Anna sighed. “All right. Sheriff? We’re going to need a copy of the video from this meeting, and my client would like to press charges against Jack for extortion.” She clicked her pen closed. “Or blackmail. No, it’s extortion. Attempted, anyway.”
The sheriff sighed. “Maybe you all could drop all charges against each other so I can go back to hunting down meth heads and poachers?”
Heather stared right at Jack. “I’m in, if you are. We dismiss all complaints and say goodbye forever?” Yeah, she had him with the extortion claim. Darn, but Anna was a good lawyer. “It’s your choice, Jack.”
He pressed his lips together until they turned white. “I’ll think about it.”
Anna stood and handed over the crutches. “We’ll give you twenty-four hours. Come on, Heather. We still have lunch to eat, right?”
Chapter 10
Darkness had fallen along with more snow as Quint strode up Heather’s freshly shoveled walkway with Zena on his heels. He kicked a couple of ice chunks off the steps and then knocked on the door.
Anna opened it, munching on a piece of chicken. “Hey.”
“Hey. Nice job with the walkway,” he said, shrugging off his coat to hang in the alcove.
“Not my first snowstorm,” she agreed, turning toward the living room.
Heather sat on the older sofa with her leg elevated on a pillow perched on the coffee table. “It was nice of you to do that, Anna.” Then she reached out her arms as Zena jumped onto the sofa.
“Down, Zena,” Quint barked.
Zena dropped her butt to the floor.
Heather’s bottom lip popped out just enough to be freaking adorable. “She can come up here.”
“No. She can’t,” Quint said as gently as he could. He had to keep the canine disciplined in order for her to do the job she needed to do.
“Are you hungry?” Anna asked.
Quint couldn’t get rid of the itch between his shoulder blades. “No, but thanks. I’ve interviewed everyone even remotely located around the motel, and nobody has a clue who the vandal was last night. According to the clerk, Jack arrived by himself and hasn’t been seen with a woman.”
Heather sat straighter, her legs encased in yoga pants and a light pink sweatshirt covering her ample chest. She kind of matched the Christmas tree, but Quint knew better than to say that. “You’ve been working on my case?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t get any results.” He dropped into the matching chair by the fireplace.
Anna finished her chicken and walked toward her boots by the door. “We’ll see what we can discover tomorrow. If nothing else, I made sure Jack knew that if he didn’t withdraw his complaint, we’d file a report against him for extortion.”
Heather rubbed her nose. “Isn’t that extortion?”
Anna grinned. “Sure, but it’s all in how you word it, and I didn’t word it like he did. Dumbass.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’ll talk to you both tomorrow. My Nana O’Shea is waiting for me. Night.” She disappeared into the snowy night.
Quint studied the quiet woman on the sofa. “How dangerous is this guy?”
“I’m not sure. He never seemed dangerous before, but it’s weird that he followed me to Silverville and then set up that weird attack on his car. It had to be him, right?” She shifted her leg to the side and winced.
“Yeah,” Quint murmured. “I think I should go talk to him.”
One of her light eyebrows lifted in a way that made her look like a sexy librarian. “Why? You gonna beat him up?”
“If I have to,” he acknowledged.
She grinned. “Don’t be silly. You being charged with a battery is probably a bad idea. I can handle Jack—especially with my lawyer’s help. Anna is really good.”
“She’s very good, but she has to get back to work, and somebody needs to talk to this Jack.” Apparently that was Quint, and he was more than ready to have a word or two. “Come on, Zena.” He stood and snapped his fingers at his dog.
“Hey.” Heather struggled to stand and hopped toward him on one foot. “I said no.”
