Page 18 of Steal My Heart

Beverly nodded. “Probably. In his later years, he was always helping friends out. Chester was a good man, and I miss him.”

Brian took her hand. “I do too.”

Hilliard was quiet for a little while, letting the two of them have their moment. “I hate to ask, but I need some information. Brian and Chester were out together all day. Could someone have planned the burglary and decided to pin it on you because they knew you were gone? Who had advance notice of the trip?” His mind churned over the little they knew.

Brian and Beverly looked at each other. “No one, I don’t think. Gramps had been feeling tired, and we had talked about going, but he got up that morning saying he felt good and asked to go, so we got in the car and off we went. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.”

That told Hilliard a little more, and he turned to Beverly. “Did you tell anyone about the trip?”

“It was a Sunday, so people asked me why Chester wasn’t in church, and I said he was out with Brian. Then, later that afternoon while Violet was at her ladies’ circle meeting, someone broke into the house and stole what they could carry.” She seemed down.

Hilliard took her hand. “You did nothing wrong. But it sounds to me as though we should definitely be looking closer to Violet for the real thief, because it seems like whoever broke in knew that she wasn’t going to be home.” His mind was already churning over possibilities, even though he had zerosuspects and still no way to prove that Brian hadn’t committed the burglary. “What also bothers me is how they planted the evidence with your fingerprints on it.”

“They could have lifted the print from somewhere. That’s always possible, and the evidence wasn’t in my truck until afterwards. I know it wasn’t there on that Sunday, but by Tuesday, suddenly the police are finding a stolen item in my truck and I’m being arrested for burglary. I can’t prove where I was, Gran was dealing with Gramps’s funeral, and….” He lowered his head. “I don’t ever want to feel that lost again,” Brian added roughly, his voice scratching.

Beverly reached for his hand. “I never thought you were guilty for a second.”

“I know.” He placed his hand in hers, and Hilliard gave the two of them a minute.

“So what are we going to do next?” Beverly asked. “This shit can’t stand.” God, he loved her steel backbone.

“You were going to find me a way to talk to Violet, and we need to get a copy of the original police report. We need to know what they found at the scene of the burglary and what they might have overlooked. Then we can talk to any suspects we have and see if we can rattle one of them.”

“How?” Beverly and Brian asked together.

“What is their worst nightmare?” Hilliard asked. “We let them know that Brian has been proven innocent—that there is new evidence and that he was elsewhere at the time of the burglary. That is the guilty party’s worst nightmare. And we can use the Mendocino grapevine to do that little bit of work for us. Especially if Beverly is willing to start the ball rolling.” He might not know much about the town yet, but Beverly certainly did, and he had an idea that she would know exactly who to talk to in order to get tongues wagging.

“But we haven’t proven where I was,” Brian said.

“That’s the beauty. They don’t know that. We’ve made a bit of a show of going up and down the coast. We rode through town with the top down past some of the ladies.”

“Yeah. I loved that. Violet is such a bitch sometimes.”

“Gran,” Brian groaned almost comically.

“Well, she is. Those grandchildren of hers are such entitled brats, and her children are no better.” Beverly snapped her pocketbook open. “I made a list of all her relatives in town. We can start with these. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to go in and take what they wanted. They’re a greedy lot, just like Violet. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, if you ask me.” She passed it over, and Hilliard took a look at the list, with its small, wavering script. “Now, where else did you and Chester go on your trip?”

“We stopped at the Point Cabrillo Light. I drove him out, and we spent some time in the shop looking at the lens and other fittings. That was most fascinating to Gramps, being able to see it up close.”

“Then let’s go,” Beverly said. “I know it’s a slim chance, but we need to find out if they can tell us anything or remember either of you. God, I feel younger than I have in years.”

Brian reached forward. “Try not to overdo it, okay?” He seemed pale, and his eyes filled with worry. Hilliard could only imagine how he must be feeling at that moment.

“I’m not going anywhere, so you can let that worry go. I’m not going to die like Chester. He had a bad heart, and the last I checked, the doctor said mine was just fine.” She patted his hand. “Now, let’s go.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Hilliard said as they headed south back toward Fort Bragg. He drove as quickly as he dared, and they made the turn out to the lighthouse. He slowed to a crawl as pedestrians filled the roadway. Beverly waved and smiled like she was the queen in a parade.

“What if there’s no help here either? What do we do?” Brian asked.

“Then we look deeper. Proof is out there somewhere, and we’ll find it,” Hilliard told him as they passed a large group of kids. He went by them slowly before pulling into a small parking area near the lighthouse.

The light was very traditional, the tower in front, with the small keeper’s residence attached, painted light yellow with tan trim. It wasn’t very tall, but it stood on the high bluff, and Hilliard imagined it could be seen for miles out at sea.

Beverly said, “You go on inside. I’m going to stay here and enjoy the quiet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” Hilliard asked.

“No,” she answered gently. “Chester loved this place. He even worked on repairs after a storm. It was special to him, and….” She lowered her gaze. Hilliard didn’t want to push her. “I’ll stay here.”

---