Addison
THE NEXT MORNING Dylan and I were stuck, as far as the case went, so we spent a few hours working with Bucky, grabbed takeout burgers at the Burger Queen (yes, Queen), then headed to the motel to eat. Sitting around the small table in my room, we discussed what we had so far.
I took a drink of my shake and said, “Tell me again what you found out from the pawnshops.”
Dylan swallowedher bite. “Two of them said they didn’t have anything that fit the stolen jewelry’s description. Trapper Dan’s Pawn and Loan said they had a necklace that could be my grandmother’s, but when they pulled out the paperwork, they wouldn’t tell me anything else. The clerk said nobody by the name of Chad James has ever pawned anything there.”
“Do you think he could have had someone else get rid ofthe goods?” I asked.
“That would be smart. Maybe some business associate from Klamath? Nobody here would make that connection, and I don’t know how much the pawnbroker will tell us. We can flash our PI badges at them, but that doesn’t mean they’ll cooperate.”
Dylan seemed a little too willing to throw in the towel, and I can’t say I blamed her. I wasn’t close to my own dad by any stretch ofthe imagination, but I still wouldn’t want to see him get locked up. And I definitely wouldn’t want to be the one who put him behind bars. Still, we had a job to do, and I knew my bestie well enough to know she’d never forgive herself if she stood by and let little old ladies get robbed.
“There has to be something we can do,” I said. “Maybe we should make the drive anyway. At least try.”
Dylannodded. “I’ll grab my purse.” She headed into her room.
There was a knock on my door. Wondering who it could be, I stood and answered.
“Hey, sis, you miss me?” Asher asked, grinning. He wore jeans, a T-shirt, a pair of cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat.
“What the hell happened to you?” I asked, gaping.
“The hat’s too much, huh?” he asked. “I tried to tell the salesman it was, but he said ifI was coming to sweep my cowgirl off her feet, I had to dress the part.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “The hat actually works. You look great. Dylan will love it. Wait, how did you figure out which room we’re in?”
He pointed at my car parked right in front of the door. “Well there’s that, and I also had a little help from a cop.”
“Addie, you ready?” Dylan called.
“Ashey, what are you doinghere?” I demanded, but he looked past me.
“Ash?” The relief in Dylan’s voice broke my heart a little.
It also spurred Asher to action. He pushed past me, keeping his eyes on Dylan. They met and he smashed his mouth down over hers as though he were dying of thirst and she was a canteen of water.
