Chapter 46

 

Sam took off her work clothes, dropping them into the hamper in the master bathroom, and let the hot shower soothe her muscles and clear her mind. Too many little things niggled at her—new employees, the sudden appearance of Bobul, trying to keep her two locations operating at top efficiency. Bobul’s words about the old house and the box—his surprise announcement made it sound as if the two inanimate objects could somehow communicate. Standing here in the shower put perspective on all of it. The changes to her business would sort themselves out and begin to run smoothly. Invisible connections between a house and a box? She said the words aloud and laughed at the ridiculousness of it.

Still laughing, she shut off the water. She toweled off and dressed in her oldest, softest pair of sweats and ran her fingers through her hair. She heard a sound downstairs and realized Beau had come home.

“Hey,” he said. “Looks like you just did exactly what I want to do—a hot shower and comfy clothes.”

“It’s all yours.” She snuggled into his hug for an extra-long moment. “If you don’t mind, I was thinking of super-simple for dinner tonight. I’ve got one of those thin crust pizzas you like in the freezer.”

“Fine with me.”

She kissed him. “I’ll start the oven.”

How did I get so lucky? she asked herself for probably the four-thousandth time since she’d known him. Beau was probably the easiest-to-please husband in the world.

By the time he came back downstairs she’d put the pizza into the oven and set the timer.

“Ten more minutes,” she said. “Beer, soda or wine with it?”

“I’ll just grab a beer.” He started for the fridge when his cell phone rang. “Ugh. This better not be an emergency. I am officially and completely off duty tonight.”

He looked at the readout on his screen and apparently didn’t recognize the number. His expression changed to a smile after the caller spoke.

“Yes, Sandy, what have you got for me?” A couple of nods and uh-huhs and he clicked off the call. He reached for the notepad Sam kept near the fridge for her shopping list and made a note on a blank page.

“Hopefully, this will turn out to be a good lead,” he said, twisting the cap on his beer. “One of the café employees remembered the family name of the girl she thinks brought in that bag of money Rupert found.”

Sam had nearly forgotten how the whole mystery of the armored car robbery had begun. She was about to ask if they’d had any other breaks in the case when the oven timer buzzed.

“If this name isn’t listed in the phone book, I’ll have to use office resources to find them. Plus, it could turn out to be a complete dead end. We don’t know it’s the same girl and only an interview with her will tell me if she knows anything. It’s definitely not something I need to do tonight.” He sniffed the air as Sam took the pizza from the oven. “Tonight is time for the two of us.”

They carried plates and glasses to the living room and settled into their favorite chairs to watch a TV series about a family in Alaska who seemed to live on caribou meat and who chopped firewood almost nonstop. For some reason—probably the fact that they didn’t have to do those things themselves—they’d become hooked on the never-ending drama of it.

Tonight, Sam found herself unable to concentrate on television. Two slices of pizza and a glass of wine might be contributing factors, she decided as she turned her thoughts away from the upcoming holidays and how she might produce enough chocolate for the season if she was unable to convince Bobul to stay. Take on new problems as they arise, not way ahead of the game.

Beau had gathered their plates and she realized he’d asked a question on their way to the kitchen.

“… if you’d have the time?”

“Sorry. I’m drifting tonight.” She put their plates in the sink.

He went to the freezer and got out the butter pecan ice cream while he rephrased the question. “I was wondering if you might have time tomorrow to go by the hospital with me to check again on Tansy Montoya. She seemed to improve a little after the first time you went, and I thought maybe …”

Solid, common-sense Beau would never come right out and mention the box, but she knew what he meant.

“It’s just that her family has so little hope these days,” he said. “I see her elderly mother almost reaching the breaking point. And those little kids. The doctors are being kind but they seem to have reached the bottom of their bag of tricks. They’ve done all they can do with medical science.”

“And you think I might just have something extra in my own bag of tricks.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Sure. I’d be happy to do anything I can.”

Sometimes the healing touch worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sam knew this. She couldn’t fully explain it—even to herself, much less to him. She hoped Beau understood.

By five o’clock the next morning, she’d spent a restless night with images of the box and warnings from Bobul drifting through her dreams. What if the chocolatier’s concerns about some bad person were correct? And Isobel St. Clair’s warnings about keeping the box safe from those at OSM?

Beau was up and moving early, as well. Over a quick cup of coffee in the kitchen, they’d discussed paying a very early visit to the hospital. Sam found herself dithering as she held the box and let it warm her hands. She wanted to help Tansy but was unsure whether it was smart to carry the box with her this morning.

She veered toward the hidden safe on her way to the front door. Lock it up? Take it along?

Beau was waiting in his cruiser, their plan being that Sam would follow along and they would visit the hospital before either of them got wrapped up in their normal workday. She glanced toward the closet again. To get the maximum effect, she’d better take the box with her. She gave the golden wood one final stroke and zipped it securely into her backpack.

At the hospital, Sam parked next to Beau’s cruiser. She looked at the box once again. The wood had gone dark, the stones dull and quiet. She left it inside her pack but reached to touch the lumpy wood surface. At once, the earlier glow returned.

Here we go, she thought as she locked the van and walked alongside Beau into the hospital and up the elevator.