LITMIR.BIZ

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and left on vacation.”

      Bobby stared at his brother. “What the hell does that mean? Was it sudden?”

      “Nope. He’d scheduled it weeks ago. But it could be he stole the horse himself and is anticipating a big payday,” Tucker suggested. “Or somebody else has already paid him off to disappear. How much is that horse worth, anyway?”

      Jenna named a staggering amount, her voice barely above a whisper. “The carousel is very rare,” she added.

      “No kidding,” Bobby said dryly. “What the devil were you thinking?” Jenna’s face crumpled, and tears slid down her pale cheeks. He felt like he’d just kicked a kitten. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

      “Of course you did,” she said, her expression bleak. “Why shouldn’t you say it? My father certainly will.”

      “Which is precisely why I shouldn’t have,” Bobby said. “Believe me, I’ve been in your shoes more times than I care to count.”

      “He has,” Tucker confirmed. “When it comes to sensitivity, King Spencer missed the classes.”

      Jenna heaved a sigh. “My father didn’t even know there were classes.”

      Ignoring his better judgment, Bobby gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “Don’t worry. Tucker will track down that security guard and figure out what’s going on.”

      “I don’t have time to wait for that,” Jenna said. “I have to get home. I have a daughter who wants to dye her hair purple.”

      Bobby held up his hands. “I don’t even want to know about that one. You go on home. Keep the dye away from your daughter. Tucker will be in touch.”

      She shook her head. “This is my mess.”

      “Ms. Kennedy, I appreciate your willingness to take responsibility for your actions, but this is not your mess,” Tucker assured her. “That horse was stolen here in Trinity Harbor. Now it’s my mess.”

      For the first time all day, Bobby managed a grin. “It is, isn’t it? Daddy’s going to love hearing about a major theft taking place in broad daylight on the supposedly safe streets of Trinity Harbor.” He held out his hand to Jenna. “Come on. Let’s go to lunch. Maybe by the time we’ve had dessert, Tucker here will have figured out who the bad guy is.”

      Tucker frowned at him. “You’re giving me an hour to solve this?”

      Bobby nodded. “And then I’m going to King and put him in charge. You know how Daddy likes to show you up. I’m pretty sure there was a time in his life when he wanted to be Wyatt Earp.”

      Jenna laughed, exactly as Bobby had intended. He gave her hand a squeeze. “We don’t have a lot of crime here. A big-time thief won’t get far without some nosy person asking a lot of questions. Everything will be all right.”

      It had to be, because with her hand tucked into his, he was just starting to realize that he was in very deep water.

       4

       H arvey Needham was a bona fide, first-class idiot. He’d been the mayor of Trinity Harbor for two terms now, and he still knew next to nothing about managing a town. Oh, he kept the garbage pickups running on schedule and managed to keep the budget in the black, but he was not exactly a visionary, which made him a major thorn in Bobby’s side.

      If it had been up to Harvey, there would have been condominiums slapped up on every square inch of waterfront property and the public wouldn’t set foot in the Potomac River ever again.

      His arrival in Bobby’s office just as the chaos over the stolen carousel horse was settling down couldn’t have been worse timing. He took in Tucker’s presence, and a gleam of satisfaction lit his beady little eyes.

      “Trouble?” he inquired in a deceptively pleasant tone.

      “Already handled,” Tucker assured him.

      “Good to know the sheriff’s office has things under control,” Harvey said. “Mind telling me what it’s all about?”

      “Yes,” Bobby said curtly, dragging Jenna toward the door in the faint hope of making an escape before the mayor went off on some tirade.

      Harvey blocked his path. “I am the mayor of this town,” he said with a huff.

      “Something all of us are trying valiantly to deal with,” Bobby retorted. Tucker shot him a warning look.

      “Now, listen here, young man. If there is crime running rampant in Trinity Harbor—” Harvey blustered. He was about to continue, when Jenna turned on one of her megawatt smiles and stepped in front of him.

      “Mayor Needham, I am so delighted to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Jenna Kennedy.”

      Harvey might be an idiot, but he thought of himself as a ladies’ man and a Southern gentleman, despite the fact that he’d been born in upstate New York. While Bobby gritted his teeth, the mayor clasped Jenna’s hand in his and beamed his best politician’s smile.

      “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” he said. “Harvey Needham, Ms. Kennedy. Welcome to the town of Trinity Harbor. What brings you here?” It appeared all thoughts of crime had been temporarily forgotten.

      “Just getting acquainted with the area,” she said with a quick, reassuring glance at Bobby.

      Relief flooded through him at her immediate grasp of the situation.

      “Perhaps you’d like to have a cup of coffee and tell me all about Trinity Harbor,” she suggested, linking her arm through the mayor’s. Her Southern drawl, not the least bit pronounced up until now, was suddenly thicker than honey.

      Turning her back on the mayor, she winked at Bobby. “I know you’re closed today but can we make that happen?”

      “Absolutely,” Bobby said at once, leading the two of them to a table in the empty yacht center restaurant and getting them their coffee from the pot he’d brewed earlier. “Just don’t let Mr. Needham keep you too long, Jenna. You and I have lunch plans, remember?”

      “Of course. The mayor and I won’t be long, though I’m sure he has loads and loads of insights to share.”

      “I do, indeed, Ms. Kennedy,” Harvey said with a triumphant look at Bobby.

      Shaking his head at the incongruous pair, Bobby walked off and left them alone. He joined Tucker back in his office.

      “That was the most amazing display of phony charm I’ve ever seen,” he noted to his brother.

      “His or hers?” Tucker asked.

      “Both. That female is dangerous,” he said, just to remind himself of that fact. For a minute there he’d allowed himself to be impressed by her skillful maneuvering.

      Tucker grinned. “Spoken like a man whose hormones have just come out of retirement.”

      “Go to hell.”

      “Based on the events of the past two days, seems to me like I might be there already,” Tucker said. “What do you make of this stolen horse business?”

       “Me?” Bobby protested. “It’s your job to figure it out.”

      “That business with the guard taking his vacation reeks of a payoff,” Tucker said, his expression thoughtful. “Are you sure Jenna couldn’t have arranged the theft to garner a little extra publicity? Maybe turned on the waterworks to get your sympathy? Could be the whole thing is a clever business tactic.”

      “Not a chance,” Bobby said with conviction. “She was too upset about it. Besides that, I don’t think she has much of a track record at sneaky business tactics. Now if you were to suggest that Harvey had something to do with it, that I could believe. You talked to him yesterday.

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