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“But you do consider it owed?”
“We don’t, but I guess you do.”
“You’re welcome to go up to the attic with me and put dibs on anything you want to keep.”
“Oh, take what you want. You will, anyway. You always do.”
“What I want right now is gas money. I need to keep the tank filled so I can get around.”
“Can’t help you there. We don’t have any extra cash. Even our credit cards are maxed out.”
Stormy hesitated. “Shall I disconnect the TV, or will you?”
Nina went to the wall, grabbed the wires, and yanked the plugs from the sockets. “Satisfied?”
“Thank you,” Stormy said civilly. She rolled the butler’s table into the hall. “By the way,” she called over her shoulder, “Liane is having a friend over for the weekend.”
Nina came to the bedroom threshold. “Tully doesn’t like the house full of noisy kids.”
Stormy captured her sister’s gaze and held it. “Well, it isn’t Tully’s house, is it?”
Nina slammed the bedroom door. The sound reverberated throughout the old homestead.
For one brief moment, Stormy considered apologizing for her comment, then quickly decided against it. No amount of discussion or apology was going to change the facts or Nina’s attitude.
She rolled the television out the front door and manhandled it into the back seat of her car.
Goinginto the pawnshop was not as easy as she had anticipated. Parked out front, looking at the grungy windows, she had serious second thoughts.
My life has bottomed out, and they’ll know it, she thought.
While she pondered whether to go into the shop or leave, a shadow fell across her. She looked up. Tyler put his hands on the roof of the car and leaned down.
His expression circumspect, he eyed the back seat. “Taking the TV out for a drive, or looking for a little ready cash?”
Stormy felt the blood creep up her neck and inflame her cheeks. “What’s it to you?”
“Just taking notes, dear heart, that’s all.”
“You’re hassling me, Tyler. That has to be against the law. You’re driving me crazy.”
“I understand,” he said easily. “But you know I think you’re something special, don’t you?”
Stormy ignored the fluttery sensation in her stomach. “Special, but not innocent?”
He sidestepped the question. “Here’s what I’ve got so far. You haven’t been near a bank or safety deposit box. You haven’t been digging in the sand dunes for hidden treasure. The boxes you had stored in your garage held nothing of interest to my clients. You haven’t been on a spending spree with money no one can account for. Those things are in your favor.”
“Then why don’t you go away and leave me alone?”
“Oh, two or three things.” His voice flowed like silk. “Maybe I like your smile. Or could be I’m being paid a tidy sum by my clients—per diem, expenses, et cetera—and I want to max that out. Don’t want a reputation for being cheap. Three, I’ve never visited St. Augustine before. It’s a friendly little town. I’m enjoying myself.”
Stormy couldn’t help it. She smiled. “You’re smooth, you know that?”
“I’ll try anything once.”
“You know what I think? I think you practice in front of a mirror.”
“Now, that hurts.”
