Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Not what I expected Harvey to say. And somehow, not entirely a surprise. Fuck. Why couldn’t anything ever be simple? But this was—
“Weird,” Avery said. “What do you mean it was stolen?” she asked, and for once, I didn’t mind sitting back and letting someone else lead the charge on the questioning. I was curious what she’d be able to get out of Harvey that I might not.
His glance flicked to me again, and when he saw I wasn’t going to interrupt, reluctantly, he looked back to Avery and let out a sigh. “I had it in my desk. Someone broke in. And when I came in, it was gone.”
“When?” Avery challenged.
“A few weeks ago, I didn’t write the date down.”
At that, I was done letting Avery take the lead. “Harvey, you had another break-in, and you didn’t call me?”
Harvey looked down at his desk, then up at me. “I’m sorry. I just... I know Hawk and Griffen wanted that fancy security system here, but I keep forgetting to set it. This is Sawyers Bend. What do I need a security system for? All these years, I’ve never had one.”
“All these years, you’ve never had multiple break-ins,” I reminded him.
“I know, I know, I know.” He sounded like a broken record. Harvey shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry to disappoint you. I should have known better. It’s just... Well, when I forgot to set the alarm, there had only been the one break-in, and that was related to whatever was going on with Quinn and Hawk. Didn’t seem like it had anything to do with me, and I just...” He looked down at his feet and shrugged a shoulder before looking back at me, all sheepish remorse. “I’ve gone a lot of years not locking my door, son. The idea of doing that, plus setting an alarm, just slips my mind.”
I could practically hear Avery’s teeth grinding together, but she didn’t say anything. Not yet.
“Fine,” I conceded. I knew enough people in Sawyers Bend, especially the old-timers, who couldn’t get their heads around locking their doors, much less setting security alarms. “But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t call to report a theft.”
Harvey looked around the office for a moment, making me wonder if he was looking for escape or hoping someone would appear to rescue him from my questioning.
“Do either of you want coffee? Tea?” he asked, brightly.
“No,” Avery said sharply. “I want to know how you let the necklace get stolen and why you didn’t tell any of us. You knew it was important.” Her voice cut off, and she swallowed hard.
I didn’t believe the necklace had anything to do with Prentice’s murder, but it was all they had to go on. I set a hand on Avery’s shoulder, half expecting her to shrug it off, but she leaned into me just a fraction, her gaze hard on Harvey’s face.
“I should have called,” he said, talking mostly to me. “I should have reported the theft. I understand that. It’s just...” He let out another huff of breath. “Honey.” He looked at Avery. “It’s just a necklace. Your father was murdered in his office, not in the cabin, probably because of a business deal. And it’s been making me nervous, you girls are so obsessed with finding the woman who owned that necklace. You’re only going to stir up trouble that could get you hurt. When I came into my office and found the necklace had been stolen, I thought maybe it was for the best.”
A sound rumbled from Avery’s throat that was suspiciously like a growl. “Are you kidding me, Harvey?” she said. “Seriously? You got robbed, and you didn’t do anything about it because you hoped we’d be quiet and let it go?”
“That’s about it,” he admitted. “Though now I’m seeing that wasn’t such a great plan.”
Avery shook her head and stormed past me. I caught her by the elbow, handing her the keys to the SUV.
“Wait for me,” I said. “I’ll be right there.” I hoped giving her the keys was the right idea. I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to steal my police issued SUV, but I couldn’t entirely rule it out as an option.
We watched her leave, and Harvey sighed. “That girl’s always been too headstrong for her own good. She does brew a good beer, though.”
“That she does,” I agreed. “And she’s not wrong. You knew that necklace was important to them.”
“Do you really think it’s evidence?” Harvey asked.
Once, I might have told him exactly what I thought, but I had learned a lot in the last few years on the job. Since Prentice Sawyer had died, I didn’t trust anyone. It didn’t matter that we were a small town filled with mostly good people. Everyone had their breaking point, had the one thing that would get them to do something they never would otherwise. No one was innocent. Not completely. Even Harvey, the trusted Sawyer family lawyer.