Page 95
Story: Hide and Seek
“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.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117