Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
He lost the smile.
Chapter 33
Bud dropped me off at home, and I walked into Aiden’s cabin, stopping short. We had furniture. It took me a second, but I recognized the twin chairs from my Uncle Sean and Aunt Rachel’s basement. The landscape painting was from my Nana O’Shea’s lake cabin, and the sofa tables were from Aunt Yara’s antique store.
“Aiden?” I called out.
“We have furniture,” he called back.
It was probably a good thing because it felt like we would never get around to shopping. I took off my boots and hung my coat by the door, taking a moment to appreciate the crackling fire.
Then I made my way past our new furniture to where I thought his voice had originated. He had to be in one of the two guest bedrooms. I took a guess and moved toward the largest one. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” Office furniture had been placed nicely in the room, with a desk against the front window, a credenza against the side window, and a large glass board on the full wall.
“Cool furniture. Is this from Aunt Yara’s antique shop?” I asked.
“Yep,” Aiden said.
I winced. “You don’t mind, do you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. We were never going to get around to it. We did get in a bit of a scuffle when I insisted upon paying for it.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I can see that. Don’t tell me Nana O’Shea let you pay for the painting.”
“Not in a million years,” he said. “That’s one woman I wouldn’t mess with. Everyone thinks Nonna Albertini is so tough with her wooden spoon. But I’m telling you, the Irish are dangerous, and Nana O’Shea could probably turn us all into toads.”
“You would know.” I leaned up, kissed his cheek, and then paused, looking at the array of pictures and notes he’d created on the glass board. “This is the Cupid case.”
“Yep,” he said again.
I looked at him. “That is not an ATF case.”
“This board is not at my ATF office,” he returned.
“Fair enough.” I studied it. He had grainy surveillance photographs of the tall main Cupid and pictures of Saul and Lenny on either side. Then he had a neat row of photos of each of the businesses that were hit, along with lists of what had been taken, and which charity received which stolen goods. A good percentage of the items had been returned.
Then over to the side, he had still-missing goods, most of which was cash. Lisa Robinson’s list of missing items was there, but not what had been returned.
“Lisa has some of her stuff back,” I said. “She was going through boxes today.”
“Good. I’ll drop by there tomorrow.”
I studied the list. “Do you see any pattern?”
“Not at all. It’s obvious why they kept the cash, but I don’t know why they kept Belleek china, old bottles from the Clumsy Penguin, emeralds and not diamonds from the jewelry store, etcetera. There just doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. I can’t see them fencing one thing easier than the other.”
I nodded. “I talked to Cousin Wanda a little bit. She said this guy, the main one, the real tall Cupid, has probably got some sort of narcissistic personality disorder. The whole robbing from the rich and giving to the poor thing.”
Aiden studied the board, looking tall and broad in ripped jeans and a dark gray T-shirt. “Yeah, but every idiot knows the businesses end up getting their stuff back. I mean, we’re a small community.”
“She said the point was that he gives it away. It’s all about him and not about what ultimately happens to the stuff.”
“Hmm.”
I squinted and moved closer. “I hadn’t heard the loot from Pete’s Pawn Shop was donated to hospice.”
“Yeah. I just got a call from Detective Pierce about an hour ago,” Aiden said. “Along with the list of what was taken. We obviously don’t know what has been returned yet.”
“How much cash did they get from Pete’s?” I tried to read Aiden’s handwriting better.
“About five grand.”
So much for Cupid being a real Robin Hood. “That was a good chunk of change.” I wondered how much the tall Cupid would return to Pete, especially since he’d been shot with an arrow. “The lead Cupid has killed both of his co-conspirators,” I said quietly. “Do you think that means he’s done?”
Aiden shrugged. “I don’t know. He hired two local guys who needed money. We’re doing a countrywide search to see if this has happened in other places. Maybe this guy does this in an area and then moves to another, hires a couple of local people, and then moves on. But so far, we haven’t found anything.”
“He could just be getting started,” I said. “He didn’t choose very well in Lenny or Saul this time.”
Aiden nodded. “True,” he said. “Now wait a minute. How do you know Lisa Robinson’s antiques were returned?”