Page 60 of Deathmarch

“I’ll get over the arrest faster if you tell me how the case is coming along.” She held up a hand to cut off the protest she knew was coming. “Just the parts you’re free to divulge.”

“Found more of what was stolen.”

“More gold?”

He didn’t respond.

“You found the silver?” She knew what had gone missing since she’d been questioned about it.

“Let’s just stick withmore evidence,” he said after a second of thinking. “None of it points to you.”

“Good to hear. Have you narrowed down your field of suspects yet?”

“Soon. I think another round of interviews will be enough to solve the case. First interview is just asking information from anyone who might have some. But when I talk to a person for the second time, they get the idea pretty fast that they’re a suspect. The pressure is on. They’ll make a mistake. And when they do, I’ll be there to catch them in the lie.”

“I hope you do. I know I’ve been cleared, but I won’t be fully exonerated in people’s eyes until someone else is arrested. Which reminds me… Do you know where I could find your brother Kennan? I’m pretty sure I owe him money.”

“For?”

“Bail.”

“He got that back when the charges were dropped.”

“That’s what I thought, but it occurred to me this morning that he probably didn’t get itallback. There must have been a fee. I’d like to settle up with him. I don’t like owing people.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I want to pay him back.”

He watched her for a second, then nodded. “All right. Why don’t you come around to Finnegan’s tomorrow? He’ll be helping out behind the bar.”

She stepped around a puddle of melting snow. “Does he live with your parents?”

“Temporarily. He’s looking for a house to buy, but hasn’t found the right one yet.”

She was more hesitant with her next question. “And you?”

“Above the bar. Made the hayloft into an apartment a while back.”

Once part of a much bigger farm, Finnegan’s consisted of two buildings. The two-hundred-year-old farmhouse was Rose and Sean Finnegan’s home. The barn, they’d converted into Finnegan’s Bar and Grill, its stone walls lending the place the perfect, old-world atmosphere.

“You never left?”

Harper shook his head. “Is that bad?”

“If I had a big, loving family like yours, I never would have left either.”

They walked in silence for a while.

Then Harper said, “I really enjoyed your act tonight.”

“What did you like about it?” She always welcomed feedback.

“You lit up. You love doing what you do, and you’re good at it. You’re… I don’t know… Different. You changed.”

“I’d hope so.” She laughed. “I was seventeen the last time you saw me. Unsure of myself. Scared most of the time. Embarrassed a lot.”

“Because of your father. I’m sorry. I’m sure it didn’t help that I assisted him with his escapades.”