Page 29 of Steal My Heart

“Who might have known what you had? It was an antique necklace that was found in Brian’s truck. Did you keep that out? Or in a jewelry box?”

Violet shook her head. “That’s the tough thing. I kept it at the bottom of a drawer in my bedroom. The jewelry box was on my dresser, but they stole that piece of jewelry from the drawer.”

Hilliard leaned closer. “Was the entire room tossed?” Violet looked confused. “Did the thieves ransack the room?”

“Oh… no. When I noticed the silver was gone, I hurried up here to find the cloth bag I kept my jewelry in, and it was gone.”

Hilliard pulled out a small tablet from his pocket and began making a few notes. “What else was taken?” He already knew from the police report, but Brian supposed he was trying to keep her talking.

“I made a list for the police, but later….” She got up and opened a case behind her chair. Then she pointed. “There were a couple of Japanese netsukes that my father brought back from atrip there. I didn’t recognize they were gone until months later.” The pain in her eyes was palpable.

“Do you have pictures of them somewhere?” Brian asked.

Violet pulled out her iPhone, then shook her head. “Yes, I do. They’re on the computer in the office, though. Frank said that I should make an inventory of the things in the house for insurance purposes. He and I were taking pictures of them.”

“Why didn’t you report them missing?”

Violet shrugged. “I figured they were gone like the rest of it. You were already paying for the crime, and I didn’t think any good would come of it. So I sort of wrote them off.”

“I suppose it happens a lot.” Brian cleared his throat. “But I want you to know that I never stole anything from anyone. I’ve worked hard all my life, and I was accused at the same time as I lost my grandfather.” A lump grew in his throat, and he gave up trying to finish what he meant to say.

“That was a bad time for all of us,” Violet said gently.

“Then let’s try to put it behind us, find out what truly happened, and then maybe everyone—both of you in particular—can have some peace… knowing the truth.”

Violet nodded slowly. “Yes. I think that’s best.” She stood, and Brian did as well, with Hilliard following. She led them to the door, and Brian thanked her before leaving the house. Violet closed the door almost silently after them, and they went down the walk to the street.

“That was interesting,” Brian said. “And weird at the same time.”

“It was more than that.”

“How do you figure?”

Hilliard led the way down the street as they headed toward his house. “Violet doesn’t know who robbed her, but she’s still afraid. Afraid that someone will do it again, and with you being innocent, she’s afraid of who it might be. Her son knew what shehad and helped her inventory it. Her grandsons knew what was there. The one thing that is for sure—it was someone who knew her pretty well. They went into her room and got her jewelry without ransacking everything. That means they knew where she hid it. That was the thief’s mistake and something more the police should have been able to figure out.”

“But they only had me in their sights,” Brian said. “And after that, they didn’t look any further.”

“The thing is,wehave to. And we need to tell Grant what we found,” Hilliard explained. “It isn’t going to be long before the guilty party is put on notice, and they will be looking to cast all eyes in another direction. After all, it worked well before.”

“What do you suggest I do? I have to work.”

“Of course you do, and you can’t put your life on hold, but make sure everything is locked, and like I said before, watch those around you.”

“I added cameras to my truck, both inside and out. So if someone does try to frame me the way they did before, we’ll know who it is.”

“Good, though this time they’ll be sneakier.” Hilliard took his hand. “But we’ll be ready for them. You aren’t alone, and you have people who believe in you.” That was something Brian had wondered if he’d ever have again.

Chapter 11

THE FOLLOWINGevening, Hilliard checked himself in the mirror for the third time and turned away. He looked fine and was acting like a nervous teenager hoping to lose his virginity on prom night simply because he didn’t want to mess this up. He closed the closet door and went downstairs. He and Brian were having a proper date, which meant he was picking Brian up and they were going to the Ledford House for dinner rather than eating in town at the pub… again. He checked the time, grabbed the flowers he’d gotten that afternoon, hurried outside to the Mustang, and lowered the top.

He drove slowly through town, waving to people he knew. It was so strange, but this tiny place on the edge of the Pacific was quickly beginning to feel like home. He had memories here, and it was a chance for him to start over. Yes, Cleveland had been his home for most of his life, and he had intended to build something he could be proud of there, but all that had changed. Almost everything in his life had changed over the past few months, and maybe that was a good thing.

The lights were on at Beverly’s. It wasn’t that late, but the marine layer had moved in, casting the town in a moody pall that always made Hilliard wonder if something was about to happen. He got out, strode up to the door, and knocked softly, the dogs barking on the other side.

Brian opened the door, keeping the dogs back as Hilliard stepped inside. “You look nice,” Hilliard told Brian. He expected a smile, but what he got was fear. Hilliard glanced to Beverly, whose expression was stormy. “What happened?” He handed the small bouquet to Beverly.

“I better show you,” Brian said before leading Hilliard through the house and up the stairs. “I worked all day, and when I got home, I came up here to change clothes. When I opened my sock drawer….” He went to his room and pulled the top drawer of the dresser back. Sitting in the corner was a silver wing, part of something, poking out from next to a pair of rolled-up gray socks. “What do I do?”

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