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)
“I never thought I’d say this,” she said, “but I don’t trust Harvey. Am I off base here, or was that really odd?”
I started the car, meeting her eyes for a second as I looked over my shoulder to back out. She was riled up and beneath that, uncertain. Harvey had been one of Prentice’s buddies. More than just a lawyer, Harvey was almost family, and he’d always looked out for Prentice’s children, doing his best to take care of them in his own way. I wanted to say he was trustworthy, but I shook my head.
“I’m there with you,” I said. “His judgment was questionable.”
“Is there any way—?” She shook her head. “I’m trying to imagine Harvey sneaking into the brewery and breaking into my desk drawer.” She let out a sigh, leaning her head against the car window and staring at the tourists crowding Main Street. “I can’t see him out of bed after 9 p.m., much less sneaking around town in the dark. And why? What could he possibly gain from stealing my file?”
I raised an eyebrow, unable to get the picture to gel in my head either. “One thing I’ve learned in this job,” I said, “Is that most people are capable of a lot, depending on the motivation. I wouldn’t have put Harvey on the list for the break-in at the brewery, but I also wouldn’t have thought he’d let his office get robbed and keep it a secret. Everything about that situation is sketchy.”
“What do we do now?” Avery asked.
I stared up at the headliner of my SUV for a second, calling on every ounce of patience I possessed. “We aren’t doing anything,” I said. “You’re going back to the brewery to figure out that recipe and do whatever else you need to do now that you fired your brewmaster and are taking over his job yourself.” I raised an eyebrow. “I’m assuming that’s your plan.”
“Yeah, that’s my plan.” She let out a huff of air and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I have a crazy list of stuff to do. But I can’t just let this go, West. That was our only lead, and now it’s gone.”
“The necklace is gone,” I found myself saying, kicking myself mentally even as the words left my mouth. “But you still have the pictures. You can look for the designer. You were doing that anyway, all three of you, right? And you didn’t actually have the necklace? It’s not the necklace that’s important. It’s where it leads you.” What the hell was I doing encouraging her?
“Good point,” she said, settling back into the seat. “I just have to figure out—” Her voice trailed off.
“Avery.” She snapped back to attention, her eyes catching on mine. “I want you to think hard about letting this go.” She sucked in a breath and leaned forward, her mouth opening to speak. I held up a hand, and she stopped. “It’s dangerous,” I reminded her. “Your brother’s out of prison. His record has been cleared. You can let it go.”
“And he’ll never be safe unless we find who put him there in the first place,” she said.
The bitch of it was, she was right. Ford would never be able to relax as long as Prentice’s murderer was out there.
“I haven’t stopped looking for the killer,” I said.
“I know, West, and I know you’re good at your job,” she acknowledged. “That doesn’t mean fresh eyes can’t help.”
“I don’t need a partner, and I don’t need to worry about keeping you out of trouble.”
“I can’t stand seeing him the way he is, West,” she said, the sadness in her voice getting under my skin.
I didn’t have to ask what she meant. I hadn’t been tight with Ford Sawyer since he’d stabbed Griffen in the back and gotten my best friend exiled from town, but we’d been close when we were kids—not as close as Griffen and I, but close enough. In the years since Griffen left, Ford had matured into a man who was dynamic and authoritative, a man who wielded power comfortably. Since he’d come back from prison, he was diminished. He’d lost everything, and he didn’t seem to be making any moves to take any of it back, seemingly content to hide himself away in the library at Heartstone Manor, reading and doing who knows what else.
He’d made no effort to find his father’s killer or clear his own name beyond what the alibi had given him. He wasn’t the same Ford I’d known most of my life, and while he’d been a jackass to a lot of people, he’d always looked out for Avery. He was a large part of why she had her brewery, and Avery didn’t forget who she owed her loyalty to.
“I know you want to save him, Ave,” I said gently, “but maybe this time you can let Ford solve his own problems.”