Maggie’s stomach fisted into a tight knot as her greatest fear began to unfold before her. This could not be happening.
“No,” she said, struggling to keep her tone steady. “My sister was trying to protect Bill, not hurt him.”
Virgil shrugged. “As I said, video doesn’t lie. She’s a thief.”
A voice exploded from the doorway. “No way. Tammy is not guilty of any wrongdoing and you know it full well.” Joe stood, hands on hips, glowering at Virgil.
Maggie saw Liam startle. He had not heard Joe approach.
Tammy cried out and hobbled over to him. He wrapped her in a tight embrace. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here now.”
“Who are you, sir?” Danny asked.
“Joe Albertson. I’m Tammy’s boyfriend. I did some computer programming work for Bill Salvador and that’s how I met Tammy.” He shot a look at Virgil. “You and I both know Tammy would never steal from Bill. It doesn’t matter what your video says.”
Virgil’s expression clouded and he was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was cold. “I am not as inclined to fall for her story as her boyfriend—” he shot a look at Liam “—or her ex-boyfriend.”
Joe was whispering into Tammy’s ear, kissing her temples and smoothing her hair.
Maggie could not help glancing at Liam. He appeared more contemplative than upset at Joe’s attention to Tammy. For some reason, it comforted her. She found Liam had reached for her hand and she clutched it for all she was worth. This could not be happening. Her sister could not be going to jail.
Virgil stared at Joe and Tammy, a wash of some emotion she could not identify twisting his features. “Uncle Bill is tired right now. We’ll have to go home and talk it over about pressing charges. Then we’ll decide whether or not Tammy is going to jail.”
Danny picked up his buzzing cell phone and stepped out as he launched into a conversation.
Virgil took his uncle’s forearm, letting Liam’s jacket fall to the floor before he led him to the door, stopping next to Maggie. “All she has to do is admit she was lying about me, and we’ll ask the judge for lenience,” he said, low and hard. “Otherwise I’ve got a pawnbroker who will swear she has stolen other things from Bill and pawned them. It’ll be a much longer sentence.” He was level with Maggie when he added in a voice no louder than a whisper, “No more excuses. Give me what I want or I’ll hurt you both.”
Liam took an angry step forward. “What did you say?”
Virgil smiled. “Ask your new girlfriend.”
Virgil and Bill passed through and out of the conference room.
Maggie exhaled and bent over, trying to stem the sudden dizziness she felt. I’ll hurt you both.
Danny darted a look at Maggie as he entered the room. “What did I miss?”
She strove for calm. “He said he’d hurt us if I don’t cooperate—not loudly enough for anyone else to hear, of course.”
Liam’s arm was strong and steady around her. “Coward. We’ll check him out. Get something we can use. He won’t touch either one of you.”
The radio on Danny’s hip buzzed with static. “Like Liam says, it gives us time to investigate, talk to this pawnbroker, look at Virgil’s history.”
“Then you believe me?” Tammy said through tears.
He grinned. “I didn’t get to be the Head Bottle Washer by not sniffing out the truth.” He held up a hand. “That said, I have to act on the evidence and, right now, that all points to you, Miss Lofton.”
She bit her lip and Joe kissed her hair. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way.”
Danny clicked off his radio. “I have to go help with the parade details, but I’m just saying that the pressure’s on Virgil now, too. An insurance investigator called earlier, asking to meet with me. Virgil knows he’s being looked at through a microscope. They aren’t going to pay out until they’re thoroughly satisfied they’re not being defrauded.”
Maggie’s mind began to churn through possible angles.
Danny continued. “I’m going to handle this like a regular investigation until charges are brought. I have to be impartial, no matter who’s involved or what my personal feelings are.”
“Fair enough,” Liam said. “You do what you need to and we’ll do the same.”
“All aboveboard and nice and legal?”
“Yes, sir.”
Maggie went to Tammy and handed her some tissues while Joe patted her back.
“Gonna be okay, Tammy. You’ll see,” he said.
Maggie turned in time to hear Danny speak in lowered tones to Liam.
“You got this, cowboy?”
“What do you mean?”
“One ex-girlfriend and one sister equals a whole lot of trouble on my adding machine tape.”
Liam lifted a shoulder. “Exes’ sisters are strictly off-limits.”
Exes’ sisters. That’s what she was to Liam, nothing more.
Maggie’s breath hitched and she busied herself fetching more tissues that her sister did not need. Why should it bother her? She wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend anyway, especially not Liam.
You blew into town pretending to be Tammy, remember? He’d stuck his neck out because of his history with her sister and because he was a good man, a man of honor.
How could she know that after only a few days in his company? But she did know it from the tiniest clues: his tenderness with Charlie, the sharing of his jacket with a confused old man.
Then why did she feel something deeper than gratitude and admiration? As if they’d shared something more in those moments in the kitchen over pancakes.
Strictly off-limits, her memory repeated.
It was best for her to remember that.
Helen joined them outside. Jingles set up a racket as soon as he saw Liam, so Liam let him loose from the truck. They introduced Joe to Helen and Jingles.
“I want to stay close to Tammy at the Lodge,” Joe announced.
Helen shook her head, stalling Liam’s disapproving comment. “I’m sorry, but the Lodge is full and she’s staying in my bedroom.”
“I’ll sleep in a storage room or on the floor, anything.”
“If you think you’re sleeping in my sister’s room,” Liam snapped, louder than he’d meant, “you’ve got another thing coming.”
Apparently his tone penetrated Joe’s bubbling emotions. He breathed out and shoved the glasses up farther on his nose, a flush creeping across his pale cheeks. “No, no, of course not. I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little wired after those threats. I’ll find a place in town and help all I can. We’ve gotta find the jewelry.”
Tammy winced. “He might just decide to kill us anyway.”
Liam considered that. “Virgil wants to get his hands on the jewelry bad, because if it’s recovered, his insurance scam goes up in flames. Or maybe he wants to double-dip to both fence the necklace and collect the insurance. He’s desperate.”
“How desperate?” Helen asked.
Joe pursed his lips. “When I was working in Bill’s house, I saw Virgil reading a couple of letters that looked like past due notices. He might be in some deep financial trouble.”
Did that make him desperate enough to harm Tammy or Maggie even after the police were involved? Brazen enough to lie flat-out to a cop and manipulate an old man? Yeah. Liam figured there weren’t too many more lines Virgil wouldn’t cross. He’d demonstrated as much. He wasn’t afraid to threaten, hurt and probably kill.
Helen straightened her hat against the winter breeze. “So the only way to derail Virgil’s plans is to find the jewelry before the insurance pays out and somehow prove Virgil’s a crook.”
A smile wreathed Liam’s face. “Well, there’s nothing I like better than a challenge.”
“Do you really think we can do this?” Maggie asked.
He laughed, laying on his thickest country twang. “Does a raccoon wear a mask?”
“I guess the answer’s yes, then?” Maggie said with a giggle.
“I reckon so,” Liam said.
Helen shook her head. “My brother the hayseed who got a perfect score on his SATs the first time he took them. Don’t let him fool you. He loves it when people underestimate him.” She turned to Tammy. “Let’s get you back to bed. You look all-in.”
Joe kissed her goodbye. “I’m going to get you a new phone. I’ll drop it by the Lodge later, okay?” He walked with them, his arm around her protectively.
“He seems to really love her,” Maggie said wistfully.
“Maybe,” Liam said. “Jury’s still out. But he’s growing on me.”
“Me, too. I like the way he stood up to Virgil.”
“Not bad for a computer programmer.” Liam frowned and went quiet.
She crinkled her nose at him. “Why do you look so thoughtful all of a sudden?”
“I’m thinking about the mission.”
“The mission?”
“Uh-huh. On a mission you got to know a few things—what you need to accomplish, how to get there and what success will look like.” He exhaled. “We know all that now.”
“We do?”
He ticked it off on his fingers. “Going to get the jewelry back to mess up Virgil’s plans, send him to jail, and keep him from getting near you and Tammy. Simple.”
“It doesn’t seem simple to me.”
“Stick with me, Miss Lofton. I’m locked, loaded and ready.”
She pointed to a Santa hat sticking out of his back pocket. “Does that include your horse or your sleigh?”
He took off his cowboy hat and clapped on the red one, complete with white fur trim. Jingles perked up. “I’m ready to get this parade started and deliver up some holiday cheer so we can get back to stalking our prey.” He slid a candy cane from his pocket.
She laughed. “Did they teach you that in the Green Berets, too?”
“Believe it or not, we did a lot of candy diplomacy when I was in Kunar Province, like Mitch said. Sometimes it was literally handing sweets to the kids, or maybe mediating disputes between elders, or training indigenous troops. Whatever it took to be a force multiplier.” He held out a crooked arm. “So what do you say, Maggie? Ready to join up for parade duty?” He paused. “I want you close in case Virgil is sticking around town, waiting for another chance.”
Maggie shivered and looked down the street toward the Chuckwagon.
He followed her gaze. “Hungry?” Liam said. “We can grab something at the Lodge after the parade.”
“No, not hungry. I was thinking I owe Nan and Tiny an apology for deceiving them. I didn’t flat-out tell them I was Tammy, but I let them think it.”
“You had good reasons.”
She shrugged. “It was still a deceit. I need to apologize now that we’ve told the police everything. I’m going to pop in since I know they’re prepping for the dinner hour, and then I’ll meet you at parade central.”
“Not wild about that idea.”
“I’ve got my phone and plenty of company.”
“All right, but I’d like you to watch the parade with Mitch and Charlie. Safety in numbers.”
“Okay. Ten minutes at the Chuckwagon, then you can point me to Mitch and Charlie.”
He angled a look at her. “Okay. I’ll text Mitch and find out where he is exactly. Crowds are only going to get worse from here, so we need to get plans in place.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No need for official titles. Call me Cowboy Santa.”
She laughed, tipping her face to the sky, and the sunlight coaxed sparkles in her hair. His pulse stirred.
Strictly off-limits, he reminded himself as she headed to the Chuckwagon.