Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove #8)(102)

“Then by all means, find one.”

Sheriff Davis opened his office door, and a deputy walked in. While handcuffing Geoff Duncan, he recited his rights.

“I know my rights,” Geoff snapped. “This isn’t necessary.”

The deputy didn’t listen and led him out of the office.

Dave sat there in stunned disbelief. “Martha gave him the letter.”

“I’m sure he destroyed it,” Roy McAfee said, speaking for the first time.

“How did he know where she kept her jewelry?”

Roy answered this. “As I told Dave, the freezer’s not exactly an original place to hide your valuables.”

“He probably took them that very day,” Allan said. “Martha’s hearing was bad and she wouldn’t have heard him open the freezer door.”

“But…why frame me?” Dave asked.

“You made a convenient target,” Roy said. “You’re the one who found her.”

“When did he put the earrings in my suit coat?” Dave asked with a frown. “Oh—wait. I left my jacket at Martha’s that day.”

It had completely slipped his mind until now. The day had been warm and he’d taken off his coat, then returned the same afternoon—obviously after Geoff’s visit—to pick it up. He’d hung it on the back of his office door, where it stayed…until Emily took it home.

“Geoff guessed, and rightly so, that you knew where she kept her jewelry. You had the gold watch and it was easy enough to destroy the letter and plant evidence on you.”

Dave felt foolish. He hadn’t even noticed that there was anything in the pockets; he’d carried it to the office and hung it up.

“How did you figure it out?” Allan Harris asked the sheriff.

Troy grinned. “Actually it was a simple matter of putting two and two together. Once I got hold of the pawnshop receipt and had Geoff’s name, I was able to subpoena his bank records. There was no other way to explain those hefty deposits.” He gestured at the private investigator. “Roy helped me out—he has contacts in the Seattle area who were able to steer me toward local pawnshops.”

“Sheriff Davis gives me too much credit,” Roy said. “We got lucky. Once we had a photo of Duncan and pictures of the missing jewelry, it was just a matter of doing a little legwork. So the sheriff sent a deputy to a few of the higher-end pawnshops—and everything fell into place.”

Dave Flemming owed the sheriff and Roy a debt of gratitude. He knew they’d say they were only doing their jobs, but they could have taken the evidence at face value. He would be eternally glad they hadn’t.

“Are we free to go?” Emily asked.

Sheriff Davis nodded. “One question first.”

“Sure.”

“What do you want me to do with the gold watch?”

Dave didn’t hesitate. “Return it to her family. Can we go now?”

The sheriff grinned. “You’re taking up space in my office, Pastor Flemming. It seems to me you’ve got a Christmas program to prepare. Am I right?”

Dave looked from one man to the other. “I do. And…and,” he stammered, “thank you. Thank you both.”

“Thank you so much,” Emily chimed in.

Dave and Emily left the police station and practically ran to their car. Dave unlocked the doors and once they’d scrambled inside they hugged each other fiercely. “It’s over, it’s over,” he told Emily.

“Thank God,” she said. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I’m sorry for everything.”

“Given the same set of circumstances, I’m sure I wouldn’t have behaved any differently.”

“But I’m your wife!”

“Yes, you are,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “My beautiful, beautiful wife.” And then he kissed her.

Sheriff Troy Davis stood at his office window and watched Dave and Emily below. He smiled as he saw them hug and kiss. He was glad that, with a little help from his friend Roy McAfee, he’d been able to arrest the man responsible for the theft—and, in the process, clear Dave Flemming’s name. So far his department had been able to track down all the missing jewelry except for a couple of pieces.

Troy had already contacted Martha’s two daughters with the news and the recovered jewelry would be turned over to them. Although Troy believed that Martha had sincerely wanted Dave to have the watch, the pastor had insisted on returning it. He had nothing to prove to Martha’s children that their mother had given it to him, and Dave wasn’t comfortable with even the slightest doubt. Troy admired that.

Turning away from the window, he pinched the bridge of his nose. At least that case was satisfactorily resolved. The body discovered in the cave two days ago had yet to be identified, though. All he knew was that the skeletal remains appeared to be those of a male teenager, and that was an educated guess on the pathologist’s part. An autopsy would be conducted in the new year. It was hardly a priority, as the doctor had rather acerbically pointed out. Troy suspected the boy was a runaway.

This case had the potential to stretch the limits of his department. County records didn’t show anyone missing during the time period the pathologist had indicated. But someone must have seen him, talked to him, known him. A cold case was always difficult, but no matter how long it took, Troy was determined to find out who this young man was and what had led him to that cave.