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CARTER SAT AT THE POLISHED table in his father’s cottage, glaring at him. “You want me to do what?”
“Don’t say it like that,” his father snapped. “If you take classes to extend your practice to cover probate law, then Douglas won’t have anything to contribute to the firm that you can’t offer.”
“Plus, you want me to drive up here to Garland Creek two days a week in hopes that Thompson will keep his account with us? And I’m supposed to handle my current clients at the same time? How many days are in a week in your universe?”
“It’s doable.”
“Not all at the same time.”
“Well, not if you’re lazy.” His father threw back the rest of his scotch and then slammed the empty glass down on the table.
“Don’t go there,” Carter said. “I already put in as many hours as you used to.”
His father narrowed his eyes. “Are you implying something?”
“Not at all.” He stood and shoved his hands—and his emotions—deep into the pockets of his slacks. “I’ll see you later. I have a lot to think about.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
What does that mean? I am so tired of all of this. “It means I need to decide what is best for the firm and for me.”
“And what about our family? Our legacy?” The vein near his father’s temple bulged.
“You spent your adult life establishing that legacy. I get that. Our name means something because of your efforts. Now I have to decide how my future children and I will fit into this legacy you created.”
His father’s jaw tightened as he refilled his glass with the pricey single malt. The conversation would only go downhill. It always did when the man drank. Carter slipped out the door before his father finished taking the first swig.
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you.” Gina grabbed onto Carter’s arm. “I need your help.”
He steered her away from his father’s cottage, not wanting him to overhear their conversation. “Take a deep breath and then tell me what happened.”
Her fingers dug into his arm as she gripped him tighter. While she drew in her first deep, settling breath, she closed her eyes. On the next breath her shoulders relaxed, then her fingers retracted. “There was another burglary. The manager is blaming my aunt.” Her jaw tightened. “He placed her on paid leave. You know what comes next. He’ll fire her. This will ruin her career. She’ll lose her house. She’ll lose everything. And then there’s Amy!”
“Let’s go over to the bench.” He placed his arm around her back to keep her steady as they strolled several cottages away to a metal bench with decorative scrollwork. The short walk and distraction did her good. Her breathing had almost returned to normal. He took off his coat and placed it on the seat to be used as a barrier against the wet and cold. Once she settled down next to him, he asked the obvious question. “Why would they blame her?”
“Amy dropped off one of my photos to a cottage on the south end. Soon after that, the security camera was tampered with so that someone could slip into the cottage and steal an emerald and diamond ring. I think she caught the burglar. Either he walked in on her, or she went back and walked in on him.”
“Is she okay?”
“We don’t know. I don’t think so. No one can find her.”
“Amy could be working somewhere else on the property. The battery on her cell phone might have died.”
“Sophia, Isaac, and I conducted a thorough search for her. No one has seen her since she dropped off the photographs in that cottage.”
“Where does your aunt come into the story?”
“The camera turned back on just in time to catch my aunt coming out of that same cottage.” Gina pressed her lips into a thin line while she shook her head as if unable to believe what had happened. “The camera footage also showed Amy’s portfolio folder near a bush in the snow. She carries it everywhere. I’m afraid someone kidnapped her. She could be dead in a ditch.”
“Or . . . she’s the thief,” he said with a sigh. Amy appeared innocent enough, but it could all be an act. “She could have dropped the portfolio running from the burglar. Or maybe she wanted everyone to think that is what happened. While security and the police are combing the resort, she could be making her getaway.”
“But she wasn’t working here during the other robberies.”
“She could have an accomplice.”
“True, but I doubt it. Amy seems like a nice college kid. I’m worried about her. So is my aunt.”
“Did anyone call the police?”
“They already took our statements. They’re with Isaac right now.”
Carter furrowed his brow. “The security manager? If he’s guilty, he will spin this to place suspicion on Sophia.”
“I know.” She took his hand in hers and glanced up at him with pleading eyes. “I have a plan, but I need your help.”
****
GINA SCANNED THE DOWNTOWN restaurant again, making sure she didn’t recognize anyone from the resort. So far so good. “Brandy Holmes is perfect for my plan,” she told Carter. “She’s pretty, dresses well, and knows how to carry herself. She will make the perfect fake lawyer’s wife.”
He shot her a wry look. “Some lawyers do marry for love.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but for my plan to work, I need a Scottsdale type. You know what I mean. You live there, don’t you?” She knew she was right when no denial followed. The fact her friend fit into his world, when she didn’t, troubled her more than she cared to admit. It was another reason he probably wouldn’t come back to Garland Creek. She caught sight of the massive wooden door opening and in ambled her closest friend: a petite, brunette bombshell. “There she is,” Gina said with a wave.
Carter’s gaze flickered from the doorway back to Gina. “This is a small town. Someone who works at the resort is bound to know she’s your friend and not my wife.”
“Brandy lives on Camelback Mountain. We almost always get together near her house because I have a photo shoot in or around Phoenix every few months.” Gina grinned at her friend winding her way through the tables. “In fact,” she continued, “we had already made plans for her to come up here to see the new resort since her last visit was years ago, so this works out perfectly.”
“Okay. Chances are probably low that anyone will remember seeing you two together.”
“Especially when you consider she dyed her hair red back then.” Gina threw her arms around her friend. “I am so glad you’re here.” She placed Brandy’s coat on top of hers on the booth’s bench. “This is my friend Carter.”
He winced at the label. “It’s nice to meet you, Brandy.”
Brandy laughed. “I’m guessing you two are more than friends and I am the third wheel in this plan of yours.” She scooted onto the booth beside Carter and across from Gina.
Gina braved a glance in his direction. He tilted his head and stared at her as if waiting for her to clarify their relationship. She didn’t know what they were. She knew she cared about him, had begun to rely on him, which meant she trusted him. I trust him. Despite what had happened with her mother running off with the wealthy neighbor who had destroyed their family, she trusted Carter to help her family. “Brandy, Carter and I are more than friends, but for the sake of saving my aunt we need you to play his wife so we can catch the real thief.” She caught a hint of satisfaction cross his face when she admitted they had a relationship.
Brandy reached across the table and squeezed her hands. “You know I would do anything for Aunt Sophia.”
Tears welled in Gina’s eyes. “Thank you. She means the world to me.” She turned to Carter. “Sophia became my mother in every way but name. I needed her growing up, and now she needs me.”
“She needs all of us,” Brandy said. “And we will be there for her.” She opened her purse and removed a black and gold writing pen. “I brought my sister’s nanny cam.”
“That’s amazing!” Gina held the camera between her fingers. “I would never guess it’s a recorder.” From a distance, it looked like any other pen, but up close she noticed a couple of small circles on the side opposite the clip. “What are these?”
“Indicator lights.” Brandy took the pen back. “To use it, press the on-off button at the top. A green light will appear when it’s on. We’ll need to place it somewhere where it can record from the lens at the top while making sure the light is hidden.”
Carter accepted the pen from Gina. “How long can it record?”
“About an hour and a half between charges,” Brandy answered. “When we’re ready, we unscrew the top and attach the USB cable to the pen at one end and to a laptop at the other. If we catch the thief, we can save the video on the computer or onto a thumb drive for the authorities.”
“That part seems simple.” He turned to Gina. “How do we encourage this criminal to break into my cottage so we can record the burglary in action?”
“This is the iffy part, and it will require some acting.” Gina handed Brandy an envelope containing a coupon for the massage and facial package at the resort’s spa. “This is your Christmas present from me, but Carter will give it to you in the lobby.”
Brandy read the gold-embossed lettering on the envelope. “Garland Creek Resort.” She removed the official stationery page and read the contents of her package. “Thank you! I almost feel guilty. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy playing the pampered wife while you two are chasing bad guys.”
“You’re playing the most crucial role in our drama,” Gina said. “You have to reel in the burglar.”
Brandy handed the envelope to Carter. “Guard this with your life until you present it to me as a gift.”
“I’m such a great guy,” he gushed.
Gina rolled her eyes and Brandy laughed.
“All right, Mr. Great Guy,” Gina said, “You can pretend you’re expecting Brandy to join you on your trip and greet her near the front desk lobby.”
“Something like, ‘Honey, I’m so glad you finally made it?’” Carter cringed after his awkward performance. “Only more realistic.”
“Something like that.” A smile tugged at Gina’s lips, even though an uneasiness set over her at the thought of him calling Brandy Honey and perhaps kissing her to add authenticity to the act. “Make small talk and then say you bought a spa package for her and made a one o’clock appointment. The key is to be loud enough for the desk clerks to hear, but not so loud that you sound phony.”
“Oh,” Brandy interjected. “Mention you will be away at a meeting at the time. We want everyone to know the room will be empty.” She brought up her hand revealing a wedding set with a two-karat diamond that reflected the chandelier light from above. “I assume you will want me to gesture with my ring finger.”
“Wow! Whose ring?” Gina couldn’t take her eyes off the enormous princess-cut diamond.
“It was my grandmother’s, so it will stay with me at all times.”
“You really do have a spa appointment,” Carter said. “Gina asked me to make it for you. You’ll want to figure out a way to keep your ring close and hidden while you’re there. We haven’t ruled out any of the resort employees, including the ones in the spa.”
“True.” Gina took a sip of her coffee while she continued to formulate her plan. “You’ll also want to mention your appointment, while gesturing with your ring hand, in several different places. We want to make sure as many people as possible know you will be at the spa.”
“Hopefully, the burglar will take the bait and check out the cottage safe to see if you left your ring behind.” Carter sounded like he approved of her plan.
“Should I say I’m going to leave my jewelry in the safe?”
“That would be too obvious,” Carter said.
“I agree.” Gina scooted out of the booth. “I’ll be right back. If the waitress comes over, please order me a banana nut muffin. All of this plotting is making me hungry.”
She exchanged greetings with a few townies on her way to the restroom. Halfway across the restaurant, she recognized a gentleman walking her way.
“Miss Ferari.” The lawyer, wrapped in a long gray coat, reached out to shake her hand. “I’m Russell Wheeler.”
“Carter’s boss.” She liked the gentle, yet professional way he spoke. He reminded her of her grandfather with his gray hair and warm smile.
“I see he has mentioned me.” He removed a business card from his wallet and slipped it to her like a secret note.
She turned it over in her palm and read, “Russell Wheeler.”
“I’ve been told that you plan to send your family business our way. At least the family that lives here in Arizona. I’m sure you’ll want to work directly with Carter, but if anyone should insist on working with the senior partner, I’m at your service.”
Gina blinked. Family business? “What?”
“I have to admit,” he continued, “I don’t drive one of your cars, but I plan to test drive one soon.”
Drive one of my cars? She suddenly realized he thought she was an automobile heiress. She felt her face flush.
Gina barely heard the lawyer speak when he excused himself to join the group of men waiting for him.
She tightened her knuckles, crunching Wheeler’s business card in her palm. I’m planning to send the family business their way? Her jaw clenched, and her eyes widened with anger. I trusted Carter, and he used me.