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)
Whoever she’d been, she hadn’t married Prentice or moved into Heartstone Manor. No one had claimed the boxes of baby things Savannah and Hope had found in the attics. Prentice had abruptly fired half the staff, stopped taking care of the Manor, and became close to a hermit in his final years. His death was a tangle of mysteries. I didn’t blame Quinn, Sterling, and Avery for pulling at whatever threads they could find. We all wanted answers.
Avery shoved herself to her feet and glared down at me, her hands on her hips, her long dark hair sliding over her shoulder. “That’s fine,” she said, her cheeks still flushed pink, her dark eyes flashing in annoyance. I had to wonder what the fuck the ex-brewmaster had been thinking to let Avery get away.
“I’m going to see Harvey,” she announced. And then I remembered the downside of a headstrong, capable woman.
“Wait,” I said, standing. “I’ll come with you.”
Her eyes narrowed on mine, and I wished I knew what she was thinking. I thought it likely she was about to tell me no, but if that were the case, she was shit out of luck. I was going to Harvey’s with her, in part because I wanted to talk Harvey into letting me put the necklace back in the property room. But mostly because I didn’t trust Avery to go haring off after her father’s killer on her own.
Talking to Harvey was safe enough. He was the family lawyer, loyal to the Sawyers, every one of them. He wouldn’t hurt Avery, but where she’d go after she talked to Harvey was anyone’s guess. I was going as much for damage control as to satisfy my curiosity.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Avery muttered, striding down the hall beside me.
“That’s debatable,” I said, placing a hand on her lower back as we passed through the front door, giving in to the urge to touch her, to lay a finger on all that sparking energy, as much as I was being polite.
“I’ll drive,” I said, nudging her towards my SUV. She climbed into the passenger seat without argument.
“What did Harvey say when he asked you to give the necklace back?” she asked as we turned onto Main Street, heading out of town in the direction of the Victorian where Harvey had his offices.
“That he was still looking into the source of the necklace, and he wanted to have it on hand in case he needed to send pictures or show it to someone.”
“And you didn’t think that was suspicious?” Avery asked.
“Do you?” I countered. She had a point if I thought Harvey was up to something. Which I didn’t.
“I wouldn’t have,” she said. “Except someone stole the file. I don’t know. Everything is suspicious. Especially when nothing makes sense.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Welcome to your father’s case. Too many suspects, too many motives, no answers.”
“I like my job a lot better than yours,” Avery said, sending me a sidelong glance.
“Yeah, I like your job, too. Especially since you’re so good at it. You ever find your notes on that recipe that’s missing?”
She shook her head. “Only what’s up here,” she said, tapping her temple. “What I wouldn’t give for a photographic memory right now. I know the ingredients, I think. It’s the proportions and some of the timing I can’t remember.”
We pulled into the gravel lot, only seeing Harvey’s and his secretary’s vehicles. Louise was seated at her desk when we pushed open the door, her eyes brightening when she saw us. “Chief Garfield. Avery. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I said. “Harvey available? We won’t take much of his time.”
“Sure, I’ll just—” She was lifting the handset on her phone when Avery crossed the room and dropped a quick knock on Harvey’s door, then swung it open. Avery wasn’t waiting for permission. She was a client, not a public servant, and she wasn’t going to let anyone tell her no.
I took advantage, following her in just in time to see the concern in Harvey’s eyes smoothly concealed by a friendly welcome.
“Avery. West. What a surprise,” Harvey said, levering himself out of his desk chair. A rotund man with apple cheeks, he could have played Santa with the addition of a red suit and white beard. “What can I do for you two? Is everything all right?” His bushy eyebrows pulled together as his bright eyes flicked from me to Avery and back to me.
“Everything is fine,” Avery said. “We just wanted to see the necklace. You know the one that Quinn found in the cabin? West said that you took it back from his property room and that you had it here. I’ve been looking into it, and I just wanted to—”
She stopped at the morose shake of Harvey’s head.
My cop’s gut pinged. Hard.
Chapter Four
WEST
“Avery,” Harvey said, “I’m so sorry.” The glance he shot me was heavy with guilt and a little chagrin. “It was stolen.”