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Her friend took another bag and followed her.
“Just a suggestion, but you may want to stop by my place first. For a shower.”
* * *
Asher stared up at the weathered sign posted above the door of Wilson’s Buy, Sell & Pawn. The shop closely resembled the six other establishments he’d already visited that morning throughout nearby counties. Even the hitching post on the edge of the parking lot was the same, though, unlike the others, this one had no horses tied to it.
He didn’t want to think about how many miles he’d put on his truck to check out his hunch. It had panned out, as he’d already located a few of his mother’s necklaces and a pair of his dad’s enormous gold cuff links with the initials “P.C.” engraved on them.
It wasn’t close to enough. He wanted to find Jace.
Catching sight of a park bench in a shaded area opposite from the pawnshop, Asher crossed the street to take a quick break. He twisted open one of the two water bottles he’d purchased from the local pharmacy as he watched the spattering of shoppers move along the strip of mom-and-pop businesses and even an old-fashioned general store. He drained the bottle and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
Was he ready to admit defeat? He’d been two steps behind Jace all day, and it appeared he would never catch up with him. With all the cash Jace had stolen from Asher’s careless family members, he didn’t even have to unload all his stolen goods at once. By now, he could have made it to Tombstone or Bisbee or even crossed a border into New Mexico or Mexico.
But as he continued to study the shoppers, something about a young couple carrying several handled shopping bags caught his attention. He couldn’t place the blond guy and his redheaded girlfriend, who laughed and appeared to be wrestling over a Western hat, but something about them struck him as familiar. The woman rested her bag on the ground and put the hat back on her partner’s head.
Asher knew that hat, with its fancy turquoise conchos and studs. And blond hair or not, the man wearing it was the same one who thought he could take advantage of the Colton family and get away with it. Jace Smith. Asher didn’t need to see his grandmother’s antique tea set peeking from one of the shopping bags to confirm it.
The temptation to race across the street and wipe that laugh off Jace’s face was so strong that Asher crunched the water bottle in his hand. But he’d already been warned to be smart. He couldn’t take down two suspects with the bandages on his arms, anyway. Instead, he tipped his own hat down so he wouldn’t be recognized, grabbed his phone and tapped on the number he’d dialed several times that morning.
“What city are you in this time?” Spencer asked immediately. “Did you find more of the missing items?”
At least his cousin had given up trying to convince him to back off and let the authorities take care of the investigation. He wouldn’t have listened anyway.
“I’m in Bilmar. I found him.”
“Don’t go near him.”
“I haven’t. He and a woman are inside the pawnshop now.”
“Did you call Bilmar Police?”
“That’s my next move.”
“Let me handle it,” Spencer said. “Give me your location, and I will call it in.”
After Asher passed along the details, the police sergeant gave him one more warning.
“Now stay put and just watch to make sure they don’t leave the pawnshop.”
“What should I do if they try to leave?”
“Nothing. Just keep me up-to-date. I’m on my way.”
* * *
Jace and his girlfriend were laughing again as they exited Wilson’s, but they froze as they were surrounded by police, weapons drawn. Asher took a little satisfaction in that, even if he hadn’t been able to wipe the smiles from their faces himself.
“Stop. Put your hands up. Police,” one of the officers called out.
Instead of lifting her arms as Jace had done immediately, the woman shifted and darted out in an escape attempt. Spencer stepped into her path, unarmed.
“I don’t think so, Sasha Quick.” He grinned at her surprise. “You and Jason Walters, operating under the alias ‘Jace Smith,’ are both under arrest.”
“You don’t have anything on me,” she said, struggling as a female officer handcuffed her.
“Are you kidding?” Already cuffed and being led to the patrol car, Jace called over his shoulder. “This was all her idea.”
