Tam and I exchanged a look.
“Nope. Put that expression away, Tamsen. It was a simple question. If you wanna play detective, let’s turn our attention to the giant,pacingelephant in the room.” Lawson waved a hand at me.
I stopped pacing—I mean,walking—just long enough to glare at him.
Tam snorted and did turn her attention to me… just as the asshole formerly known as my brother hadknownshe would when he’d thrown me under the bus.
“Law’s right. You have been walking rather aggressively. What’s on your mind, Laney?”
The answer to that question was as simple as it was mortifying.
Brewer.
Specifically, Brewer’s eye crinkles. Brewer’s laugh. Brewer’s jaw. Brewer’s chest. Brewer’s mouth on mine. Brewer’s big hand, which could wield a hammer with force but could also hold a fussy, flowered teacup or fix my glasses with such gentleness. The little frown on Brewer’s face when he needed to jot down a measurement and tried patting down the front pockets of his work shirt, the area around his band saw, and the space behind his ear before finding the pencil clamped between his teeth. Brewer’s deep voice as he reminded me that he’dpromised you a renovation, Delaney. Not complications.
I nearly tripped on a corner of the rug as I rounded from the living room to the dining room.
“Nothing,” I said firmly. “Nope. Not a single thing.”
“Nothing? Really? That’s interesting,” my brother teased. “Because ifI’djust found a treasure trove of artwork in my wall, that might be onmymind.”
“Don’t be pedantic,” I told him, walking faster. “Obviously, I’ve thought about it. I simply meant it’s not ‘on my mind’ in a negative way. Google says there was a pretty prolific artist called E. Winters, but their styles are totally different.” I shrugged. “So I texted Samuel Purchase to see if he knew anything, and Janice recommended an art appraiser, who’s coming by next week?—”
“Wait, you told Janice? On purpose?” Tam demanded. For Lawson’s benefit, she added, “Janice Plum’s one of the biggest gossips in town.”
“Why not?” I lifted my chin in challenge without slowing down. “Brewer basically promised we would, and Janice knows a lot about history. She wasveryexcited when she saw the canvases?—”
“She came to your house?” Tam’s eyes were wide. “You invited her inside?”
“She’s not a vampire, Tamsen. And yes. Several people stopped by, actually,” I said with dignity. “All of them were excited, too. It’s been kind of… fun, figuring out the mystery. I’m notstressedabout it.”
“I have got to see these paintings,” Tam muttered. She folded her arms and watched me walk by. “So is it the Empire Ridge story that’s bugging you, then?”
“Oooh, I remember you mentioning this in the sibling chat. Corruption and shit, right?” Lawson said. “That’d bug the fuck out of me.”
He wasn’t wrong. But when Marjorie had called today and begged for an update, the only thing I’d been able to tell her was that Anthony Harmon had emailed me back about the firehouse… and told me therewasn’tone.
Mr. Monroe,
As you’ve discovered, there’s no firehouse on the property Empire Ridge acquired from us.
After threatening us with eminent domain, they apparently changed their minds about how the land would be used… or, more likely, never planned to build the firehouse at all.
I wish I had copies of the plans they presented us during the meeting, if only to show their pattern of lies and manipulations, but obviously, they were too smart to provide me with any. The company that did all the site analyses and infrastructure planning for River Bend—Cornerstone Development Solutions—claims to have no knowledge of this “second set” of plans.
Once again, I have no proof aside from my word.
A. Harmon.
“It’s frustrating,” I agreed. “Every line of inquiry has been a dead end, and I’m all out of ideas. But I’m sticking with it. I’m not too stressed.”
When I passed through the kitchen the next time, Tam was leaning against the counter, watching me. “Why not ask Marjorie to hire you a research assistant? Maybe someone else will have a fresh perspective.”
I considered this for a moment. “That’s actually a really good idea.”
“Right? And then you can start prepping for your next story at the vacation resort in Costa Rica.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “It’s a hard knock life, bro.”
“Oh, fuck me. You’re going to Costa Rica forwork?” Lawson shook his head in disgust. “‘Become a hockey player, Lawson,’ they said. ‘It’ll be so much fun,’ they said. Nobody mentioned how few tropical destinations would be involved. You have the best job, Delaney.”
