The look that Maggie gave him was unforgettable. It was brief, wondering, and completely open, without any hint of her previous guardedness. Her eyes were full of shocked gratitude. It was all too clear that she wasn’t used to people sticking up for her.
And then it was gone beneath chill calm. “I’ll get ready to work if you need me. Or leave. Whatever you want.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Sam said. He turned to Hester. “We can’t accuse her without evidence. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m a detective, so let me get to work and figure out what actually happened.”
“Fair enough,” Hester said. “I need to get to the kitchen.” She glanced at Maggie. “I’m going to need you for the breakfast rush. Say in about an hour. Will you stay with Sam in the meantime?”
“Yes, of course.” Maggie sounded dazed. Sam glanced at her, hoping she was all right. He still couldn’t read anything from her face.
“That’d be fine,” he said. “Actually, I could use your help, Maggie. Want to come with me for a bit?”
Maggie nodded.
“I’m putting a lot of trust in you,” Hester said quietly to Sam. Her gaze swept across Maggie. “Both of you.”
“We won’t let you down,” Sam told her.
But the person he truly couldn’t let down was Maggie. That liquid-eyed gaze was imprinted on his soul. She didn’t seem to know how to deal with someone taking her side. And now that he had seen it, he knew down to the bottom of his boots that he was going to have to figure this out and clear her name.
If no one had ever stood up for Maggie or protected her in her life, which was what that look told him, he was going to be the first. And he had no intention of letting her down, no matter what.
MAGGIE
When Hester accusedher of theft, Maggie’s heart and stomach went into freefall, plunging to her feet. It was happening again. She was about to lose her last chance. And she hadn’t even done anything this time.
At least she didn’t think she had. When she queried the bird inside her, it seemed as confused as she was. It wasn’t entirely unheard-of for shifters to black out when their animal took over, but it was very rare; it was a disorder, not the usual way that a shifter’s dual nature worked. And Maggie had never had it happen to her, that she knew of. Even when her bird’s instincts were in control, she was still there, riding as a passenger in their shared mind.
She hadn’t done it. And she couldn’t think of any way to prove she hadn’t. Charlie was a witness, but Charlie had been asleep. If Maggie was dead set on slipping out of the room as a magpie, she had done sneakier things in her life.
And then Sam defended her.
She still couldn’t get over it. She seemed to be floating in a dizzying cloud of unreality. She still couldn’t believe it, even as the two of them went back into the lobby to examine the—well,she supposed she might as well just call it what it was. The crime scene.
“Do you really want my help, or were you just saying that?” she asked him.
Sam gave her a look. “I meant it. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
No. He didn’t. She could tell that about him.
“You’re a detective, right? Private investigator. What help could I possibly be?”
A smile quirked the side of his mouth. He hadn’t shaved today, and his chin was dusted lightly with salt-and-pepper stubble. “You can lend me the benefits of your expertise.”
Her expertise—as a criminal. She felt as if she had been kicked in the chest again, in a completely different way. Sam’s smile faltered at whatever her face was showing. What did he expect? Gratitude?
“Yes, of course,” she said, and swallowed. She pulled back a hand, which had started to drift toward him for some involuntary reason. “You’re right. I can help. Just ask me what you need to know.”
Sam was studying her now with a slight crease between his brows, as if she was a puzzle he wanted to work out. Well, that was all she was to him, wasn’t it? Everything was a mystery to solve.
As soon as she saw the charity tables, however, her unhappiness was submerged beneath focused interest. She really did want to figure it out. She wanted to prove to Hester, and to Sam, and to everyone else who thought she would never be anything other than a thief that she could do better. Be better.
“Maggie—” Sam began.
“This is the place, right? Show me what’s missing.”
Sam cleared his throat and got down to business. “There are three items that disappeared. They’re all fairly large. Two foodbaskets, one collection of fancy soaps and other personal care items.”
Maggie frowned at the table. “Why would anyone take those? There’s a lot more valuable stuff here.” Her magpie homed in on the jewelry immediately, because of course it did. She forced herself not to linger.
