33. Chapter 33 – Clay
“ H ey, everyone,” I called as we toed off our shoes at Violet’s back door. The savory scents of turkey and stuffing wafted from Vi’s kitchen. The heat filmed the front window in dew, making the house seem cozier than usual.
As glad as I was to see my folks, it finally felt like Lucy and I could relax with our hosting duties over. We only had one last hurdle to cross in making our engagement official. Somehow, I didn’t think our friends would be surprised.
“Hey!” Vi called back with a grin from the sink. “Make yourselves at home. We’re just waiting on Lee. Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.”
Lucy hugged Rae and Anya before settling onto the couch with her friends. I nodded to Zach and Drew, who each had a pint glass in hand.
“There any more of those?” I asked.
“Help yourself. I brought a growler from the brewery as my contribution,” Zach said.
Violet’s back door slid open, admitting Lee and Agent Harris. “Hey, everybody. I invited Nick to join us.”
Rae nodded to the new arrivals. “Agent Harris. Nice to see you.”
“Please, just Nick today,” the other man said. “Thanks for having me.”
Lucy came to stand beside me, shaking Nick’s hand in turn.
The glint of admiration in his gaze was easy to spot.
I stiffened. It took everything I had not to blurt out our engagement.
We’d agreed to tell everyone over dinner.
Rushing it because I was feeling possessive wasn’t going to make Lucy very happy.
And that was my ultimate goal: her happiness and mine.
As if she sensed my irritation, her hand dropped to my forearm. “It’s good to see you, Nick. If it’s not too much business for a holiday, I’d love to hear how things worked out with our mutual friend.”
The other man’s eyes gleamed, a broad smile stretching across his features. “You all haven’t seen What’s New, Friday Harbor yet today, have you?”
Violet wandered in from the kitchen, scenting scandal. “I’ve been tied up in the kitchen.”
Lucy coughed, sending me a sheepish glance. “Clay and I have been … busy.”
Busy getting busy. But rubbing that in Nick Harris’s face was beneath me.
Nick shrugged. “I think the post headline went something like: ‘Local gallery owner swept up in art fraud.’”
Lucy’s eyes rounded. “That was fast.”
Nick turned his smug smile my way. “The DEA is no joke. We know how to craft a case and make it stick.”
I swallowed back a defense of the National Park Service. Nick Harris’s opinion didn’t matter. And even if he never acknowledged it, I’d know Lucy and I helped.
“So you got that warrant, hm?” Lucy asked.
Nick nodded. “We pulled Chaz’s business records. He was clearing a lot of profit on A.A.’s work. And buying all the raw materials, all of the paint and canvases. It didn’t take much digging to discover the identity of A.A. from there.” He let the statement hang, tantalizing us.
“Who’s our famous artist?” Rae finally asked.
Nick’s lip twitched. “Chaz’s dog.”
Zach groaned. “Well, at least I understand why they kept A.A.’s identity a secret.”
“I don’t know, somehow those pieces are more appealing now that I know their family dog made them,” Rae said.
“Apparently, they trained their Pomsky, Mr. Wiggles, to walk through paint, then sit and roll in it. It made for some interesting color combinations.”
Drew shuddered. “I can only think of washing that damn dog. The mess.”
Anya smiled at her boyfriend. “Of course, that’s your first thought,” she teased.
“So, what – they were just pocketing all of the money from A.A.’s work?” Zach asked. “Is that illegal?”
“Not particularly,” Nick allowed. “But using the art sales to wash funds from smuggling is. They were manufacturing art and using it to hide payments. We also found evidence that Chaz was trafficking in stolen art with some unsavory characters, falsifying records as he went along.” His gaze slid to Anya’s.
“Some who are known to bring in counterfeit drugs from overseas through Canadian waters.”
“Did you recover the black case we told you about?” Lucy asked, frowning.
“No,” Nick said. “That’s still unaccounted for.” He shrugged. “It’s possible that was nothing more than art equipment.”
“Or they’ve already sold and disposed of whatever was in the case,” Lucy pointed out.
“Or that,” Nick said. “We may never know.” He clapped his hands, rubbing them together. “Fighting crime makes me hungry. Is dinner ready yet?”
Violet smiled. “I was just coming to tell you – dinner is served.”
We followed her into the kitchen, dishing up plates of turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole.
The menu was similar to what I’d served yesterday, but Vi’s family recipes had their own twists.
Back in the living room, we perched wherever there was space.
For a while, the only sounds in the room were forks scraping plates and compliments for Vi.
Eventually, conversation picked up, drifting from food to ferry delays to Gran’s most recent antics.
“How was Thanksgiving with Gran?” Lucy asked with a smirk.
The Fenwick siblings groaned in unison. Anya and Rae exchanged grins.
“She invited Ollie Reyes,” Zach moaned, wincing.
Drew’s big shoulders rounded against the couch. “I thought things were bad when they were feuding. It’s way worse when they’re f—"
“Fooling around,” Anya cut him off with a smile.
“They were all over each other,” Rae added. “It was kinda cute.”
“It was not cute,” Zach protested. “The phrase you’re looking for, honey, is ‘scarring.’ It was scarring .”
Rae rolled her eyes at him. “I still say cute.”
“Mr. Reyes bought all of her artwork at the benefit,” Anya said. “I don’t know about you, but I think those crazy kids might make it.”
Drew winced. “So long as they make it somewhere I can’t see, that’s fine.”
“Speaking of kids who are going to make it,” I said, pausing for effect and reaching for Lucy’s hand. “I asked Lucy to marry me.” Our friends groaned in unison, used to my proposals. “Shocker, she said no. Eight times. But the ninth time… she asked me.”
Anya was the first to approach Lucy with a hug. “Congratulations to you both.”
Zach grinned, his dimple flashing as he patted me on the back. “I always knew you’d wear her down.”
We accepted a mix of teasing and congratulations from the rest of the group. From loss and heartbreak to happiness. Lucy sat half in my lap. As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, her lashes swept up, love and affection beaming at me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lee whisper something to Vi and slip out the back door. The way Violet’s gaze lingered on his back hinted that I wasn’t the only one who’d been longing for something more in our group.
I settled my hand on Lucy’s thigh, even that simple touch yielding a predictable reaction. The need for more.
“You know something, Lucifer?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“What’s that?”
“I’m ready to go home.”
“And do what?” she asked playfully.
Grinning, I waggled my brows. “Start another world tour.”
With her as my only destination.