He leaned down and looked at me. “Do you know what’s going on with Kate. She’s been avoiding me for the last two weeks, and she doesn’t respond to my texts as quickly as she used to. If she doesn’t want to see me anymore, she should have the decency to tell me.”
“Here’s an idea,” I said. “Voice your concerns to her instead of pulling your sister over like she’s done something wrong.”
“But you know everything that goes on in this town,” Josh argued.
“You’ve got me mixed up with Mom.”
“I can’t ask Mom,” he said, annoyed. “Can’t you just see what you can find out? Think of it as a mystery that needs solving.”
“We’ll take the case,” Ian said.
Josh smiled and gave Ian’s shoulder a rap. “Thanks, bro, I appreciate it. You’ve got a good guy there, Pepper. Don’t mess it up. Get right on it and let me know what you find out.”
I went to argue with Josh as he walked away, but Ian grabbed my arm.
“Let it go,” he warned softly, a strange look having settled in his eyes that got me thinking.
It took me a minute, but I realized what was on his mind, and I was quick to reassure him and myself. “Our relationship is strong.”
“Aye, you’re mine and I’ll not lose you,” Ian said and pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
CHAPTER 3
The new deck was the best place to relax in the afternoon, the surrounding trees shading the entire area beautifully. Ian and I had been thoroughly enjoying it all summer, and so had family and friends, since we’ve had several fun barbecues.
Ian made himself comfortable in the lounge chair next to me while Mo was stretched out in the shade like a bear rug. The plan was simple: sit back, relax, and pick apart the bank robbery.
Mo’s head shot up and he barked several times.
I groaned… someone was coming up the driveway.
The doorbell rang a short time later.
“I’ll get it,” Ian said, already rising from his chair. But curiosity had me up too, following him inside.
When Ian opened the door, there was—Jed Stone, looking like the FBI agent he was, black suit, white shirt, and dark tie, quite the opposite of when I first met him when he was undercover as a biker. Though he still had that you-can’t-resist-me smile, I was sure women fell for, but not me.
“Pepper,” he said, as if my name was a sweet flavor he enjoyed. “Mind if I come in?”
Ian’s jaw ticked. “What do you want, Stone?”
“Relax,” Jed said easily. “I need to talk with you both about the bank robbery. I showed up a while after you left. I’ve been working a case on a string of robberies, mostly targeting safety deposit boxes. This one today fits the pattern.”
Ian took hold of my hand as we led him back to the deck, and Stone claimed the chair next to mine before Ian could reclaim his spot. Ian didn’t say anything, but he shifted another lounge chair closer to mine.
“Interesting case,” Stone said, lounging back. “Robbers took no money. Their sole interest was in those safety deposit boxes. Question is… why?”
“Could be anything, jewelry, cash, a weapon with a shady past, incriminating love letters…” I glanced at Ian. “A secret recipe for barbecue sauce.”
Stone shook his head. “These guys hit three banks in the last two months, all in this part of Pennsylvania. Always the safety deposit boxes, not touching the teller drawers or anything else. But they’re not cleaning them out—they’re going through specific boxes and leaving the rest untouched.”
I glanced at Ian. “So, they’re looking for something specific?”
Stone nodded. “That’s my assumption. They just don’t know which box or bank. So, they’ve been working their way through one after another, trying to find it.”
Ian’s brow furrowed. “And Willow Lake Bank was just next on their list.”
“Exactly.” Stone sat back, his eyes staying sharp. “Whatever it is, it’s small enough to fit in a box, valuable enough for someone to hire pros, and dangerous enough they’ll keep hitting banks until they get it. And if they should discover who closed their safety deposit boxes before they hit the bank…”
