Page 61 of Cross & Crown

rested both elbows on the table and frowned at JD. “It’s one

of the items that was stolen from the bookstore. We got the

IDs an hour ago.”

JD’s head shot up, his eyes widening.

“It’s a brooch worn by a Revolutionary War soldier during

the Battle of Bunker Hill. The owner’s daughter said it’d been

in their family for over two-hundred years.”

JD’s mouth worked silently, and he looked from the

photo to Nick and back. “So since I recognize it . . . does this mean I stole it?”

Kelly glanced at Nick, holding his breath when Nick

met his eyes. Nick looked truly regretful. He joked about

being the bad cop and how everyone here considered him a

hard-ass, but Kelly knew better. Nick had the purest heart of

anyone he’d ever known.

“All it means is that you’ve seen this before,” Nick assured

JD. “You could have been a regular customer at the shop. You

could have seen this photo somewhere, say . . . an insurance

company or a museum. The only thing it proves is that you

weren’t there by chance. You are connected to this robbery

somehow, that’s all we can say with any certainty.”

JD took a deep, shaky breath. “Okay.”

Nick tapped his stack of photos, straightening them, then

he set them on the table as he stood. “We’ll be right back. You need anything? Food, drink?”

JD answered with a dejected shake of his head.

Nick and Kelly left him sitting there. Kelly noticed a

uniform lurking near the door as they exited, and Nick gave

61

him a nod as they passed. Whether JD knew it or not, he was

being held prisoner.

“You were blowing smoke up his ass, right?” Kelly said

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