He wore plainclothes but the gun holstered at his waist and the badge clipped to his belt gave him away as a cop. Taylor nodded, her eyes filling with tears again. Seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything about it ripped his guts out.
“We’ll find out who did this. I promise.” Adam pulled his sister into his arms, saving Matt, for the moment at least, from answering awkward questions about his family. He was struck again by how close the Southerlands were to one another and how much he’d started to count on that closeness.
“So you do have family problems,” said the detective, grinning at Taylor and her brother. “Good to see you, man.”
“You too,” said Adam, shaking the other man’s hand and clapping his forearm. “What do you have?”
“Nothing in your jurisdiction,” said the detective.
Adam didn’t bother to protest. He simply pinned the other man with his gaze and waited for him to start talking. Matt had to admire the effectiveness of his technique.
“Fine, but you stay out of my way. Overstep one time and I’m pulling the plug on you.”
Instead of replying, Adam turned his attention back to Taylor. “I’m so sorry this happened.” He glanced over, including Matt. “Any idea who might want to cause trouble for either of you?”
He caught Matt’s gaze. He knew without Adam saying a word, he was thinking of Matt’s time in prison for robbery. It was a long damn time ago and he’d moved far past the man he was then. But the shame was fresh and at the surface every time he thought of it, which thankfully wasn’t often. Almost never since he’d told Taylor and she decided to love him, warts and all.
“No,” said Taylor, pulling her brother’s attention from Matt. “I can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt either of us.”
“No strange mail, weird contact with fans? That kind of thing?”
“Nope. I’m an artist, not a rock star.”
Adam nodded but Matt could see his frustration in the set of his shoulders. Taylor’s brother didn’t like this any better than he did. It was one of the reasons he’d insisted they call him. Matt wouldn’t have to worry about whether Adam made the case a priority or not. He’d stay on it with a vengeance until he found whoever had destroyed Taylor’s work.
“The security company should have the surveillance video ready in about an hour if you want to tag along,” said the city detective.
“Absolutely,” said Adam.
“Doesn’t it make sense for me to come with you?” asked Taylor, the crease back in the center of her forehead.
“Don’t you have a dress fitting or something?” Adam asked, clearly not wanting his sister to tag along.
“Yes. Damn it.”
Taylor was a singularly ambivalent bride. The only thing she paid attention to was him and her work. Matt knew his future sisters-in-law had all put more energy into choosing the flowers and wedding details than she had. They’d practically dragged her away from her easel to get her to try on wedding dresses.
A lesser man might be threatened and wonder if her lack of interest reflected a hesitancy to marry him. He knew better. Now that she’d discovered her true passions, she had a hard time focusing on anything else. As long as he stayed on her short list, he’d be a happy man. Being the focus of Taylor’s attention was better than he’d ever imagined.
