A Laramie, Texas Christmas

Noelle nodded. She plucked silverware out of one drawer, napkins from another. “October twenty-ninth. I met with her right before she left.”

“And she got back…?” Aware they were about to eat, Kevin moved the stacks of sorted mail out of the way.

“Three days ago,” Noelle replied. “Miss Sadie spent the night in Houston, then picked up her mail at the nearby post office the following morning. She had her regular driver bring her out to Laramie, where she stopped at the post office, picked up that mail, and headed out here to Blackberry Hill. She said she waited until she got to the house to start going through it all, so she had no idea what was going on.”

The microwave dinged again. Noelle removed the dinners from the oven and handed him the beef and broccoli, keeping the lemon chicken and broccoli for herself. They peeled off the plastic covers. Steam curled through the air, giving the kitchen a distinctive Asian aroma.

“How are you going to track the thieves?” Noelle asked, taking a seat opposite Kevin.

“I’m going to start by talking to everyone close to Miss Sadie, and have her fill out some forms about who works in her home, or on the property, or has occasion to see her private papers. Whoever did this had to have access to her birth date, social security number, bank information and so on. In all likelihood it’s someone close to her she would never suspect, which is why I’m going to be taking a hard look at the background of everyone around her.”

Noelle seemed nervous again. “Couldn’t it have been a stranger?” she asked, a troubled look in her eyes.

Kevin struggled to contain his disappointment. He did not want Noelle to have anything to do with this. “It could have been,” he agreed carefully.

She released the breath she had been holding. “But you don’t think it is.” She kept her eyes on his.

Kevin debated how much to tell her. “I find the timing odd,” he said finally. “Miss Sadie goes off for a six-week cruise, and two days later, a flurry of bank card applications are entered in her name. She has a stellar credit rating, so the cards are issued promptly—probably all within hours of each other. Ten days later, purchases begin. And then magically stop right before she gets home from her cruise. Common sense says it was no accident that this happened while she was out of touch.”

Noelle’s expression turned contemplative. She put her fork down and dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “So what next?”

I try like hell to remain objective. “I talk to my friends in Houston who specialize in identity theft for the HPD. There may be others in the area who are reporting similar fraud.”

“Maybe people on the same cruise?” Noelle asked hopefully.

Clearly, she was looking for an easy solution to the puzzle. “Or people who all used the same travel agency to book vacations. Then again, a common thread could be people whose homes are all monitored by the same security company, companies that would have been informed of the prolonged absence of the residents. And we can’t rule out that it could be an isolated incident—just someone close to Miss Sadie who wanted to give their family a good Christmas.”

Noelle picked up her fork and toyed with her food once again. “I find it hard to believe anyone close to Miss Sadie would do this to her,” she said stubbornly.

“You prefer the stranger angle.”

“Yes.”

So did he, truth be known. However, Kevin had learned the hard way that not everyone could be trusted. “Desperation makes people do awful things.”

Noelle shook her head in frustration. “But to take advantage of an eighty-five-year-old woman who is one of the sweetest, most generous people I’ve ever met…”

“I agree. It’s awful. But I can’t let my personal feelings for Miss Sadie hamper my investigation, which is why I’m going to take a hard look at everyone around Miss Sadie.” Kevin paused. “Including,” he said meaningfully, looking straight at her, “you.”

NOELLE HAD EXPECTED she would be investigated, given all Kevin had just said about the likely suspect being someone with easy proximity to Miss Sadie. She hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. Temper igniting, she pushed away from the table and headed to the sink. “Don’t forget Dash.”

Kevin finished his meal. “I won’t.”

“Or my son, Mikey,” Noelle continued heatedly, dumping the remains of her dinner into the disposal, her appetite gone. “He could have done it, too.”

Kevin dropped his own black plastic dish into the trash and carried the silverware over to the dishwasher. “You’re offended.”

Noelle glared at him. “I’d like to say I understand you’re just doing your job.”

He took the disposable dish out of her hand and threw it away, too. “But you can’t.” He turned back to face her.

Trying not to notice how fit and handsome he looked in his starched khaki uniform, Noelle shook her head. “No. I can’t. I don’t like being accused of something I did not do.” It brought back too many memories of a time she would rather forget.

He gave her a steady, assessing look.

Noelle jerked in a breath, aware she had inadvertently revealed too much. To her relief, the front door opened and then closed.

Seconds later, Dash strolled into the kitchen. “Sorry it took me so long to get here,” he told Kevin. “I wanted to stay until I was sure that Aunt Sadie was settled for the night.” He glanced at Noelle. “Were you able to find all the paperwork Detective McCabe needed?”

Kevin lifted a hand, interrupting, “You can both call me Kevin.”

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” Noelle interjected coolly. Temper still simmering, she looked at Dash, confiding, “It seems we’re all suspects in the identity theft.”

“As it should be,” Dash replied, obviously in total agreement. He crossed to Noelle’s side and put a companionable arm about her shoulders. “Not that it will take Kevin long to eliminate you.” He grinned, switching from lawyer mode to Southern charm in the time it took to draw a breath. “Me, on the other hand, well, we all know what a disreputable character I am.”

Noelle smiled. Dash was one of the most honest, caring men she had ever met. He also knew the secrets of her past. If he didn’t think she had anything to worry about, she probably didn’t. Getting his silent message to relax and let things unfold as they would, she forced the tension from her limbs.

His mood abruptly all-business, Kevin gathered up the papers on the end of the table. “Do you want to make copies for me now, or drop them off at the station tomorrow?”

Noelle hesitated. Neither option appealed to her.

“I’ll do it right now on Aunt Sadie’s copier in the study upstairs,” Dash said. He looked at Noelle with easy familiarity.

“Thanks,” Noelle said quietly, glad for the help.

“No problem. Any chance I could get a mug of very strong coffee before I hit the road?”

Noelle had expected Dash would not stay in Laramie for long. Still, she was disappointed. She could have used someone to run interference between her and Kevin. Thus far, Dash had proved very adept at it. “You have to go back to Houston tonight?”

He nodded. “I’ve got to be in court again tomorrow, so I’ll need to leave as soon as I get these copied for Kevin. Be right back.” He exited the kitchen.

Once again, Noelle and Kevin were alone. Noelle could feel him sizing her up. Trying to figure out the exact nature of her relationship with Dash. Maybe it was petty of her, but she hoped he stayed confused.

“Is there anyone in Houston you think I might need to investigate?” Kevin asked matter-of-factly.

“Besides me and Dash, you mean?” Noelle retorted sweetly.

He waited, unsmiling.

Okay, she was overreacting, given the circumstances. But darn it all, Kevin didn’t know what she had been through in the years before she had been rescued by Dash and his legal expertise. “I can’t think of anyone,” she said finally, forcing herself to remain detached.

“Thanks, anyway.”

Noelle made a show of wiping down the table. “I do have a question.”

He leaned against the counter. “Fire away.”

Wishing she weren’t so aware of his presence, Noelle retreated into scrupulous politeness. “I’d like to get the steps repaired and painted before Christmas. Do you know of anyone who could do it for me on short notice?”