Captain Joe Longbow was just shy of fifty, and though his black hair was cut short and threaded with gray from his Marine days, his Native American heritage was evident by the color of his skin and high, sharp cheekbones. With his sharp, intelligent eyes and his comfortable, easy drawl, Leslie immediately felt atease.
He introduced himself with a pleasant smile and handshake for Leslie, then another more familiar greeting for Declan. “Thought I saw you at the game tonight—up in the press box with Bax,” said the captain in his unhurried way. “And was that Ethan Murphy up there too? Man, that was some prime fishing we had lastsummer.”
“Yes, Murphy’s in town for the weekend. Said Diana wanted him out of her hair.” Both men chuckled. “Anyhow, I wouldn’t miss any football games here with Steph being on the pom squad. But you know how it goes—yours are on the field too. Congratulate Greg on the field goal for me, willyou?”
“Thanks, and sure will.” As Longbow preceded Leslie into the kitchen, he commented that he’d known Cherry for years because his wife took yoga classes fromher.
“Big game tonight,” he said, looking around at the destruction. “Pretty much everyone in town was there. I had Helga on call at the office, but Rick and I were at the game keeping an eye on things. Great opportunity for someone to break in and cause mischief,” he addedgrimly.
After she showed him everything, including the speakeasy, she settled Captain Longbow at the kitchen table and offered him a cup ofcoffee.
“Decaf, please,” he said. “So, is there anythingmissing?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. I’ll have to take a closer look…Wait.” Leslie’s eyes widened. She shot to her feet. “Wait asecond…”
She hurried out of the kitchen to the front entrance, frowning. When was the last time she’d seen the pink velvet wrap and glove she’d found inside the base of the stair rail? She’d folded them up, hadn’t she? And put them on the table in the fronthall…
But the table had been knockedover.
“Thereissomething missing,” she said, returning to the kitchen, still pondering. “Why would anyone take an old velvetstole?”
She explained about what she’d found inside the stair rail base to Declan and the chief. “And if that’s what they were after—well, it was easy to find. The stole and the glove were sitting right there in plain sight. But I have no idea why anyone would want an old, wornstole.”
“Aren’t vintage clothes worth a lot of money?” Declan asked. “Especially that crystal button on it—maybe itwasa real diamond or gemstone of some type. Maybe the intruder—I guess we can call him a thief now—broke in for some other reason, but saw the wrap and decided to take ittoo.”
“I don’t think that wrap was worth anything. Besides, it was in bad shape—old and frayed. The button was probably just fake bling. And the fabric was stained with that same rust-like corrosion that’s been discoloring the stair railing. At least it looked likeit.”
“When was the last time you remember seeing it? Are you sure it was still on the table?” Longbow asked, taking careful notes. “Now you think back to the last time you know you sawit.”
“I’ll have to mull over it…I’ll be honest. My brain is a little fried right now. I put it on the table so I’d remember to take it into town—I wanted to show it to Gilda at the vintage clothes store to see if she could dateit.”
The sound of another car approaching—no, two of them—drew their attention to the kitchen door and the window next toit.
“That’ll be Aunt Cherry, and if I’m not mistaken, Orbra too,” Leslie saidwearily.
Quite frankly, if she couldn’t be alone, the only person she really wanted to be with right now was Declan. At least she wouldn’t have to answer a thousand questions. A thousand questions that were now going to include not only ones about the break-in, the speakeasy, and her mental health, but also aboutDeclan.
Ugh.
“Do you think it’s safe for me to stay here tonight?” Leslie asked, rising to open the door for the newarrivals.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The first answer was from Declan, the second the policechief.
“Not alone, anyway,” Declan saidflatly.
Longbow glanced at him, pursed his lips thoughtfully, then said, “They’re gone now. If they’d intended any harm, the intruder or intruders would either have stayed hidden—and not otherwise advertised their presence by creating such a disturbance—or have made their move by now. Now, I’m not trying to trivialize the break-in, but I’m leaning toward it being a couple of teenagers messing around, since nothing of value seems to have beentaken.”
“Even though more than half the town and pretty much all of the school was just at the football game?” Declan asked coolly. “Teenagers?”
Longbow pursed his lips, gave his skepticism an acknowledging nod, then said, “Truthfully, that’s all the more reason to take the opportunity, since no one would be home. Honestly, Ms. Nakano, teenagers have been breaking into this house for as long as I can remember. Even I did it. There’s something about the place that draws theinterest.”
“Well, don’t forget, Diana Iverson had all that trouble over the summer when she came up to stay in her aunt’s house—after her aunt died. That wasn’t teenagers then,” Declanreplied.
“No,” Longbow replied coolly. “It sure wasn’t. There was a murder involved. And we took that investigation just as seriously as I’ll take this one, Declan. You’ll have to trust me on that. But all things considered,at this timemy professional opinion is that someone was just doing what teenagers have done for decades. That doesn’t mean I won’t look at allangles.”
