“You were right again. There was a theft at one of the shops on Main Street. Right by where Miss Viola and Mrs. Olsen saw their ninja.”

Finally.

We’re at Ruby’s and Jared is showing me how to make spaghetti.

“What happened?” I keep my eyes on the sauce I’m stirring on the stove.

“Someone stole a whole ream of jewels from Pearl, Eleanor’s aunt.” He rustles around in the fridge behind me.

“Oh, no.”

The fridge shuts. “I went and talked to everyone on Main Street after you mentioned it might be helpful, but she didn’t tell me anything was missing. Then Eleanor went over there today and . . . Apparently Pearl’s been having some cognitive difficulties. They don’t even know how long it’s been gone, if it’s actually been stolen or just misplaced.” He sighs and bends over to pull out some pots from one of the cabinets.

“That’s horrible. Poor Pearl.”

“It gets worse. One of the pieces taken was a family heirloom. Pearl must have accidently put it in the display. Eleanor is panicked. It’s supposed to be her wedding ring. It belonged to her great-great-great-grandmother or something.”

Oh, shit.

I have to get those items back to her.

I will get them back to her, and take the parents down at the same time. Win win.

“Did they find anything else? Any clues about who might have done it?” I ask, still stirring but my body half turned in his direction so I can enjoy the view.

He fills a pot with water and sets it on the stove. “Nope. Anything that might give an indication of who it was, prints, all that has been wiped away by now.”

And probably the toothpick has been moved or thrown away, too.

Dammit.

I’ll have to come up with another way to implicate them.

“Do they have an alarm or surveillance? You’d think a jewelry store with that kind of inventory . . .”

“They do, but it’s outdated. The alarm would be easy to bypass anyway, but Eleanor said Pearl hasn’t been setting it because she keeps forgetting her code. And the video recycles every twenty-four hours. We went through everything available and there’s nothing.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll have to work tonight. The chief wants to increase patrolling in the area, just in case. Keeping an eye out for this ninja person.” He rolls his eyes. “How does the sauce look?”

“Saucy.”

He sidles up next to me and takes the spoon from my hands, stirring once before getting a small taste in the cup of the spoon. “The most important part of cooking is sampling the goods. To make sure it’s not poisonous.” He holds up the spoon, blowing on it gently before turning the sauce in my direction.

I close my lips around it and watch his neck pulse when he swallows in time with me.

“Mmmm.”

His eyes are fixed on my mouth. “Is it good?”

“Very good,” I say. “I’m never going to be able to cook as well as you can.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

My heart sinks a little. He might be here to stay, but I am not. Something must flicker in my expression, though, because he puts the spoon down and envelops me in his arms. He tugs me against his chest.

We stand there for a second, his chin on my head and my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“You know you can trust me, right?”

He’s said these exact words before. A few times. More than a few times.

The boiling water bubbles over, making the stove hiss, and I jump in his arms.

He chuckles and then releases me, turning to the stove to turn down the heat. After he opens the package of fresh noodles and drops them into the water, he turns back and grabs my waist, pulling me against him. “Are you going to miss me while I’m working all night?”

“Maybe.” I pretend indifference.

He thwaps my butt and then turns back to the stove. “The noodles will be ready quick. Will you get the strainer?”

“Sure.” I open the cupboard and reach up for the colander, then frown as I pull it down. It feels heavy, like there’s something in it.

I set it on the counter in front of me. There’s a black velvet bag inside of the strainer.

My heart nearly stops.

My velvet bag.

The one I used to store the jewelry that I stole and planted on the parents. It’s here.

This is no coincidence.

My heart sets up a dull thud in my chest. Thankfully, Jared is still stirring the sauce, his back to me.

I can’t just grab the bag and shove it down my pants. The jangling would be too loud, and the bag would be too obvious.

Panicked, I scan the cupboard for something to mask the noise. There are a few nesting bowls on the middle shelf, fairly thick and heavy. It will have to do.

I reach up and brace myself. With one hand, I cover the jewelry bag. With the other hand, I tip the bowls back toward me. Simultaneously, I grab the jewels, shoving them into my pants while letting the bowls fall, crashing noisily onto the counter. They don’t break, but the resulting bang is enough to cover the sound of the jangling in my shorts.

“Are you okay?” Jared’s next to me almost immediately, righting the bowls now spread all over the counter.

“Yep,” I squeak and then clear my throat.

This is so not going to work.

“That scared me. I’m so clumsy today.” I laugh.

We put the bowls back up in the cupboard and I hand him the colander.

“Um, I’ll be right back. Bathroom break.” Careful not to jostle the jewels hiding in my underwear, I leave the kitchen.

When I’m out of hearing range, I run up the stairs. The only place I can think to put them is under the loose board in the floor of Ruby’s room. I check the bag first. Everything I took is still in there.

The parents somehow put the loot back on me. And they timed it with precision.

Now what am I going to do with them? I don’t have time to put them back in the parents’ possession. I can’t keep them here. They’re probably trying to find a way to frame me, like I tried to do to them. I have to get them back to Pearl and Eleanor. But I can’t sneak back to the store either. Jared just told me they’ll be running extra patrols at night looking for the ninja. A.k.a. me.

I’ve got to take them somewhere else. Anywhere else that can’t be traced back to me. And I’ve got to do it as soon as possible, before they find a way to pin it on me.