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She sighed "Linc doesn’t understand why I feel he’s suffocating ht, some terrible fate will befall me"

Mack didn’t bother to re 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 withback 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 as 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 na for the theft"

"Oh!" Mary Jo looked thoughtful "That explains a lot"

"In ay?" he asked

"I alal background But Mr Harris said he wanted to hire so I think this is how he plans to keep a close eye on his eive 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 cri an innocent man makes it thatso 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 i stuff impress her?"

"Well, Lori Bellamy’s from a wealthy family The Bellamys own quite a bit of property on the Kitsap Peninsula Geoff ot 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, orked for the sheriff’s office He’d only learned of Gloria’s existence a few years ago and had beenan effort to develop a relationship with her Since he and Gloria both lived in to, they ed 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 ti I need to do is find soestion he’d made that February afternoon at the library, and suspected she didn’t

"I can always co, "but that wouldday"

Mary Jo had just handed him the perfect intro His one fear was that if she knew he owned the duplex shefros

He decided to gauge the situation with a coht have mentioned it, but I recently moved into a duplex and the second half is eed ahead "The rent’s reasonable, too"

"How…reasonable?"

He na rate, which hat he speculated she’d be able to afford

"Howwith 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 er" That was an inspired idea, he thought, and not a lie He was the er And this conveniently "out-of-toould appear so her for long; his objective was to get her moved to Cedar Cove Once she’d ood 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 Jome and Noelle next door?"

"A problem?" he repeated "Not for reat 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 ?" she asked "Isn’t that the landlord’s responsibility?"

"Nor to sound nonchalant "I offered to do it in exchange for a reduction in rent He, uh, wants first and last s, so I’m not concerned"

They finished their drinks and Mack drove Mary Jo past the Senior Center to 1022 Evergreen Place

Mary Jo’s eyes darted up and down the street "This is a nice neighborhood," she said appreciatively