Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Charlie was waiting at the door to Lacy’s and my guest suite when she and I arrived back at The Rose.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically, as he looked at Lacy. “I need to talk to Dakota for a minute, and I thought it’d be better in person.”
“It’s fine by me,” Lacy said, though she raised an eyebrow at him as she took the key from her purse and opened the door. “I’m going to fall into bed and sleep like the dead till at least noon. Just don’t punch anybody else, especially not my fiancé, got it?”
Charlie gave a hesitant nod of his head as if he knew he deserved that kind of teasing.
Lacy closed the door behind her, and I turned to Charlie, my stomach flip-flopping at the sight of him.
I was both relieved he was okay and still very concerned that he’d lost his cool enough to punch a priest this evening—although, perhaps that assessment wasn’t fair.
As he’d said, it did seem like it was the only option at the time.
Unfortunately, whatever the Texan side of this wedding was up to was making me doubt everything—even Charlie.
“A half-hour ago Will stormed into the Morning Brew with Valerie and then slunk out with their baby,” I said, starting mid-conversation after mulling over the scene all the way back to The Rose, Myrtis and Charlotte tucked in the back seat, practically refusing to say a word.
“He seemed afraid, but it doesn’t make any sense because…
” I trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain Will’s unjustified fear.
Charlie glanced up and down the hall as if to check no one could overhear us. “Maybe we should talk in my room.”
Before I could agree, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close, as if he wanted to ensure I couldn’t get away… or that someone couldn’t get to me. I wasn’t sure which.
Charlie led me down the hall and a flight of stairs, toward the wing of the house reserved for hotel guests who wanted more modern accommodations.
When I tried to ask him why we were hurrying, he put a finger over his lips and motioned for me to keep quiet, as though someone might be listening around any corner.
I realized I’d been holding my breath when we finally reached his room and he shut the door behind us. “What’s with all the secrecy?”
Charlie peered through the peephole in the door before scanning the room and the bathroom. He opened the closet doors and checked to ensure no one was on the balcony as I watched in astonishment.
“Are you okay?” I asked, frowning. Charlie didn’t seem like any version of himself that I’d ever seen.
“Something strange happened when I got back home and lugged Todd to his room.”
I sank to the edge of the bed, waiting for him to continue.
“There was another man there, one with a gun. I know because it was pointed at us as soon as I opened the door.” Charlie’s brow wrinkled as he continued letting the evening unfold in his mind.
My heart leapt into my throat. “Someone pulled a gun? On you?”
“It was aimed at Todd. I just happened to be there too.”
“Who was it?”
“Anton’s father.” Charlie narrowed his eyes and stared into mine.
“I jumped in and showed him my badge, and he backed off real fast, pulled out his license to carry and insisted this was all a misunderstanding. He said his wife gave him a key to the room, and he was just operating out of self-protection.”
“Why would Patty give him a key to the priest’s room?”
Charlie lifted a shoulder. “No idea, but since the man hadn’t actually hurt anyone, there was nothing I could do. He actually left when I did. Said he was going to take the key back to Patty right away.”
I bit my lip, trying to wrap my head around this addition.
So, Charlie pummeling Reverend Todd to the icy ground of Main Street wasn’t the only time the priest had been threatened tonight, although it sounded like he wouldn’t remember Michael Swanson and his gun.
Regardless, Todd didn’t seem to get along well with others.
“I thought Anton’s dad wasn’t coming until tomorrow,” I said, unable to voice all of my other questions.
Charlie shook his head ever so slightly. “Whenever he was supposed to arrive, he’s definitely here now, and he was waiting.”
“Maybe he’s angry because the priest is dating his wife? Anton’s parents are still married.”
Even as I said the words, they didn’t quite add up to the way Anton had explained his parents’ split.
According to him, the pair still lived in the same giant house, though in different wings.
Presumably Anton’s parents knew when the other was dating someone, bringing them home.
Patty’s very public displays of affection with the priest in the Winter Garden would be hard for anyone, much less an estranged husband, to miss.
“That’s what I asked him after I scared him enough with my badge and he showed me his license.
His name is Michael Swanson, but he told me that he goes by Big Mike.
” Charlie nearly laughed at the detail, but we were both too tired to appreciate any humor right now.
“Mike apologized and said that he’d been concerned about an intruder. ”
“In Todd’s room? Why?”
“No idea.” Charlie hung his head as if he couldn’t believe that whatever was happening was on his watch. A police job in Aubergine was supposed to be easy, straightforward. Jaywalking was supposed to be the worst offense, but somehow The Rose had changed all of that in recent months.
He thought for a long moment and then stared into my eyes. “I know I told you at the bookstore that something strange is happening this weekend.”
“To put it lightly,” I added, before recalling what Myrtis and Bella had said in the car on the way into town tonight.
“Actually, there was talk about some kind of business between the Texas cousins—and maybe Will Hurt. I tried asking questions, to get them to keep talking, but Charlotte cut them off. Basically told them to keep their mouths shut. She seems very interested in being part of their family, for better or worse.”
“Business?” Charlie asked, leaning forward on his elbows. “What kind of business does someone conduct during a wedding?”
“Something they don’t want other people to notice?”
Charlie nodded. “You’re right. Something that gives them an alibi, that provides a distraction.” He considered this then added, “Whether we like it or not, nothing illegal has happened yet.”
I ran back over the night, fast-forwarding and stopping at specific moments when Anton’s side of the family said or did something off.
I saw us in the car on the way downtown, at The Reel, at The Attic.
Suddenly, my mind froze on the image of Charlotte in my aunt’s store, chatting with her about the art hanging on her walls and the details about the heists.
But surely they wouldn’t be chatting casually about art theft if they were actually thieves themselves? Unless they weren’t at all afraid of getting caught.
“You don’t think they’re doing something off the wall, like trafficking in stolen art, do you?”
Charlie tilted his head and studied his hands for a long moment. “If that was it, why would they bring their business to Aubergine? Do we even have anything worth stealing?”
I liked the way Charlie used the pronoun “we” when he talked about this town. It reminded me that he felt like a part of the community that I loved.
“We have the Aubergine Art Collective. Savilla and Aunt DeeDee display their pieces, so I suppose they could have put work all over town.”
“Anything worth real money?”
“Great question,” I said, pulling out my phone. “My aunt has three Anna Perry paintings hanging in her store. Perry was also a former pageant winner.”
As I spoke, I googled the name, and he leaned close to see what I’d found.
There was a Wikipedia page, a link for an exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and a featured painting on an auction site.
I clicked on the last one, my eyes widening at the figure her painting had earned. “Two hundred and fifty grand. Not bad.”
“It’s not as big as some of the million-dollar auctions you hear about, but that could be a good payout for a smaller operation,” Charlie mused, before falling backward on the bed, lost in thought.
I noticed for the first time the purple rings under his eyes. We were both exhausted.
I lay back on the bed beside Charlie. “Whatever the Texas constituency is up to, after tonight, I’m convinced that it’s shady.”
“I just want you to be careful,” Charlie said, moving a strand of hair behind my ear as we lay facing each other. “This weekend… it doesn’t feel right.”
His eyes were watering from the late hour, but despite his fatigue, I could see a longing to protect me, to keep me safe at all costs.
I tucked myself closer to him and let his arms stretch around me, pulling me into his chest. After a few seconds, I lifted my face and kissed him, setting off an invisible flame between us.
I’d thought I was too tired to want him, but I was wrong.
My body pulsed with sudden longing, and he responded immediately, running his hand down the length of my back as he kissed me with a hunger I hadn’t expected.
Something about the danger and fear and uncertainty made us want to hold one another even closer tonight.
I pressed nearer, my body against his as he slid a hand down my thigh, tugging up my dress.
Desire beat a steady thrum in my lower belly.
Charlie inched downward as he continued to kiss my throat, my neck, my shoulders, my breasts…
but just as longing roared within me, there was a heavy pounding at the door.