Page 15 of Tangled Up In You

"He's having a great month," Brodie agreed. "I caught a glimpse of Keira in the stands, and she was screaming her head off. She looked happy."

"They're making it work." He filled the empty glass with beer. "How did your day go?" Brodie had just finished a shift for the police department where they both worked.

"Uneventful, which is a good thing."

"It is," he said with a knowing smile.

Brodie liked action. He had been an Olympic skier and a very active person his entire life.

"And your day? The same?" Brodie asked.

"Actually, not as uneventful as every other day this past week." He took a long sip of beer.

"Does that have something to do with the brother of your former girlfriend showing up in town?"

"I see you spoke to Chelsea," he said dryly.

"Only briefly, but she expressed concern. What's this kid's story?"

"He's nineteen and lost. His sister died when he was a little kid. His mom passed away a few months ago after a long illness. Drew got into some trouble at school. He was partying too much and got put on probation. His father asked if I could help straighten him out, so he's staying with me until Christmas. My only requirement is that he gets a job. If he doesn't, I'm sending him back."

"And this kid is the brother of your former girlfriend, the one who died tragically?"

"Yes," he said shortly. "Gina passed away when she was twenty-one, only a few years older than Drew is now. He's had a lot of loss in his young life, and his father is exhausted after taking care of his wife during her last days. He has nothing left in the tank for Drew."

"It's good you're helping, but you remember nineteen, right?" Brodie gave him a pointed look.

"Yep. Stubborn, know-it-all, no-one-is-going-to-tell-me-what-to-do attitude," he replied. "This idea might result in an epic fail. But I'm going to give it a shot. By the way, do you have any hikes going on this weekend?" In his time off, Brodie ran adventure hikes for Jake's Adventure Sports company. "I'd love to get Drew out in nature. The mountains are great for changing perspective."

"They can definitely do that. I'm leading a hike on Sunday morning, eight miles round trip, medium level. I've got a group of six going. Two are guys in their early twenties, and one has a sister who's eighteen, so he might enjoy it."

"It sounds perfect. I'll talk to him about it."

"Just don't force him, Adam. I only want willing participants. If he's complaining the whole time, he'll ruin the trip for everyone."

"Got it. I'll throw in the eighteen-year-old girl as incentive."

"Always worked for me," Brodie said with a grin.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you. You responded to the 911 call for Phoebe Haller last week, didn't you?"

"Yes. Why?"

"What did the scene look like?"

"Chaos. I've never seen so much junk in my life. I knew Phoebe was eccentric, but I didn't expect her store to be filled with so much stuff. She died right in the middle of all of it. When I got there, she was on her back, with her hand on her heart, her lifeless eyes wide open. Her manager, Nina Williamson, was hysterically crying. She found Phoebe when she came back from lunch. She was so shaken she didn't think she could ever be in the store again. When I checked back with her the next day, she was already on a flight to Florida."

As Brodie finished talking, Adam felt a little uneasy. "I wonder why she left so fast."

"Her neighbor said she'd been planning to retire to Florida, but she didn't think she'd made specific plans to go until Phoebe died. I guess she was spooked. She told the neighbor she'd be back later to get the rest of her things." Brodie paused, his gaze narrowing. "Why are you asking me about that call?"

"The manager's hasty departure from the state seems suspect. There was also a break-in at the store a day after Phoebe died. And today, someone might have stolen something from the store or just wanted to do some damage by pulling down a rack filled with products."

"And you know this how? I thought you were off work."

"I was walking by the store when the new owner came running outside and barreled right into me. She'd been in the back room when she heard a crash."

"What was taken?"

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