“Anton’s father.” Charlie narrowed his eyes and stared into mine. “I jumped in and showed him my badge, and he backed off real fast, pulled out his licenseto carry and insisted this was all a misunderstanding. He said his wife gave him a key to the room, and he was just operating out of self-protection.”
“Why would Patty give him a key to the priest’s room?”
Charlie lifted a shoulder. “No idea, but since the man hadn’t actually hurt anyone, there was nothing I could do. He actually left when I did. Said he was going to take the key back to Patty right away.”
I bit my lip, trying to wrap my head around this addition. So, Charlie pummeling Reverend Todd to the icy ground of Main Street wasn’t the only time the priest had been threatened tonight, although it sounded like he wouldn’t remember Michael Swanson and his gun. Regardless, Todd didn’t seem to get along well with others.
“I thought Anton’s dad wasn’t coming until tomorrow,” I said, unable to voice all of my other questions.
Charlie shook his head ever so slightly. “Whenever he was supposed to arrive, he’s definitely here now, and he was waiting.”
“Maybe he’s angry because the priest is dating his wife? Anton’s parents are still married.”
Even as I said the words, they didn’t quite add up to the way Anton had explained his parents’ split. According to him, the pair still lived in the same giant house, though in different wings. Presumably Anton’s parents knew when the other was dating someone, bringing them home. Patty’s very public displays of affection with the priest in the Winter Garden would be hard for anyone, much less an estranged husband, to miss.
“That’s what I asked him after I scared him enough with my badge and he showed me his license. His name is Michael Swanson, but he told me that he goes by Big Mike.” Charlie nearly laughed at the detail, but we were both too tired to appreciate any humor right now. “Mike apologized and said that he’d been concerned about an intruder.”
“In Todd’s room? Why?”
“No idea.” Charlie hung his head as if he couldn’t believe that whatever was happening was on his watch. A police job inAubergine was supposed to be easy, straightforward. Jaywalking was supposed to be the worst offense, but somehow The Rose had changed all of that in recent months.
He thought for a long moment and then stared into my eyes. “I know I told you at the bookstore that something strange is happening this weekend.”
“To put it lightly,” I added, before recalling what Myrtis and Bella had said in the car on the way into town tonight. “Actually, there was talk about some kind of business between the Texas cousins—and maybe Will Hurt. I tried asking questions, to get them to keep talking, but Charlotte cut them off. Basically told them to keep their mouths shut. She seems very interested in being part of their family, for better or worse.”
“Business?” Charlie asked, leaning forward on his elbows. “What kind of business does someone conduct during a wedding?”
“Something they don’t want other people to notice?”
Charlie nodded. “You’re right. Something that gives them an alibi, that provides a distraction.” He considered this then added, “Whether we like it or not, nothing illegal has happened yet.”
I ran back over the night, fast-forwarding and stopping at specific moments when Anton’s side of the family said or did something off. I saw us in the car on the way downtown, at The Reel, at The Attic. Suddenly, my mind froze on the image of Charlotte in my aunt’s store, chatting with her about the art hanging on her walls and the details about the heists.
But surely they wouldn’t be chatting casually about art theft if they were actually thieves themselves? Unless they weren’t at all afraid of getting caught.
“You don’t think they’re doing something off the wall, like trafficking in stolen art, do you?”
Charlie tilted his head and studied his hands for a long moment. “If that was it, why would they bring their business to Aubergine? Do we even have anything worth stealing?”
I liked the way Charlie used the pronoun “we” when he talkedabout this town. It reminded me that he felt like a part of the community that I loved.
“We have the Aubergine Art Collective. Savilla and Aunt DeeDee display their pieces, so I suppose they could have put work all over town.”
“Anything worth real money?”
“Great question,” I said, pulling out my phone. “My aunt has three Anna Perry paintings hanging in her store. Perry was also a former pageant winner.”
As I spoke, I googled the name, and he leaned close to see what I’d found. There was a Wikipedia page, a link for an exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and a featured painting on an auction site. I clicked on the last one, my eyes widening at the figure her painting had earned. “Two hundred and fifty grand. Not bad.”
“It’s not as big as some of the million-dollar auctions you hear about, but that could be a good payout for a smaller operation,” Charlie mused, before falling backward on the bed, lost in thought.
I noticed for the first time the purple rings under his eyes. We were both exhausted.
I lay back on the bed beside Charlie. “Whatever the Texas constituency is up to, after tonight, I’m convinced that it’s shady.”
“I just want you to be careful,” Charlie said, moving a strand of hair behind my ear as we lay facing each other. “This weekend… it doesn’t feel right.”
His eyes were watering from the late hour, but despite his fatigue, I could see a longing to protect me, to keep me safe at all costs.
