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“I’m sorry you guys are having such trouble. Hard to believe two art thieves are taking it this far.”
“Yeah. Definitely not a normal heist situation. Rarely do they get violent other than when the thieves go in with guns and take out security guards at the bigger museums, but even then, murdering anyone is nearly unheard of.” He rubbed the back of his neck, still trying to put the puzzle pieces together and coming up at a loss as to why they had found themselves in the midst of such a dangerous game—a deadly game. Poor Alex.
Joel nodded. “Three heists in a row, or two plus an ambush, definitely isn’t the norm either.” He tucked his hands in his tan pants pockets. “You think they’ll hit another gallery?”
“I hate to say it, but, yeah, I’d bet money on it.” He shifted his stance, keeping his footing firm—something he hadn’t felt since this case began—stability. “I doubt they’ll go back for more from Tad, but I have a bad feeling this is far from over.”
Joel rocked back on his heels. “Unfortunately, I agree.”
“Poor Alex,” he said, “I still can’t believe she’s dead. And for what?”
“What’s your guess?” Joel asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe she saw someone or something she shouldn’t have, recognized one of the thieves from them casing the joint.”
“Her folks are all tore up about it,” Joel said, taking off his Stetson and clutching the tan felt cowboy hat in his hands. “Her mom said the funeral will be next week out in Tucumcari, where they live, where Alex is from.”
“Any leads on that front?” Christian asked.
“Herman Samuels said he was out doing his after-work nighttime walk the day of the heist and saw Alex pass by him in the passenger’s seat of a white SUV that was pretty banged up along the grill.”
“Exactly where the SUV that smashed into us would be banged up.”
“I’ll add that description to the BOLO,” Joel said.
Christian nodded, then shifted his thoughts to Alex. They’d survived the hit. She hadn’t. He exhaled his burgeoning anger. “Did Herman see who was driving?” The feedstore owner walked after closing up the store like clockwork, which at least helpfully established a solid timeline for them.
“He said it was a man, but he only caught a glimpse of him in the glow of the streetlights lining Main Street.”
Christian grimaced. They needed more. Alex deserved more. Anger chewed at him. During his stint in juvie, there’d been two killers in there. Two ... kids, now that he looked back, who would get off at eighteen just because they’d committed the crime as juveniles. It didn’t always go that way, but it did for Ricardo and Timothy. Murdered a woman, and they were out in three years. It was straight-out injustice. He’d paid his time, too, but that guilt still clung to him. Kept him from moving forward.
As much as he was falling for Andi Forester—and given the kiss, she was falling for him as well—things couldn’t go any further until he told her. He preferred to leave his past in the past, but now that feelings were involved, and the possibility of things growing deeperexisted, he had to tell her. He should have told her before kissing her, but he’d been so consumed in the moment.
He shifted his stance. Fear she’d want nothing to do with him settled deep in the pit of his gut, but he had no choice. This was why he’d avoided relationships. Baring his soul, his ugly past—just the thought was painful and filled him with shame.
“Did you hear me, Christian?” Joel asked.
“What... ?” He raked a hand through his hair. “Sorry...”
“All good, man. I was just saying that Herman said, after they passed by, they hung a right onto Comanche, and he didn’t see Alex in the car anymore.”
Christian’s muscles coiled. “He probably held her down once he caught sight of Herman.”
“My assumption as well.” Joel put his hat back on and tugged the brim in place.
“Herman notice anything about the man? Anything at all?”
“He said he got a better look with Alex not between him and the man. He said the man was on the taller side based on how high his head was in relation to the SUV roof and said he looked broad.”
“Anything else?”
“He said he had dark hair and, from what he could tell, dark skin.”
¦¦¦
Andi slipped her hands into the sweatshirt pockets as she approached Christian and Joel talking beside the cars. The sun was warm and beautiful, but the fall air was crisp. “I thought I’d join you,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Joel said, catching her up to speed.
