contacted her. He called me out of the blue trying to get some money out of me, if you can believe it. He saw that article in Texas Today. He doesn’t even live in Texas. Somebody must have sent him a copy.”
    Toni never talked about her ex, and what little he’d gleaned did not sound impressive. “The guy who ran out on you and left you with a baby is hitting you up for a loan?”
    She nodded, her curls tickling his chest. “I think he might have contacted Tiffany, as well.”
    He knew how much she protected her daughter. Too much, in his opinion, but he didn’t have kids so he kept his feelings to himself. “She’s sixteen. What harm do you think he can do her?”
    “She’s my baby, Luke. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
    He pulled her closer, if that was possible. “What makes you think he contacted her?”
    “Because she asked about him. Said a father has a right to see his daughter, which sounded exactly like something Dwayne would say, when he’s tried very hard for the past sixteen years not to see her, or know about her and definitely not to support her. I couldn’t even find him for the divorce. Had to do that without him, too.”
    “Probably it was coincidence,” he said, kissing her. Not that he believed his own words, but he didn’t have much to offer.
    The next morning, Luke was barely in the office when Toni called. He picked up with a grin. “Hey, sexy.”
    “I want to report a