Rock Wolf Investigations: Boxset

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Olivia bit her lip. “If something should happen, would it be possible for you to just—well to take Snooker?”

  “Of course.” Mona gazed at Olivia for a long moment. “It’s like that, is it?”

  “I’m afraid it is.”

  “I can find her a new home easily. She’s a good pony.”

  “I think I’d want her to retire and not do stage work anymore,” Olivia said suddenly. “She deserves a family to love her.”

  Mona nodded. “I can arrange it. Just let me know.”

  “I’ll keep you posted,” Olivia promised.

  She watched Mona drive off, but it was more to buy herself a moment or two to think and Olivia knew it. She absently stroked Chili’s head as the little dog curled into Olivia’s arms and tried to hide from the world. It was so hot out. Even the places where Chili pressed against Olivia’s skin were sweating like crazy. Olivia wanted to get out of the heat, but she didn’t want to go back inside to face Riley. Then the object of her dread came storming back out through the back door and saved her a lot of trouble.

  “Where do you get off talking to me like that in front of Mona?” Riley snarled. He was in a full temper tantrum, arms waving, spittle flying from his mouth. Poor Chili acted as though the world were ending.

  Olivia gave the dog a low murmur of assurance. “Riley, knock it off. You’re scaring the crap out of Chili. There’s no need to be rude. I was talking to you that way in front of Mona because you don’t seem to realize that Mona doesn’t care if she loses your business or not. I’m sure she would worry about Snooker, but as far as you’re concerned, she doesn’t like you anyway. You’re a difficult client, Riley. And you know it.”

  Riley opened his mouth, but no words came out. Finally, he closed it and cleared his throat. “You’re wrong. I could make real trouble for that woman.”

  “But you won’t,” Olivia said quietly, “because that would just make you look worse than you already do on your own. Riley, this is getting ridiculous. You left a cat in your office all night long. You purchased a donkey and were willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money without even making sure the poor creature had current shots and a health certificate? You know better than that. You think you’re above all the laws. Why?”

  “Because I’m Riley Saunders.”

  He actually looked as though he believed what he was saying. Olivia kept waiting for the punchline, but there wasn’t one. “Riley, nobody cares about Riley Saunders anymore. Not like that. You’re a good family show for people to come and enjoy…” Olivia held her breath and waited. She had to say this. She had to just get it out there. “And you’re stealing from your own customers. You’re the thief, Riley.”

  “No. That’s just what that idiot private detective says,” Riley sputtered. “How can you believe that man over me?”

  Olivia thought of last night when Riley had mocked her dreams and made fun of her. He’d been cruel. He’d hurt her. He had smacked her again this morning. “How can I believe him? Shouldn’t you be asking yourself why I would believe you after you’ve treated me like you’re slave all these years?”

  “I took you in!” Riley shouted the words. He’d been shouting them at her for as long as she could remember now. “I took you in and I never got any thanks for it!”

  “You got my parents’ income!” Olivia shouted back. This was the first time she’d ever gone there. “For years, you lived off of my mother and father’s insurance money. My trust, set up for me by them and then left to your control. You ran me dry, Riley! You used my money to set up this show and you never cared!”

  “David was my brother,” Riley said stiffly after a moment or two. “I was the rightful person to have his things and his money. I should have inherited it all.”

  Olivia was aghast at her uncle’s blatant selfishness. Had he always been like this? And how had she been so lenient with him until now? “I was their child! It wasn’t just your brother. It was my mother! My parents. My life. That money was to help me go to college because I no longer had parents to help me. They were dead and you took what they had set aside for me, their planning for my future and you sucked it dry for your own life and last night you made it clear that you never intended to leave me a penny of my own inheritance. You never intended to make a provision for my life because you’ve been stealing from me all these years just like you stole from every other person that walked through this theater and probably the rest of the people you’ve come into contact with during your lifetime!”

  Olivia’s words rang out and echoed against the building, bouncing back at them as though the universe wanted Riley to hear what she’d said more than just once. Olivia felt horrible saying such things, but they were true! They were absolutely true and there was no more reason to hide them.

  “What do you mean I’ve been stealing?” He shifted topics again, conveniently ignoring the part where she’d accused him of stealing from her. As if the subject of her missing and used up inheritance really wasn’t even worth mentioning. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that all of these cases that people have been reporting about their wallets or purses or personal items being lost or stolen in this theater are because of you, Riley. You’re the one stealing from them. You wait until the end of the show when you can mingle with the crowd and you slip your hands into their pockets and their purses and bags and you steal whatever it is that you think you want.”

  “That’s just not true.”

  “Yes, it is.” Olivia bit her lip. This was not going to be pretty. “When I was in your office this morning to find out what was going on with the cat, I saw the shelves. I saw all of those things that make no sense. They’re not your possessions. They’re trophies. Like some sick and twisted serial thief. Like a killer who keeps ears or locks of hair or something to commemorate their crime. That’s what you do, Riley. And it has to stop. You can’t keep doing that.”

  “And what do you think you’re going to do about it?” Riley’s whole demeanor changed and Olivia started to worry that they were going to wind up trying to find her body in some remote corner of Tablerock Lake.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “You want to know how to find the owners of all of these stolen rings?” Ellie stared at the selection of jewelry on the desk and looked almost baffled.

  This was not good. Duke had been sure Ellie would know. She was former FBI and had a resource for just about every situation that any of the Rock Wolf agents came up with. Right now, she was picking up each and every ring as though examining them at a jewelry counter. Duke wasn’t entirely sure what she could learn like that, but then she was Ellie. She probably had at least an idea, which was more than he had to go on.

  “And you said that you already contacted the woman who came by here earlier this morning?” Ellie glanced up from the ladies’ engagement ring she was examining. “That’s a good place to start. The other one is the police department. I know you don’t like to hear that, but they should have a list of some kind of stolen or missing property. We have to turn this into them.”

  Titus stirred himself from his chair. “I’ll go with you when the time comes, Duke. I know those cops haven’t been very gracious about this case thanks to the history between Sergeant Mathias Caprico and Olivia Houghton.”

  Ellie looked up from the jewelry. “What happened and why are the cops letting it get between them and a case?”

  “Olivia Houghton apparently left Caprico at the altar,” Duke said gruffly. He didn’t like talking about it. He kept thinking that the more he learned about Olivia, the more there had to be to the story. “I don’t know the details. I just know what Detective Sellers told me when this whole thing started.”

  “Whoa!” Ellie whistled and shook her head. “Considering the way you law enforcement types close ranks, I’m not surprised they’re unwilling to help her out with even a basic theft case.”

  “Us law enforcement types?” Duke raised his eyebrows at Ellie. “What’s that sup
posed to mean?”

  “I guess it means I’m surprised you’re so into a chick that left a police officer high and dry at the marriage altar, that’s all.” Ellie lifted her shoulder as though that were all the attention she was willing to give the situation.

  Duke felt his cheeks heating up. “Who said I’m into her?”

  “Oh, come on.” Ellie rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to play that game, Duke. You know you’re into her. End of story. It’s really obvious and I’ve never even met this girl. I have never seen you so into a case. How’s that?”

  Titus started laughing. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “I’m into the case?” Duke growled. “What about Titus? He’s been obsessing over the reporter who is supposedly covering the case.”

  “Funny thing about that,” Titus added suddenly. “There’s been no mention of this case in the Register.”

  Duke felt a momentary shot of confusion. That was truly odd. “I would have expected two or three stories on it by now. Do you think the editor told her no?”

  “No, I think that she decided not to report on it.” Titus looked thoughtful. “And as much time as she’s put into this, you would think it would be too much time to waste.”

  Ellie shrugged as though it was a no-brainer. “Obviously, she has some other angle you guys haven’t discovered yet.”

  “Yeah, like her obsession with Titus,” Duke muttered. “Has nobody else noticed that?”

  “Noticed what?” Caroline finally looked up from her desktop. “Who is obsessed with Titus?”

  Duke, Ellie, and Titus all shared a glance. Caroline sometimes picked the weirdest moments to come into a conversation. It was like she was paying zero attention to anything in the room until something suddenly caught her attention. In this case, it was her nose for gossip.

  “Nothing, Caroline,” Titus told her with a roll of his eyes. “It’s just wild speculation. That’s all.”

  But Caroline wasn’t about to be brushed off just yet. “Are you guys talking about that reporter chick? What was her name?”

  “Hilary Allenwood,” Titus said irritably. “And no. Just go back to sleep.”

  “I’m not sleeping.”

  “Not exactly, no,” Titus agreed. “But your attention has completely wandered out of the room and that’s pretty much the same thing in my book.”

  Caroline made a face at him and went back to her screen. Duke might have made another comment, but Beth Alred came sailing through the office doorway about then. She had a slightly sunburnt look to her as though she and her family had been at Silver Dollar City for the morning.

  “I’m here. Do you have it? Did you find my wallet?” Beth was breathless and frantic. Duke could see a minivan idling in the parking lot with Texas plates. There appeared to be a man in the driver’s seat and the van was bouncing as though there were kids in the back. “We were at the amusement park. I came as soon as I heard though.”

  Duke glanced at Titus. He could not help but feel nervous that somehow, in this entire selection of stolen rings, there would not be a single one that they could find an owner for. As if Riley knew somehow that there was a waiting period if he wanted to display his stolen goods. Duke cleared his throat and gestured to Ellie’s desk. “We were just looking through these and hoped you could tell us if any of them belong to you. The wallet hasn’t been recovered yet, unfortunately.”

  If Duke had been afraid that Beth Alred wouldn’t be able to identify her grandmother’s wedding rings, his fears were immediately put to rest when the woman gave a squeak of surprise and dove right into the rings laid out on the desk. There was no sign of hesitation. No hand hovering over the pile as though she wasn’t entirely certain. Beth plucked two rings from opposite sides of the grouping and picked them up. There were tears running down her face.

  “Oh thank God!” She lifted the rings to her lips and closed her eyes. “I cannot thank you enough. Really. This means so much to me! I can replace a lot of stuff, but I can’t replace these.”

  Duke nodded. His throat was thick was emotion. It felt good to help someone like this. It was one of the reasons he’d become a trooper in the first place. Now though, at least when he did a good deed and felt appreciated for it, he wasn’t having to explain away yard after yard of red tape. For example, if this had been in a police station they could not have given the rings to Beth Alred even after they were identified as her property because they would have been classified as evidence in an on-going investigation. But now? Duke could hand them over.

  “I’m glad we could at least find those for you,” Duke told Beth. “We’re still working on the wallet, but it’s likely to be a long time and maybe never. The first thing a thief gets rid of is any sort of evidence that something belongs to someone other than themselves.”

  “I figured,” Beth said quickly as she slipped the rings onto her left ring finger. “I already cancelled my credit cards and notified the Texas DMV about my driver’s license. They’ve got a watch on that stuff. And my bank too.” She tilted her head and suddenly snapped her fingers. “Which reminds me. My bank said someone attempted to withdraw a really large amount of money from my bank account. They shut it down as suspicious activity and had already texted me an alert. I called them and that’s how I found out about it.”

  Duke could not believe that Riley would be so foolish as to really try to withdraw from an ATM. “Was it your debit card?”

  “Yes. The card got sucked into the machine because the user tried the wrong pin number too many times in a row. It’s a safety feature,” Beth explained. “I’ve had my wallet stolen before in Dallas. The guy figured out my pin number after five tries. So, I put a thing on my account that doesn’t allow you try a pin number more than three times.”

  Duke could feel not only his own shock but also that of Ellie and Titus. They were all gaping at Beth. Finally, Duke closed his mouth and cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize that someone could just keep missing a pin number until they finally figured it out.”

  “Not all of them are like that. But a good deal of them apparently are.” Beth shrugged. “I didn’t know that either until I got my wallet stolen. Then I started making some pretty serious provisions in case it ever happened again. I guess I’m glad. Riley Saunders—if it really was Riley Saunders—tried to steal twenty-five hundred bucks from me!”

  The number rang a memory bell in Duke’s brain. He frowned. “Did you say twenty-five hundred dollars?”

  “Yes. That’s the amount of cash that someone tried to withdraw,” Beth confirmed.

  “I thought you said the debit card got sucked up before the thief could even put in an amount because he didn’t get the pin number,” Duke reminded her.

  Beth was already nodding. “That was on my debit card. The bastard attempted to get a cash advance on my credit card, too. You put the amount that you want on those before you have to put in pins and such.” She was shaking her head. “Fortunately, I’d already notified the card company.”

  “I’m glad of that,” Duke muttered. He glanced at Titus.

  Beth was already heading for the door. “We have to get back to the amusement park for the two o’clock kids show at the pavilion. If you need me, call me. I would be happy to give a police statement if you ever get to that point in your investigation.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Alred,” Duke told the helpful Texan. “I wish all of the victims we deal with could be as agreeable as you are.”

  Beth nodded and exited the office for the minivan in the parking lot. She had a bounce in her step that made Duke feel good about what they’d done.

  Titus nudged Duke. “What was it about the amount that caught your attention?”

  “That was the amount of money that Riley had agreed to pay for the donkey he purchased for his act.”

  Ellie nearly choked on a laugh. “Did you say donkey?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said,” Duke confirmed. “Olivia was beside herself. The animal is in pretty rough shape
and her uncle agreed to pay this huge amount of money for a donkey that had no shot records and wasn’t current on any of his paperwork. That means there’s a lot of quarantine and other bullshit they have to go through. Plus, the poor guy was starving and thirsty to boot. I helped her get him squared away this morning.”

  Ellie was smirking at him. Duke growled at her. He didn’t want to talk more about how he was so into Olivia Houghton. It wasn’t like that. At least not really.

  But it was Titus who brought up the topic once again. “You know, Olivia is a pretty nice gal once you get past the fact that she’s related to a first class jackass who has probably been robbing people blind for decades or more without being caught.”

  “That makes them arrogant,” Ellie reminded Duke.

  He scowled at Ellie. “I know that. And believe me, Riley is arrogant. For sure. I just wish I knew what to do next with him.”

  “We have to talk to the police,” Titus told Duke. “As much as we really don’t want to because we both know that they’re going to behave like jerks, we have to do it.”

  “So,” Duke mused. “How do we go about this?”

  “You should try to do your best to make them look good,” Ellie suggested. “That’s the way I’ve always dealt with the police department here in Branson.” She gestured to the rings. “Take them this stolen merchandise and then explain where it came from and let them know that you’re just trying to turn it in like any good citizen would be doing.”

  “The woman makes a good point,” Titus said with a sigh. Then he turned toward Caroline’s desk. “Caroline, can you make us an appointment with Detective Sellers at the Brandon Police department?”

  Caroline made a low noise of irritation but picked up the phone all the same and dialed the switchboard at the police station. “Yeah, I know,” she told Titus. “I’m a lazy slob and you want me to stop being such a drama queen.”

  “I’d actually like you to behave all the time like you do when Younger is around,” Titus told Caroline bluntly. “You know, like you’re trying to impress someone.”