She sighed. “Linc doesn’t understand why I feel he’s suffocating me. He seems to assume that the minute I’m out of his sight, some terrible fate will befall me.”
Mack didn’t bother to remind Mary Jo that she’d met David Rhodes while living with her three brothers. He wondered where Linc had been then. He suspected she hadn’t told her brothers about David until she was already pregnant.
“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Linc,” Mary Jo said. “Not when there’s so much else to discuss.”
“Fine with me.” Mack struck a relaxed pose, leaning back in the chair and stretching out his legs.
“Did I tell you the attorney is Allan Harris?”
“You did.” He frowned as he tried to remember where he’d heard the name. “Of course! His assistant’s the one who was arrested just before Christmas.”
“What?” Mary Jo’s hand flew to her throat. “Mr. Harris didn’t say anything about that.”
“He wouldn’t. His legal assistant stole jewelry from one of Harris’s clients. Apparently, Geoff—that was his name, Geoff Duncan—tried to frame Pastor Flemming for the theft.”
“Oh!” Mary Jo looked thoughtful. “That explains a lot.”
“In what way?” he asked.
“I almost didn’t apply for the job because I don’t have any paralegal background. But Mr. Harris said he wanted to hire someone who was willing to do on-the-job training. I think this is how he plans to keep a close eye on his employee. I’m just grateful he’s willing to give me a chance. He said he’d interviewed quite a few candidates and felt I’d work out the best.” There was a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. “I interrupted your story,” she said. “Sorry.”
Mesmerized as he was by her, Mack couldn’t recall what he’d been talking about.
“Mr. Harris’s assistant,” Mary Jo said.
“Oh, yeah. Geoff Duncan. Fortunately, Sheriff Davis saw through his ploy. According to my dad, Allan Harris was pretty shocked. He didn’t have a clue Geoff would do anything like this. The crime was bad enough. Implicating an innocent man makes it that much worse.”
“But why would his assistant do something so stupid? He was bound to get caught sooner or later, don’t you think?”
Mack shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. The gossip is that he was trying to impress his fiancée.”
“How would stealing stuff impress her?”
“Well, Lori Bellamy’s from a wealthy family. The Bellamys own quite a bit of property on the Kitsap Peninsula. Geoff must’ve got in a credit crunch and didn’t want to tell Lori he couldn’t afford the things she wanted and then panicked. I guess he wanted to act as if he had the same kind of money she did. Maybe he was afraid that if he couldn’t keep her in the lifestyle she was used to, she’d leave him. I heard that he pawned the jewelry for cash—and now he’s behind bars.” Mack had discussed the case with his older sister, Gloria, who worked for the sheriff’s office. He’d only learned of Gloria’s existence a few years ago and had been making an effort to develop a relationship with her. Since he and Gloria both lived in town now, they managed to have dinner or drinks at least once a month. Despite that, he still felt a reserve in her. A hesitation that was difficult to explain. He hadn’t said anything to his parents but couldn’t help wondering if they’d noticed it, too.
“So when do you start work?” he asked Mary Jo.
“Monday.”
That gave her less than a week to get all her arrangements in order. “Not a lot of time,” he murmured.
She nodded. “The next thing I need to do is find somewhere to live.”
Mack wondered if she remembered the suggestion he’d made that February afternoon at the library, and suspected she didn’t.
“I can always commute from Seattle with Noelle if I have to,” she was saying, “but that would make for a very long day.”
Mary Jo had just handed him the perfect intro. His one fear was that if she knew he owned the duplex she might be leery of renting from him. A landlord-tenant relationship could complicate things.
He decided to gauge the situation with a comment. “I, uh, might have mentioned it, but I recently moved into a duplex and the second half is empty.”
“Really?”
He forged ahead. “The rent’s reasonable, too.”
“How…reasonable?”
He named a figure that was about half the going rate, which was what he speculated she’d be able to afford.
“How much?” Mary Jo sat up straight. “There must be something wrong with the place.”
“Not really. Oh, it could use a bit of paint and cleaning, but basically that’s about it.” Then, pressing his luck, he added, “The owner’s a nice guy. He’s currently…out of town, but you can meet him later if you like. I’m acting as his manager.” That was an inspired idea, he thought, and not a lie. He was the manager. And this conveniently “out-of-town” owner would appear sometime in the future. Mack had no intention of misleading her for long; his objective was to get her moved to Cedar Cove. Once she’d made the transition he’d find a good opportunity to tell her about the “owner.” In the meantime, he’d have her write the rent checks to his accountant, Zachary Cox.
Nibbling on her lower lip, Mary Jo mulled this over. “Would it be a problem…you know, having me and Noelle next door?”
“A problem?” he repeated. “Not for me. What about you?”
She shook her head. “I think it’d be great. But I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“I can’t see that happening.” In fact, he had to work at not showing how thrilled he’d be to have Mary Jo and Noelle as his next-door neighbors.
Mary Jo continued to look speculative as if her instincts were telling her this wasn’t a wise decision.
“Would you like to see the duplex?” he asked, hoping to distract her.
“Oh…sure.”
“I was painting before my shift at the fire station, so it’s pretty messy.”
“Why were you painting?” she asked. “Isn’t that the landlord’s responsibility?”