Chapter Sixteen

“What the hell’s going on, Aiden?” she demanded as she climbed onto his passenger seat.

He gunned the engine, wiping a hand through his hair. “Dyson’s had a tip-off about something. He just needs to check it out. That’s all.”

“Something like what? What’s he hoping to find?”

Aiden shook his head. “He couldn’t say. Cam Taylor’s involved, though. He’s meeting us there, too.”

Maggie felt sick. If that fuckwad had something to do with it, she’d lay a dollar to a penny Robert Rossington was somehow behind it.

“Ben said you were on a fact-finding mission today. Did you find out any facts?” She stared up at him hopefully.

“Yep. Rossington’s in a heap of debt,” he told her a little warily.

She knew there was something he wasn’t telling her. “For Christ’s sake, Aiden!” Anger mixed with fear as she waited for him to continue.

“Did you know he had dealings with your parents?” Aiden looked edgy.

Her stomach roiled. “No. What sort of dealings?”

He shook his head. “Some sort of business transactions.”

She frowned. “My daddy always said he’d have to be desperate to have anything to do with Robert’s business.” As the words tumbled out of her mouth, she felt a pang in her heart. She’d had nothing to do with either of her parents since they’d berated her for splitting up with Robert. Her mother had called her a liar because of the things she’d told her about him, and Maggie had been gutted that her own parents would believe Robert over their own daughter. He was a plausible rogue, though. Even she had to admit that. If the situation had become so bad that they had turned to Robert for help, then she should have been there for them, no matter what they’d done.

She gasped, putting her hand to her mouth.

“I know you haven’t done anything wrong, darlin’, so you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Aiden soothed her as they pulled up next to the deputy’s SUV right outside her apartment building.

She stared out of the windshield while Dyson talked to a guy she recognized as Cam Taylor. Her eyes quickly darted around looking for Robert, but he wasn’t there, thank goodness.

“You ready, sweetheart?” Aiden’s voice was calm, though she could tell he wasn’t at all happy with the situation.

“Let’s get this over with.” She couldn’t look at him for fear of bursting into tears. She knew he would be supportive and sympathetic, but that wouldn’t help her right now. They all followed her as she trundled up the stairs to her front door then unlocked it.

Dyson looked uneasy as he gave her a copy of the search warrant. “We’ve got reason to believe there’s a possibility that an item of stolen property might be hidden somewhere in your apartment,” he explained.

Maggie frowned. “What sort of stolen property?” None of it made any sense.

“This.” Cam Taylor thrust a rather dog-eared photo of a beautiful pale-blue sapphire necklace at her.

“I’ve never seen this before,” she assured them, stunned.

“I told you,” Aiden said rather smugly.

“We need to check it out,” Dyson informed them, a little apologetically.

“Whose is it?” Maggie asked curiously. It wasn’t unlike the sort of thing she used to wear when she still had money, though she would have preferred pink sapphires to blue.

“Lorraine Parry’s. Do you know her?” Cam replied.

Maggie shivered with cold as she stared at him in disbelief.

“Maggie, would you come in here a moment, please?” Dyson had gone on ahead into her bedroom and was calling her through.

A sense of dread filled her stomach, and she just knew what he was about to disclose, though she had no idea how. Her feet felt like lead as she slowly made her way toward him. The deputy was standing in front of her battered chest of drawers, with the second drawer wide open. He was holding a couple of her sweaters in one hand and pointed with the other. In the bottom of the drawer, cushioned on an old tee-shirt, was the necklace.

“Did you find anything?” Cam followed them into the room and gazed into the drawer. He held up the photo. “Yep, that’s it all right,” he confirmed. “Do you have anything to say, miss?”

She felt everyone’s eyes on her as her whole body turned weak and her face flushed. She shook her head dumbly. What could she say? Nothing that would make any difference.

“Maggie, I know you didn’t do this—” Aiden began.

“We need to take you down to the office,” Dyson interjected as he pulled a plastic bag from his back pocket. He carefully scooped the necklace into it, careful not to touch it with his fingers, and he handed it over to his colleague. “You might need one of these, too. It gets pretty cold in the cells.” He offered her the sweaters in his hand with a sympathetic nod.

Maggie could hardly move. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion around her. Aiden reached over and took the warmest sweater, putting his other arm around her shoulder. She was vaguely aware of him talking to Dyson but didn’t take any notice of what was being said. Her brain had turned to mush.

* * * *

She was still in Aiden’s arms as the sheriff pulled up outside his office and they all clambered out of his SUV. The cold night air whipped around her, mocking her as she walked, in a daze, up the steps.

Frank Crowthorne was inside the office when they arrived, and she guessed Aiden must have called him.

“Don’t you worry, Maggie. We’ll soon get to the bottom of this,” the older guy assured her when she walked in.

“I’ll need a statement from her, Frank,” Dyson said as they all took their seats around the deputy’s desk.

“Of course.” Frank sat at one side of her with Aiden on the other as Cam handed around the coffees from the machine on the side-counter.

“Now, Maggie, I realize this is all a terrible shock for you,” Dyson began.

Cam snorted.

Dyson shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Can you tell me anything about this necklace?” He held up the plastic bag.

Maggie cleared her throat, trying to bypass the huge lump that had appeared there. “I’ve never seen it before,” she croaked quietly.

“So you won’t be finding her fingerprints on it, Sheriff,” Frank added matter-of-factly, then he took a sip of his drink.

Maggie felt a glimmer of hope. Frank was right, of course.

“That don’t prove nothin’. She could have worn gloves.” Cam looked quite happy with himself as he pointed out the obvious.

Dyson looked a little annoyed but went back to the papers in his hand. “So, I take it you would deny any accusations that you stole it?” he clarified.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Of course you would,” Cam derided.

Just then there was a loud commotion at the door, and Maggie gaped when she saw Robert and Lorraine standing there.

“Any news, Sheriff? Oh.” Robert didn’t even try to hide his delight as he saw them all sitting at the desk, peering at the necklace.

“Oh, no, come on!” Lorraine stared in disbelief.

“Is there something we can do for you, Rossington?” Dyson stood up wearily.

“I’d say there is. We just stopped by to see if you had any news on my fiancée’s stolen necklace. It looks like we arrived at just the right time. I trust you’ve made an arrest?” Robert’s eyes bored into Maggie’s, and she felt her blood boil. There was no way he wasn’t behind all of this. She just had to figure out how.

“Well, I guess this means I can have my jewelry back then? Who found it?” Lorraine asked, looking pointedly at Cam Taylor.

“I did. It was found in Miss Welch’s belongings, but we haven’t had time to fingerprint it yet, ma’am,” Dyson informed her.

“Well, you’d better hurry up then,” Robert interjected piously. “We’re getting married in just over twenty-four hours. My bride might wish to wear it for the occasion.”

Dyson rolled his eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

“Oh no, it’s fine.” Lorraine waved a dismissive hand at him. “I shan’t be wearing that on Saturday. I’m sure Robert will be buying me something new for the occasion, won’t you, dear?” She gave him a smug look, and Maggie relished the way Robert cringed at the suggestion of him parting with his cash.

“I thought you might want it for your something blue? Or something old? Or both?” He always was quick with a comeback, Maggie recalled, though she was a little surprised he would recall the traditional English wedding rhyme she had taught him. She shuddered at the memory. She had been so excited about marrying him at first. It had been all she could talk about. Now all she wanted to do was forget him.

“Well, you’ve clearly got lots to discuss, so we’ll get on here and update you as soon as we’ve got something definite to tell you,” Dyson told them, putting a hand up to stop them.

“Of course. I just need to know who found it so I can arrange the reward,” Lorraine retorted.

Maggie watched Robert’s chest puff up, and he looked as though he was about to burst.

“What reward?” he demanded.

She had to stop herself from giggling as she watched Lorraine put on an innocent face. “The one I offered for the safe recovery of my necklace, of course,” she said nonchalantly. “Who should I make the check payable to?” She stared pointedly at Cam again, and Maggie guessed she was up to something.

“There’s no need, ma’am. I found it in the line of duty. As you’ll know, law enforcers aren’t allowed to accept rewards for doing their job, although it’s very kind of you.” Dyson smiled at her then frowned as he must have noticed Cam’s annoyed expression.

“You offered a reward?” Robert was clearly seething as he looked from Lorraine to Cam.

Cameron looked furious but said nothing.

“Of course. You remember, don’t you, Deputy Taylor? When I reported it missing, I told you I was happy to offer a handsome reward to whoever found it?” She smiled over at him, seemingly oblivious to the way Cam was staring at her, clearly willing her to stop talking.

“You knew about this?” Robert stared accusingly at Cam, whose face had tensed right on up.

“I don’t rightly remember,” Cam mumbled.

Lorraine looked shocked. “Of course you do. It was the day Frank came to see you.” She nodded over at the older guy, who smirked.

“Yeah, I seem to recall something about that,” Frank confirmed.

“I must have forgotten.” Cam shrugged.

Dyson yawned as he stretched. “Well, if you folks don’t mind, I think I should be getting my prisoner fed and settled for the night. We can continue the interview tomorrow, if you’re agreeable?”

Frank nodded. “I think that’s a very good idea,” he interjected before Maggie could respond.

“Prisoner, eh?” Robert narrowed his eyes at her. “Well, I never thought I’d see the day.”

“And we’d best get going, Robert. Lots to do tomorrow, remember?” Lorraine came to her rescue and Maggie sighed gratefully.

“Deputy Taylor, if you don’t mind, I’ll get this into the safe and get it printed first thing.” Dyson picked up the necklace again.

Cam seemed like he wanted to object but obviously thought better of it. He just nodded. “I can stick around for a while, if you like?” he offered.

Dyson looked curiously from his colleague to Robert Rossington and smirked. “No, it’s fine. You get on home. I’ll call you in the morning with any developments.”

Cam seemed disappointed but said nothing. He glanced over at Robert a little warily.

Maggie felt as though she were dreaming as she watched everyone get up and move around her while she stayed sitting at the desk. Robert and Lorraine left, much to everyone’s relief, and Frank shook Cam’s hand politely. Cam looked surprised, but must have realized it was the older man’s way of telling him it was time he left also.

Dyson locked the door after they had all gone and he turned back, grinning.

Aiden took his seat next to Maggie once more. “Are you okay, darlin’?” He put his arm around her, and she snuggled into his comfort.

“Do I have to stay here all night?” Her voice was still croaky.

“I’m afraid so,” Dyson replied.

“But I didn’t take it,” she whispered.

“We know, darlin’,” Aiden assured her, holding her a little tighter. “But we have to show Dyson’s doing his job to keep everything on the level.”

Maggie stared at the sheriff, wide-eyed. “Did you put the necklace in my drawer?”

“No, ma’am,” he assured her.

Her mind reeled. “Then who did? Surely you don’t think I—?”

“Of course we know you didn’t take it,” Frank told her. “But we still have to figure out who did. Why don’t I go get us carry-out, and we can do a little brain-storming?”

Maggie frowned. “You’re staying?”

Frank chuckled. “Just for a while. Sylvia will be waiting for me, so I can’t be too late.”

“I’ll be here, though,” Aiden told her gently. “That’s all right, isn’t it, Dyson?”

“Well now, seeing as you left your car at the apartment, I’m sure everyone will assume that Frank’ll be taking you home, so no one’s going to know if you’re still here after he’s left.” Dyson grinned.

Maggie felt relieved for the first time in hours. Not only was Aiden staying with her, but they were all going to try to figure out what the hell was going on here.

* * * *

“I know Lorraine’s got proof that Rossington took the necklace from her dressing-room, but how could he have got it into the apartment?” Aiden mused as they finished up their meal. “Has he got access to the place?” He turned to face Maggie.

She shook her head. “No. The landlord is the only one with a key, and I’m sure he wouldn’t let it out of his sight.”

Dyson nodded. “If he did, he’d never get another tenant,” he said thoughtfully. “There are strict laws about things like that. Folks like to know that they and their belongings are protected.”

“Too right,” Frank agreed. “So, Maggie, have you had anyone there who could have put it there? Any workmen? Any guests who might have been able to walk around without you watching them?”

She pursed her lips. “Robert was there the other night, as you know, but I was with him the whole time—and he didn’t get anywhere near the bedroom.”

“That was the only time he’s been there?” Aiden clarified.

She nodded, feeling annoyed that he might not believe her. “I’m not in the habit of asking my ex around, Aiden, despite what you might think.”

His hurt expression proved to her just how spiteful she sounded, and she immediately regretted being so nasty.

“I didn’t mean—”

“I know. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a bit edgy is all,” she told him, snuggling closer against him. He held her tighter, and she knew he understood, although she didn’t like herself for taking it out on him. Aiden had been nothing but supportive, and she had no right to be horrid.

“That was before the necklace was taken, anyhow,” Frank pointed out.

“Okay, so what about anyone else?” Dyson asked.

“Only these guys,” she told him, shrugging.

“Really?” Aiden looked surprised as he glanced over at Frank.

“Just for a moment,” Maggie clarified.

Aiden raised his eyebrows a little more.

Frank sighed. “All right. Yesterday I went in to use Maggie’s bathroom after I dropped her home,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Her bathroom?” Aiden looked incredulous.

“Okay, so maybe there might have been more to it than that,” Frank relented.

Maggie stared at him. “What do you mean?”

Frank sighed again. “Maggie, don’t get mad at me,” he began. “A friend of mine in the attorney’s office told me that Rossington was asking around about any possible loopholes in the will Jake Parry left. Seems he was looking for a way of getting his hands on Parry’s land without marrying Lorraine. My pal was going to break the news to him yesterday afternoon that the agreement was watertight.”

“So that’s why he suddenly wanted to marry her so soon!” Maggie felt relieved that at least one mystery had been solved so easily.

Frank nodded. “Looks that way. Anyhow, we were worried that Rossington would be hopping mad when he heard the news, and it occurred to us that he might try to take it out on you or Lorraine.”

“That’s why you insisted on driving me home last night?” It was all clicking into place.

“Yep. When I got back there, I just wanted to make sure Rossington wasn’t going to try anything, like he did the other night, for instance. To be honest, I was actually a little surprised not to find him on your doorstep, but then I wondered if he might have broken in or something. I figured if I went in and used your bathroom, I could just quickly check that everything was okay. I’m sorry.” Frank shrugged apologetically.

She smiled at him. “That was real thoughtful, Frank. Thank you.” It was good to know she had friends looking out for her.

“I don’t know what I was expecting to find—anything from broken furniture and smashed mirrors to the odd item being out of place, I reckon. Anything that would suggest someone had been there.” He shook his head.

“I take it you didn’t find anything?” Dyson asked.

“Nope. Everything seemed to be in order, not that I knew what the place normally looked like, but there certainly didn’t seem anything untoward,” Frank replied. “I take it you didn’t find anything?” He looked over at Maggie.

She felt a thud in her stomach.

“Maggie?” Aiden frowned at her.

She swallowed hard.

“Did you move an ornament in the bathroom, Frank? A china bird? Not that it matters, I just…” She knew the answer by the look on his face. Oh no!

“The one on the glass shelf?”

She nodded.

He frowned. “I thought it was odd that it was kept there, bunched up with all your toiletries when there was plenty of room on the other side, but I figured that was how you wanted it.” He spoke slowly.

“Anything else, Maggie? Anything at all that was slightly misplaced or missing?” Dyson was scribbling something onto the pad in front of him.

She began to shake her head before the bookcase came to mind. “Just a couple of books, but I thought…” She glanced up at Aiden, who seemed surprised.

“Something was taken from the bookcase?” Dyson clarified.

She quickly shook her head. “No, not missing. A couple of books had been moved slightly. That’s all. Like someone had been looking at them and not put them back quite right.” She could tell she had been wrong in her supposition that Aiden might have been examining her work, and suddenly she felt stupid for even considering it.

“Was one of them your book?” Aiden narrowed his eyes.

She nodded silently.

“It has to be Rossington.” Aiden was definite about that. “I don’t know how he got in, but it had to be him.”

Dyson nodded, making more notes. “So, sometime yesterday after he’d spoken to the attorney, he got into the apartment and planted the necklace before you got home.”

“But why move things around? Surely that was just leaving clues? If I’d noticed and called you in, you’d have found it right away.” Maggie’s mind whirled.

“Sounds like a mind fuck to me,” Aiden stated angrily.

Maggie felt bile rise in her throat. Of course! Robert liked to play mind games. She nodded, realizing what a fool she’d been. “I should have known,” she moaned. “It’s just his style to make me think I’m going mad.”

“He’s the one who must be mad if he thought that’d work,” Aiden assured her.

“It’ll be interesting to see if his prints show up on that necklace tomorrow,” Frank announced, standing up.

“It won’t take long to check,” Dyson said as he showed him out.

A call came over the radio just as Dyson returned to his desk. He frowned as he answered it. “Sounds like some trouble over at Almondine,” he told them. “I wonder where Rossington’s at tonight.”

Maggie felt a lurch in her stomach.

“I’ll stay here with Maggie,” Aiden said.

“Can I trust you not to make a break for it, or should I lock you up?” Dyson grinned.

“We’re too close to blow it all now, Sheriff,” she assured him.

“Good. I’d better shoot.” He threw a key over to Aiden. “Lock up after me. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back.”

“Sure.” Aiden followed him to the door and locked it as soon as he’d left.

“You really think it’s Robert and Cam Taylor?” Maggie asked him, wide-eyed, once they were alone.

Aiden grinned. “There’s a good chance. Rossington sure didn’t look happy about that reward, did he? If he’s got an inkling Taylor was planning to cash in on it, he’s likely to be after that guy’s blood around about now, especially if that fight the other night was about Taylor wanting the necklace for himself. Even a dumbass like Rossington will have worked out why by now.” He whipped out his cell. “I’ll just have a word with Ben to see if he can check on Lorraine.”

Maggie took the chance to freshen up while Aiden called his brother. As she washed her face, she was surprised to see how relaxed she looked, especially given that she was about to spend the night locked up in a police cell. It didn’t seem so bad with Aiden there, though. In fact, she relished the opportunity to spend some time with him.

She took the pins from her hair and watched it tumble loosely around her shoulders. She let out a small sigh of relief as the tightness eased.

She smiled at her reflection. Although she had no makeup left on, her face looked flushed and bright. It seemed that Aiden Fielding had a favorable effect on her…