Page 63 of The Rainbow Recipe
He spent the rest of the day introducing himself to the board of directors of DVM Electronics, the voting machine manufacturing company whose majority shares he’d just acquired. A few of them even remembered his father. Standing in for the father he’d lost at age twelve had never been his goal, but it felt oddly right to be doing so, especially since it meant he could reward R&R for their loyalty. Monetarily, it might not be much, but in terms of respect...They’d have resumes they could employ one day.
By the time Jax got home that evening, he was feeling pretty satisfied with himself. Always a mistake.
As they had the previous night, everyone retired to the back porch after dinner to watch the children run off their energy before bed. Tonight, Pris passed around pumpkin tarts for a preliminary Thanksgiving taste test.
“I need to run around with the kids to work off these things,” Evie complained.
“Or use your bike more often, instead of the car.” Pris waved one of the tarts. “Where’s Loretta? You could follow her around all day.”
“She’s with Gracie tonight, learning to sew. It’s hard to transport sewing baskets on bicycles.”
Jax hugged her. “We’ll go back to starvation rations after Pris leaves. Eat your tart. Have we made any progress on the artifacts?”
She elbowed him for the starvation remark but took a tart.
Dante spoke up. “My colleagues have dug up a few suspicious offers on the black market. Your team is investigating, but these sorts of transactions are fairly untraceable. We’d have to set up a sting. Since all we have is KK’s necklace and Jane’s claims, that’s not enough to go on.”
“The sheriff is poking around, stirring up nests where he can.” Evie finished off her bite-sized tart. “Maybe you can pry more out of Matt and Rhonda tomorrow.”
“Jane is on the loose. She posted bail on the arson charge and is out of the hospital. As a precaution, I have the fire department on alert for my meeting with the Gladwells.” Jax rocked the swing. “R&R will have cameras on us, but I don’t expect much. I think Jane simply wanted to make the Gladwells suffer.”
“Her aura is unhealthy. She needs serious counseling more than prison.” Evie perked up. “Will Troy take video as evidence if Matt or Rhonda say anything incriminating?”
“Court might not, but what are the chances the Gladwells know that? Troy can use it in his interrogations. But admitting murder, or even theft, probably isn’t happening.” Jax hugged her sympathetically. “We might catch them in inventory fraud at best.”
“Did anyone find out who locked Bella’s door before Jane’s arson?” Pris sat on the porch steps and wrinkled her nose at the tart she was taste-testing.
“That was Nick,” Jax acknowledged. “Perfectly innocent. He discovered the door unlocked when he entered the empty shop and thought someone had forgotten to lock it. Since all the other doors were locked, he thought Rhonda hadn’t come in yet. He was taking a customer phone call in the back when he smelled smoke. He ran out to the alley to call 911 and had no idea people were inside.”
“Are we believing Nick?” Pris asked from the step.
“Unless you’re picking up anything otherwise, his aura is pretty solid. He has some iffy bits like any of us. If Jax believes him, I’m good with that.” Evie reached for another tart.
Jax thought he ought to preen if someone as perceptive as Evie trusted his instincts, but logic prevailed. “If experience counts, then I’d say he’s telling the truth. It’s hard to know how deeply he was involved in the operation. He’s the only one who appears sad about KK’s death.”
“Dante, what about Leo? Do you think he was responsible for the cave falling on you? Surely he had to know something?” Pris picked her tart apart, tasting just the crust.
“The tunnel section I saw last appeared to be Victorian construction that simply crumbled. I can’t say Leo knew anything one way or another. Anyone digging through the tuff could have disturbed that concrete. Plot later. Kids now. It’s dark and they’re being too quiet.” Dante stood and shouted at the twins to come in.
The twins didn’t answer. Instead, Honey, the golden retriever, barked frantically—from the street?
Jax’s stomach knotted as Evie jumped up.
“The yard is fenced.” She jogged to the weed patch dividing her yard from the neighbor’s.
Jax trailed after her, searching the darkness for giggling, hiding imps.
No twins.
He beat at the overgrown shrubbery and shouted, “Nan, Alex.”
Dante limped out carrying a flashlight.
“KK,” Evie whispered worriedly. “In the back corner.”
Dante pointed his light in that direction. “The bushes are bent.” The flashlight revealed the extent of the damage and the missing fence boards.
Evie shoved through the narrow child-sized opening while Jax and Dante ripped at the boards to enlarge it. In the street on the other side, Honey wildly raced up and down, barking, as if she’d lost her best friends.
