Chapter 26 #2
“Then call him, please.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “I don’t want him to worry any longer than necessary.”
Burke got out his phone and shared the good news with Hayden.
The team wanted to see her for themselves, but they couldn’t risk contaminating forensics needed to put Estelle away, so the team waited outside.
Abby scanned the walls as if searching for something that wasn’t there—a safe place, a way back, a moment before it all unraveled? She looked impossibly small, like a child lost in a world too cruel to understand.
“Come here,” Burke said softly.
She didn’t hesitate but collapsed against him again, her surrender telling him more than words could ever convey.
He held her tighter than necessary, as if his arms alone could protect her. If he had any say in it, nothing like this would ever touch her again.
And for as long as she let him, he’d be there—at her side.
Abby enjoyed every moment of being held by Burke.
It helped keep thoughts of Estelle and her cruel behavior at bay.
It also helped to see the medics carry Estelle toward the stairway.
She fired a deadly look at Abby, but Abby didn’t flinch.
No way she would show that woman how much she’d scared her.
“I’ll wait for you two upstairs.” Gabe strode to the steps behind the medics.
Remaining comfortably in Burke’s arms, Abby relayed everything Estelle had said about the past and the current theft of the crown.
“So it’s Vincent’s remains we recovered.” He shook his head. “If we’d shown Victor the belt buckle, he would’ve told us that.”
“Probably. At least we don’t have to do it now.” At the thought, she tried to swallow, but her mouth was as dry as burnt toast. “Unfortunately we do have to tell him his brother is dead. Worse yet, Estelle killed him. I hope he’s strong enough to handle it all.”
“If he’s smart, he’ll continue his search for faith to help him get through it.”
Abby nodded and closed her eyes to pray for Victor. If anything positive existed in this whole situation, it was that Victor might have come to faith.
Burke’s phone rang, and Abby opened her eyes.
“It’s Kelsey.” He sat forward, taking her with him. “Maybe she has Vincent’s cause of death.”
Abby’s heart jumped.
He tapped the phone screen. “I put you on speaker so Abby can hear too.”
“I’m glad you’re both there.” Kelsey’s voice held her usual enthusiasm for her work. “I’ve identified a cause of death. I found depressed fractures in the back of the skull. Indicates he suffered a blunt force trauma.”
“That makes sense.” Abby described the story Estelle had told her of how she’d pushed Vincent.
“Seems like we have an ID, but we’ll have to confirm it with DNA. I’ll extract it from the teeth and send it to Emory Jenkins—our DNA expert—to process. If you can’t provide anything of Vincent’s with his DNA for comparison, we can match it to his brother’s.”
“We’ll meet with Victor or his son tomorrow to ask if they have anything belonging to Vincent.” Burke looked at Abby as if asking for confirmation.
She nodded. “Once we have it, we’ll get it right over to you.”
“Excellent.” Kelsey ended the call.
Abby sighed. “I don’t look forward to telling Victor about all of this.”
“We’ll get through it with God by our side.” He squeezed her shoulders.
“And at least the cause of death indicates Estelle’s telling the truth. A bonus we can’t downplay.”
Burke rested back against the wall and stroked her hair.
She would love to stay snuggled in his arms. Forget everything bad in the world. Enjoy the warmth and caring radiating from him. But life wasn’t always a smooth road. There were bumps and ruts too, and it was time to ditch her makeshift prison.
“Time for us to get out of here.” She pushed free and stood on wobbly legs, then headed for the stairs, taking them slowly until she reached the main floor. There she stopped to take in the room she’d moved quickly through before.
Gabe paced in long strides near the exit, and Burke strode past her to join him. They both stopped to look at her as if she were made of fragile crystal.
“You don’t want to stay in here,” Burke said. “Let’s head outside and get some fresh air.”
His suggestion sounded good, but her gaze shot in the direction of Shaw’s body as if a magnet drew her. A cardboard box sitting next to him captured her attention. “I didn’t see that box before.”
“It’s been there since I arrived,” Burke said.
Abby hurried to it.
“Careful.” Burke stepped over to her. “Could be a trap.”
“Not likely,” Abby said. “Killing me wasn’t part of Estelle’s plan. Honestly, she didn’t want anyone knowing she was even alive. When I showed up at the shop and called her out, she looked genuinely shocked that I recognized her.”
“Still,” Burke said. “Be careful.”
She knelt by the box and looked up at him. “Do you have gloves?”
He took out a pair from the pocket of his tailored suit.
“I’m beginning to understand the point of the suit now.” Gabe laughed.
“Has anyone mentioned you’re not quite as funny as you think?” Burke grinned good-naturedly. “You never said how you got here so fast.”
He shrugged. “I talked to Hayden after you said no one had heard from Abby in a while. He said he tried to call her too, but she didn’t answer, and I got a bad feeling.
So I hit the road in case I was needed, keeping in touch with the team.
Then he mentioned the lighthouse. I was closer to this place than they were, so I came straight here. ”
“Always the hero,” Abby said with a grin, flipping open the box. “It’s the crown case.”
She pulled it out, tipped the box, and set the case on top. Inside, the crown nestled in velvet. “Looks legit, right? But Estelle told me it’s the fake one she commissioned. She stole the real one back in the eighties—Shaw sold it for her.”
“If she knew it was fake, then why steal it?” Gabe asked.
Abby told them about the Microsoft certificates. “Supposedly they’re in this case.”
She lifted out the crown and held it up to Burke. “Can you hold this?”
“You’re wearing my only gloves so give me a sec.” He peeled off his jacket and held it open so she could set the crown inside for protection.
She felt around the inside of the case. “No holes or tears in the velvet. The piece we found in the greenhouse must not be from this box. And I don’t feel any paper in the lining.”
She turned the case on its side and ran her fingers over the leather. “There’s a seam here. Looks like a hidden door.”
Using her fingernails, she carefully pried it open, revealing cream colored certificates with a forest green scrolling border. The name Microsoft appeared in bold black letters at the top. In the middle, a grayish green box held Valentino Lemoine’s name as the registered holder.
She counted the certificates. “Ten of them valued at one hundred dollars each just like Estelle said.”
Burke squatted by her. “I wonder if Victor knew about these. Could be the reason he said the crown isn’t the treasure.”
“Seems logical to me.” Abby put them in the box, then added the crown. She stood and looked at Burke. “You might not like this, but we’re in Sheriff Mina Park’s jurisdiction, and she’ll insist on taking over this scene.”
“I’m more than happy to let her take it off my hands,” he said, rising to his feet. His eyes lingered on Abby. “I’m far too invested in a certain someone to lead an objective investigation.”
A slow warmth bloomed up her neck, flooding her cheeks. She didn’t need to ask who he meant—his gaze had already answered that.
The case was closed, but new questions had taken its place. What happens now? What are we when the danger is gone?
With Gabe in the room, she couldn’t ask. But she silently promised herself.
We’ll talk soon. When it’s just the two of us.