Beverly sat down across from Adam and studied his face. He seemed a little off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She’d asked to meet him here at the Crossroads Café in hopes she could declare a truce. She owed him that. And more.
She looked at the menu. “As I recall, you said the fist-sized bacon cheddar muffins and homemade chorizo hash are their specialties.”
“None any better that I’ve found.”
When the waitress came to take their orders, they ordered the same thing along with some coffee Adam asked to be “extra black.” She raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t sleep well?”
“Not much.”
He didn’t seem forthcoming with any further details, and she didn’t want to pry. Well, actually, she did, but she bit her tongue. Instead, she told him, “I’m going to order food to go when we’re ready to leave. For Annika Grimes.”
“Have you talked to her lately? How’s she doing?”
“Much better. Still upset about her business. But Harlan, Prospero, and other folks they corralled picked through the remains from the fire to rescue what they could.” When Adam opened his mouth, she added quickly, “Harlan checked with your Chief Quinn first. He said it was okay.”
Adam mumbled, “Could have asked me.”
“He didn’t want to put you in the middle again. Says he’s been doing too much of that lately. This way, if anyone got in trouble over it, it would be your boss, not you.”
Adam still looked upset, but after he’d settled down again a bit, he asked, “I gather this is a ‘working’ breakfast?”
Oh, how she wished it weren’t. She’d like nothing better than to be just enjoying a nice meal with him. But she’d decided to tell him what she’d learned yesterday. “Mr. X found out Redbeard was in the Army along with Sgt. Moody in the same explosives unit.” She left out the part about Gorrie’s museum.
Adam whistled. “That may be how Redbeard and Moody are connected. And may point to both of them being behind the bombing on my house.”
“And the arsons?”
“Maybe even the arsons. The report from the arson techs came in, and it appears the same sort of technique was involved in two of them, and Joe Brimm has found some links to the other three.”
Beverly frowned. “Five? I thought there were only three?” She started to panic for a moment, thinking Harlan’s shop had been targeted, and he and Adam hadn’t wanted her to know.
“In addition to Justin Garone, Jared Lake, and Annika Grimes, there were two earlier fires this year in different parts of the state.”
“All antiques stores? Where?”
“There was a place called What on Earth up in Burlington. And a Yesterday’s Curios in Montpelier.”
Beverly whipped out her cellphone and called up a bookmark she’d saved. As Adam watched with a curious expression, she turned the phone around to show him.
“Those five stores—look at their names. Yesterday’s Curios. What on Earth. Vintage Vibes. True Gems. Y, W, V, T. It’s like the arsonist is going in reverse alphabetical order.” She pointed at the list. “Which would make Tossed Treasures close in line. Harlan’s store.”
Adam considered that idea for a moment. “What about Garone’s shop, Main Street Antiques? It doesn’t fit.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “Still, if I’m right, then . . . ”
“We’ve got patrols around Harlan’s shop. And there’s all the new security he’s added.”
“I hope so.” She waited as the waitress refilled their cups. When the woman had left, she continued, “Mr. X found out something else about Redbeard. He has a friend who lives in Brattleboro. Something you could check into, maybe?”
“Do you know this friend’s name?”
“Graves, I think. It was kind of hazy.”
Adam looked over his coffee mug at her. “Hazy?”
Beverly didn’t want him to press too deeply, so she changed the subject to give him more of the Gorrie Sidman intel. “Moody had dealings with a bookie and loan shark, Leroy Schick.”
“This also via Xenakis?”
Beverly nodded.
Adam wrinkled his nose. “Gotta wonder how your Mr. X is getting this information all of a sudden.”
“You know how connected he is with all the former NAL gang. He knows a bit about everyone.”
“Why do I think you aren’t telling me the whole story? You weren’t out on your own getting into trouble again?”
His accusation, although accurate, still stung. Why wouldn’t he just let it go? Wearily, she laughed it away, saying, “I paid a visit to Mr. X, that’s how I found out about it. We . . . he had done some more digging. He also found out Moody was deeply in debt to Forsythe and maybe even Kozak. Off-the-book debts.”
Adam grunted. “Maybe I should just hand Mr. X my badge and retire. Someplace warmer. With a lot of fishing.”
He was scowling now, and Beverly didn’t know how much more she should reveal of her “investigating” with Mr. X. Not wanting to deepen his foul mood, she said, “I did a smidgeon of antiques investigation, myself. Found out that Ivon Kozak has a fondness for Burmese sapphire jewelry.”
“What is that?”
“Burmese sapphires among the finest in the world, known for their royal blue color and superior luster. And a Burmese sapphire necklace came on the market recently. Guess who the seller was?”
“Who?”
“Jared Lake. To a dealer in Canada, but it was off the books. For one hundred grand.”
“Funny, that. Lucas stole an item or two from Jared Lake’s shop that he sold to make money.” Adam tilted back in his chair. “So, Lucas, the assistant, steals from the owner, Jared Lake, who in turn steals from another owner, Ivon Kozak?”
“Seems like a logical leap.”
“Before I met you, I had no idea the antiques business was so cut-throat and filled with intrigue.”
“Every tree has some bad apples. Look at the police business. I mean, there’s Moody, right?”
Adam grimaced. “Yeah. Crooked cops made us all look bad.”
“But you do such great work. Most of you. Although I’m getting impatient with all the side investigations. I still firmly believe Ivon Kozak is behind all the arsons.”
“Con woman’s intuition?” He gave her a half-mocking smile.
“From my experience with my uncle, I’m sure this guy is cut from the same cloth. And used the same sort of underhanded tactics my uncle did.”
Realizing she was getting too animated, she took a few deep breaths and added, “I won’t rest easy until all of them are behind bars or gone on to their own forever judgment day.”
“Including your friend Annika Grimes? If she’s involved, that is.”
“You can’t seriously believe Annika Grimes had anything to do with this, can you?”
“We haven’t ruled out anyone completely.”
Damn, he really was in a foul mood. Was he angry with her? Or was it simply work-related? She got a little testy, herself. “You don’t seem happy about the news of Redbeard and Moody. Won’t it help solve the case of who’s behind the pipe bomb and arsons?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
Their food arrived, and he seemed to be as eager to have an excuse not to talk as she was. This certainly wasn’t going the way she’d planned, not at all.
After several minutes of chewing in silence, he said, “Leads are always appreciated. I just don’t want you to get involved and almost get yourself killed again. Especially when I’m still not one hundred percent sure I trust Xenakis’s motives.”
“And let yourself get killed instead? That’s okay?”
“It’s my job, Beverly. But it’s not yours. Speaking of which, have you thought some more about getting work in the area? Agnes’s shop or Harlan or another place, perhaps?”
“I’m not so sure you want me around getting in your way, as you say.”
He looked at her with exasperation. “That’s not what I said, and you know it. Stop trying to be so obtuse.”
She smiled briefly at that. “Obtuse? That’s not a word I’d expect you to say.”
“Why, because I’m a hick cop who didn’t go to Dartmouth?”
Beverly could tell he regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth. But the damage was done. She hadn’t done anything to deserve being the target of his ire, not like this. She had no idea why he was in such a bad mood, but right then, it didn’t matter. He didn’t trust Mr. X? And it sounded like he didn’t trust her, too?
They managed to finish the rest of their meal in complete silence, and Beverly hurriedly placed a to-go order for Annika and left as soon as she could. What in the world had gotten into him?
She’d put it down to stress—but she’d seen him under much worse, and he hadn’t reacted that way. Whatever it was, she was going to be giving him a wide berth from now on. Until he apologized. Or until she was through with this whole NAL mess.
Who was she kidding? She missed him already.