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“Can you tell anything from how the order was shipped?”

Andy shook his head. “Uncle C.’s record keeping leaves a lot to be desired.”

“So maybe the itemswerehanded off in person.”

“Maybe, but how would that work?”

Andy understood—or at least thought he understood—why it would be necessary for the Whittakers to purchase the gems through an innocuous third party rather than receive them directly. The more twists and turns in the journey of those stolen goods, the less likely discovery for all concerned.But,shoulddiscovery occur, it would be paramount that there appear to be a chain of legitimate transactions through legitimate businesses.

While Andy could see Chief Millard might have certain advantages as a go-between for jewel smugglers, he couldn’t help thinking there would be some serious disadvantages too. Like being surrounded by other police officers day in and day out. Not to mention the fact that Uncle C. would surely have noticed his poker buddy dropping off mysterious parcels?

Although maybe that wasn’t how it worked.

Frankly, Andy had trouble believing anyone in Safehaven could be involved with jewel smugglers.

And of all the shops to pick as a way station for stolen gems, why Time in a Bottle? Why not one of the cute, busy little gift stores or boutiques like the one Fleur had owned?

Quinn drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the steering wheel and seemed to come to a decision. He turned the key in the ignition. “Let’s go grab some breakfast.”

Andy stared in disbelief. “Breakfast?”

Quinn shrugged. “I’m hungry. We didn’t have dinner. It’s better for us to avoid crowded restaurants right now.”

Oh. Right. Because they might show up on the news any minute. Still, after the past hour, the last thing Andy felt like doing was eating.

“It’s four thirty in the morning.”

“We’ll find an all-night diner.”

That was something Andy had forgotten: how hard it was to outargue Quinn. In that regard, he was a little like Marcus. Except in Quinn’s case, there was no threat of retaliation if he didn’t get his way.

Maybe because he usually got his way?

He did that night. They found a Denny’s near their hotel and ordered breakfast. Quinn opted for country fried steak andeggs, and Andy ordered the pumpkin pecan pie breakfast, which seemed to amuse Quinn.

“I might be hungrier than I thought,” Andy muttered as the waitress moved away. He had never been a stress eater, but then he’d never been under quite this much stress.

Quinn’s smile was crooked. “You think I’m pretty callous, don’t you?”

He did, yeah, but he said, “I guess you had to be in your line of work.”

“That’s true, unfortunately. The thing is, the Whittakers were in a dangerous business. They managed to skate for a long time. But nobody’s luck holds forever.”

“Nobody deserves what happened to them.”

“No. Nobody deserves that.” There was an unspokenbutthere.

“Maybe Mr. Whittaker didn’t know what his wife was up to. Maybe he was just collateral damage.”

Andy couldn’t quite read Quinn’s expression. “Did you know what Marcus was up to?”

By now it shouldn’t hurt, but Andy felt a pang, remembering. “Not at first. At first, I believed his excuses. Believed he was a victim of circumstances. But the evidence was there, and it kept mounting.”

Quinn grunted. “And you were only together…how long?”

“Three years. Not quite.”

“Going by the family photos, the Whittakers were together for most of their lives. He had to be part of it. At the very least, he had to know what was going on.”