Addison

“SO, BRANDY’S PUTTING things back?” I asked, staring at the screen. My eyes saw it, but my brain refused to believe it. “On top of that, she’s making out with the district attorney and throwing herself at Wyatt? So, she’s an honest slut?”

“We don’t know that she’s throwing herself at Wyatt. That’s a rumor.”

“You were awake and watching this footage with me, right? She fluffed her breasts before she approached him! Who does that?”

“Uh...” Dylan eyeballed me. “Do you really want me to remind you?”

“Okay, fine. But at least I’ve never kissed a married man. She and the DA were sucking face in the hallway of the nursing home.”

Dylan frowned. “Yeah, that part doesn’t make sense. She knows there are cameras in the hallways. Everyone in this town gossips.”

“But does anyone in this town review the footage?” I asked. “Other than the sight of Mrs. Rogers smacking Wyatt on the ass, this isn’t exactly riveting viewing material.”

“Good point. But still...the married DA? You’d think she’d be more careful than that.” Dylan rewound the video and we watched Brandy kiss the district attorney again. “See, she initiates it. And she’s like, smack dab in the middle of the camera. Why would she do that? Something’s off.”

“Do you think he’s her baby daddy?” I asked, watching the evil couple and wondering what their spawn would look like.

Dylan shrugged. “Who knows? She sleeps with a lot of men.”

“Daddy issues.”

“I have daddy issues,” she countered. “I haven’t slept with anyone. You have daddy issues, and you’re not a tramp.”

“Yeah,” I acquiesced. “It kind of makes me feel sorry for her, though.”

Dylan sighed. “Me too. I can’t imagine being stuck in this place with a baby and no way out.”

“No. Money does give one choices.”

“Yeah, it really does, Addie,” she said, pointedly.

“It doesn’t buy you happiness, though.”

Dylan giggled. “But it can rent it.”

I grinned. “That’s super true.”

“So, we need to find out what Brandy knows and why she’s returning the jewelry.”

I hummed in agreement, leaning closer to the computer screen with a frown. “Isn’t that your dad?”

Dylan mimicked my stance and frowned. “Yep.”

“Why’s he going into Ms. Long’s room?” I asked.

Her eyes didn’t leave the screen, but she gave a small shrug. “Dad used to be pretty tight with Ms. Long’s nephew. They don’t talk anymore, but maybe he still checks in on Ms. Long. She was like family when I was growing up.”

“You’re probably right, but we should check and see when Ms. Long’s jewelry went missing.” I scanned the notepad in my hand, checking for the date. Damn. It was the same. “Coincidence?”

Dylan nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.

“It doesn’t mean he did it, buddy. Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”

“You’re right. I just...let’s keep going.”

As we watched, Dylan tallied nurses, doctors, and visitors, checking for consistency against the dates the jewelry went missing. Unfortunately, Dylan’s dad was the only one there for each theft.

Dylan turned off the video and shook her head.

“He could still be innocent,” I said, even though I didn’t see how. “Maybe someone’s framing him.”

Dylan dropped the remote onto the bed and lowered her head.

I rubbed her back. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that overactive brain of yours.”

She took a deep breath. “He’s guilty, Addie. He did it. There is no setup.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because this isn’t the first time,” she whispered.

* * *

Dylan

Feeling sick to my stomach I closed my eyes, but it didn’t help. I could still see the footage of my father going into each of those rooms. I knew he was guilty. To be honest, I’d had a hunch from the moment he called me, which is why I didn’t want to get involved. This would have been so much easier had we just hired a private investigator from Klamath.

“Ohmigod, would you open up to me already?” Addison asked, gripping her pillow. “Talk before I beat it out of you.”

“Okay, okay.” I threw my hands up in surrender, maybe talking about it would help loosen the knot in my stomach. “It happened the summer before I came up to Portland.”

When I didn’t immediately continue, she gave me her signature death glare. “You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”

“Fine. Just chill the hell out. This isn’t exactly easy for me.”

Her expression softened, and she gestured for me to continue.

“Right after I was accepted to your school I started taking odd jobs...mowing lawns, walking dogs, cleaning, babysitting, whatever I could get. We were broke and I knew I wouldn’t fit in.” I was silly and naïve. “I thought if I raised some money and got some new clothes, maybe I wouldn’t stand out so much.”

Addison gaped at me. “You were what, eleven?”

“Something like that. It’s not a big deal. Lots of people here worked that young to help their families. I mean, nothing full time. Just little jobs. Builds character. Anyway, I saved up a couple hundred dollars, and...”

My throat constricted and I couldn’t force the words out. For so long, I’d convinced myself Dad needed the money. He had to support us, and he was going through a rough time. But now that I was older and fully understood his addiction, the betrayal hurt even more. Which in turn pissed me off, because as a grown-ass woman I should be over it by now.

“That bastard!” Addison stood. “He stole from you?”

My eyes stung, and oddly enough, my immediate response was to defend him. “Booze is expensive.”

Whatever Addison saw in my expression caused her to refill my wine glass and set it on the end table beside me. “Oh honey, why didn’t you ever tell me about this?”

It was such a ridiculous question I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Like when? When we first met? Hi, I’m Dylan. I’m from the sticks. My dad’s a drunk who stole my school clothes money, but he doesn’t beat me or make me go hungry or anything so...”

The next thing I knew, Addison was crushing me in a hug. She let me cry on her shoulder until I pulled myself together and pushed her away.

Wiping my cheeks, I got back to business. “I still don’t understand what Brandy has to do with this. I can’t see her covering for my dad. I mean, she wouldn’t exactly turn him in either. Nobody would.”

“Well, we sure as hell aren’t letting him get away with this,” Addison declared.

She was so cute with all her hope and optimism. She didn’t understand how the town worked. “Addie, my dad has been caught drinking and driving more times I can count. He’s probably spent a thousand nights locked up, yet has never been charged with anything.”

“Why not?”

I shrugged. “The DA is his second cousin, and he’s related to most of the police force. Dad’s the town butcher...the guy everyone brings their deer to. People have this weird mix of pity and appreciation for him.”

“Nobody’s untouchable.”

“I know,” I admitted. “But we need to make sure we have so much evidence they have no room to screw with this case.”

“Okay, we can do that. We just gotta think about what he’d do with the jewelry. Is there a pawn shop in town, or would he sell to the locals?” I asked.

“I think the closest thing we have to a pawn shop would be the Murphys’ weekly garage sale or the secondhand store, but Dad wouldn’t sell it here. To many busybodies.”

“So what’s he doing with it?” she asked. “It has to go somewhere.”

I pulled out my phone and checked the Internet. “There are three pawn shops in Klamath Falls. It’s about a hundred miles away, but Dad goes there at least every other week for supplies for his butcher shop.”

Addison sighed. “Well, I guess we can make calls, right? I don’t know how much information they’ll give us over the phone, but we can try at least.”

“I’ll make the calls. Klamath is still a pretty small town and I’ll get more traction as the daughter trying to track down my grandma’s missing necklace that my dad thinks he accidentally pawned than you will by pulling the PI card.”

“Makes sense. But are you sure you’ve got this?”

The underlying Are you okay? was unmistakable. I forced a smile. “We’re going after the bad guy. That’s what we do. I just...I knew he was a wreck, and I left him. Maybe if I’d stayed he wouldn’t—”

“Be stealing from old people?” Addison asked. “You were a kid trying to get out of a bad situation, and I will not let you blame yourself for your father’s mistakes. You hear me?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I get it. But you might have to remind me a few times.”

She giggled. “Don’t think I won’t. Now go make those phone calls and I’ll start a pretty little spreadsheet showing the dates and times your father went into the rooms.”

I took my refilled glass of wine into my room, set it on the end table, and collapsed on my bed. I’d never put my dad on a pedestal or anything, but finding out he was a thief was pretty much wrecking me. If Addison and I were able to collect all the evidence, and the justice system actually worked, he’d most likely spend time behind bars. My family would never forgive me for putting him there.

But could I forgive myself if I let him go? He stole from his own mother. Worse, he stole from my sweet kindergarten teacher. He had to pay for what he’d done.

Desperate for an extra shot of courage, I took a big gulp of wine and pulled up my background photo on my phone. Asher’s sexy smile greeted me. It had only been a few days since I’d last seen him, but it felt like forever. He was back in my new life and I felt trapped in the old one. I almost called him and told him what was going on, but stopped myself. He was busy and didn’t need to be dragged into my stupid family drama.

Determined to do the right thing, I put on my big girl panties and made the damn phone calls.