Page 20 of Holding Out For A Holiday Hero

“It’s also a murder, sweets. A fucking murder.”

– Jake Hale

* * *

“I was standing right here.” They were in the museum’s grand exhibit hall. One she’d been tirelessly prepping because the traveling Egyptology display was slated to open after the new year. Thankfully, she’d changed into extra clothes that she had in her work locker. Yoga pants. A sweatshirt. Comfortable tennis shoes and not her boots. “I was the only one in the area. All of the other staff members—except our head of security, Robert Moss—had gone home for the night.” She glanced around at the two elaborate sarcophagi that had been carefully arranged in the exhibit hall. One to the left. The other to the right. They were the centerpieces of the display. “There are over one hundred treasures in the traveling collection.” Including a royal mask that was behind security glass on the center wall. “But the piece that nearly fell on me wasn’t part of the collection, thank goodness. That would have been an insurance nightmare.” She shuddered just imaging the paperwork.

“Yeah, total nightmare.” Jake’s droll response. “Especially if you’d, I don’t know, died.”

She cut him a quick glance.

“What fell?” Jake asked.

“A large, white column. Not ancient Egyptian. Just decorative, but very heavy.” Heavy enough to have caused serious injury if it had hit her. “It’s designed with a light inside to set the mood for the display.”

“Got to set the mood.” He rocked back on his heels. “So you were standing here, prepping the exhibit all by yourself, and the column just fell?”

“It couldn’t have fallen on its own. That’s what I tried to explain to Harris. I built the column. It was sturdy. You’d have to push it—hard—in order to make it fall. Not like I’d have some accident-waiting-to-happen situation in here for museum visitors.” She took safety very seriously. The protection of museum visitors was always a priority for her.

“And this particular column was positioned over here, in front of the curtains?” Jake’s hand waved toward said curtains.

She nodded.

He moved toward the wall—the wall lined with thick, black curtains. He lifted the curtains and studied the small space behind the billowing fabric. “Easy enough for someone to hide back here.”

Yes, someone could hide behind the curtains, and that fact creeped her out. The idea that someone had been there while she’d been working her late nights made fear slither through her veins.

“He just would have waited for the perfect moment.” Jake let the curtains fall back into place as his gaze swept the large exhibit hall. “I see there are two security cameras in this area.”

Her lips pressed together. “Yes, but they weren’t operational that night. They are brand new—actually, they still aren’t up and running. The whole system at the museum is in the process of being upgraded.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Understatement. Before she’d started work at the museum, there had been a few very old cameras in the place. Truth be told, the museum had been dying. So many of the wonderful artifacts had been boxed up in storage. She’d made it her mission to bring the place to life once again. Using the connections she’d made while working at a larger museum in Atlanta, True had been able to score the traveling Egyptian exhibit. She’d been planning to use that exhibit to get people in the doors. Then she’d been hoping the good folks in Rosewood would come back to see all of the wonderful art and artifacts that she’d planned to display once again. Everything is coming out of storage.

“And nothing was caught on any other security cams at the facility?” Jake pressed.

She shook her head. The very lack of anything—anyone—being caught on the other, older cameras had been one of the reasons Harris seemed so certain she’d imagined things.

Just an accident.

Just an accident, her ass.

The dead man’s image flashed through her mind. Dizziness suddenly had her trembling.

Jake’s hand closed around hers. “You okay?”

She sucked in a deep breath. Then one more. “I’ve never found a dead body before.”

“I could say you get used to them.” His hand squeezed hers. “But that would be a lie. It’s gonna haunt you for a while.”

“Was he there to hurt me?” He must have been.

“Well, I’m thinking he wasn’t there to deliver Christmas cookies so…” Jake winced. “Bad joke. Yeah, sweets. With his rap sheet, his intentions were damn dangerous. I’m glad you weren’t there.” He released her hand.

But she grabbed his hand right back. “What did Harris mean?”

He looked at their hands. Then at her face. One brow rose in query.

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