Carolyn Pyles’ demeanor showed a stark contrast to her husband’s. The twenty-eight year old woman still trembled as she had during the initial confrontation at the bed and breakfast. Her lawyer Trent Saxton patted her hand. He appeared as short as his client and, though much younger than Jake Stewart, his light brown hair receded from his forehead a little. Brenda was introduced and all sat down. Trent Saxton threw his lawyer smile toward the interrogators.

  “We will answer whatever you feel you have to ask unless I deem it shouldn’t be answered here.” Carolyn nodded her head twice.

  Mac decided to ignore Trent and direct questions at her. “How long have you known your husband, Mrs. Pyles?”

  “You can call me Carolyn,” she said. “Both of you have called all us guests by our first names.” Her voice was practically begging for normalcy.

  “This isn’t a guest-host relationship anymore, ma’am, but I suppose first names work here, too.” Mac waited. “How long have you known him?” He repeated.

  “I met Jason when we were in high school. He and his parents moved to town when we were juniors. We hit it off right away and have been together ever since that time.”

  Mac continued questioning their personal relationship to the point of when they began committing crimes together. While there were no convictions on their records, there had been one or two private settlements and lawsuits indicating that a few victims had extracted a price in return for putting aside criminal charges.

  “I’m not a criminal, Detective,” she said. Carolyn entwined her fingers tightly together and then released them. “That has never been…my part.”

  “What part did you play?” Brenda asked.

  “I simply arrived early in towns or cities that had shows like this one. Jason wanted me to… check the local people out.”

  “Why would you have to check townspeople out ahead of time?”

  “Brenda, you don’t understand. Jason always wanted to know what local law enforcement was like and how friendly everyone is. I have to say we both found Sweetfern Harbor very open to strangers.”

  Mac and Brenda glanced at one another and then riveted their eyes on the suspect. Mac spoke first. “Was it your responsibility to check out the events center as well?”

  Trent leaned toward her and squeezed her wrist as if the two had a secret code between them when it came to interrogations.

  “I prefer not to answer a specific question like that one.”

  “My client has admitted she did preliminary work for her husband. As she has stated, she is no thief.”

  Brenda jumped at her chance to get Carolyn’s next reaction.

  “Did you and Jason even see those paintings I spoke of in my attic?”

  “I was disappointed we didn’t. Where are they? We hoped to be the first to get a look at them. Paintings are all I’m interested in when it comes to Native American art. Wampum and arrowheads have never caught my eye like they do Jason’s.”

  “No Algonquian artwork exists in that attic. I made up the whole story to lure thieves up there again. It seems to have worked.”

  Carolyn sat unmoving. When the full impact of Brenda’s words hit her, she bent to hold her head in her hands.

  “So you see, when you say you are no criminal, what were your real intentions to search for non-existant artwork other than to steal it?”

  No one spoke; not even her lawyer. Mac took a deep breath, knowing Trent Saxton was ready to allow his client to speak her mind. Her voice was barely audible.

  “Jason promised me I would never have to steal. That was the one thing he took on himself. The only reason I agreed to find a quiet time to go to the attic again was those paintings.” She brushed the moisture from her hands onto her slacks. Then with the back of her hand, she wiped her brow. “I’m telling the truth when I say I’ve never stolen anything.”

  “You have been an accomplice, though,” Mac said. “It’s still a crime. It’s closely akin to actually stealing valuables. And you have certainly enjoyed the fruits of it all. I don’t doubt the two of you have made a good living off the proceeds.” Carolyn’s face crumpled as she realized the gravity of her situation, and her lawyer whispered in her ear to counsel her about next steps.

  Brenda stepped out and allowed Mac to complete the interrogation. He then signaled the officer standing by the door to take Carolyn Pyles to her cell.

  She turned her head to Brenda on the way out. “I didn’t steal anything from you. Jason was the one who found your wampum bead. He took it, not me.”

  Brenda asked the officer to wait for a minute. “Were you up there ransacking the place along with him, the first time?”

  She shook her head vigorously. “He went up there alone. I stayed on the landing so I could see down the back stairs in case someone came up to the second floor from either direction. He went up there alone. I’m sorry he did that and left it in such a mess. You keep your bed and breakfast spotless.”

  Brenda shook her head back and forth. She had no more words for Carolyn Pyles.

  When she and Mac returned to his office, Brenda said, “I wonder how Jason will feel when he finds out she has sold him out.”

  “I’m going to go see how Bryce is doing with that questioning.”

  Mac had told his detective to continue trying to get information from Jason. He felt the longer they kept him in that room he would finally let something slip. He approached the table and sat down next to Bryce. It did not take long for him to realize Bryce had made very little progress, thanks to the canny lawyer. Mac decided to spur it on. Brenda watched from the one-way mirror.

  “Don’t feel you have to tell us anything now, Jason. We learned plenty from your wife.”

  Jason jerked his head forward. For the first time he grew tense.

  “She is someone who stands by me no matter what. You are bluffing, Detective Rivers.”

  Mac smiled slowly. “You don’t know that for sure. Carolyn is bent on keeping her head above water. She’s already liable for being an accomplice, for scoping the area for you before you arrived in our peaceful town.”

  Jason did not speak. Jake Stewart had no advice and both men waited to find out what else the detective knew. Mac was silent. He failed to give them anything else. It was not necessary since the seeds of doubt were placed and for now, that was enough.

  The two detectives finally exchanged seats with Chief Bob Ingram, who came in to relieve them. He had watched the entire proceedings. Jason Pyles looked less cocky now and they meant to keep him in the hot seat for several more hours. The chief offered to get him something to drink. He asked for a bottle of water, as did Jake. The client and his lawyer were left alone while the drinks were fetched, but they were observed the whole time. The chief took his time getting the cold water bottles from the refrigerator while Mac, Bryce and Brenda watched. The sound was off to allow Jake to counsel his client.

  “Jason, this doesn’t look so good. Apparently, Carolyn caved. For the first time ever.”

  Anger flashed in Jason’s eyes. “You’re my lawyer, Jake. I expect you to do something for me here. I’ve paid you enough over the years to do your job, so do it. Make a deal with them. Get me out on a technicality. Anything.”

  Jake promised his client he would get him off. Neither man referred to Jake’s failure in the past to prevent Tom Pyles’ incarceration. At the time, Jason had been at odds with his father. Competition arose between them as each tried to outdo the other when it came to stealing valuable artifacts and pawning them off on the black market, or to unsuspecting buyers. Jason knew that the lawyer had failed to complete some basic due diligence that could have resulted in a lesser sentence, but he never mentioned it; the son preferred to hold it over the lawyer’s head and enjoy dominating the black market in the meantime.

  Jake clenched his jaw angrily. He felt sure his young client simply waited for the day to use that catastrophe against him. If he did not succeed this time, he knew that time would arrive swiftly.

  Chief Ingram approached Mac and Brenda. “Every stolen item was taken by the man right in there. His wife accompanied him that night. Both disguised themselves as added security. It seems several of the guards liked to look at the relics after the show shut down for the night, so they were all strolling around.” He paused. “Of course, the others simply looked while Carolyn and Jason Pyles worked together to snatch coveted items. It seems they waited until one of the guards was switching the security tapes for the night – there was a brief pause in the feed. We’ve gone over footage again and again and there is no doubt it was them. Before the tapes change, the unidentified guards approach the cases. After the new tapes start, the unidentified guards aren’t seen anywhere. If we can get Carolyn to tell us more, we’ll have this case almost ready for the courtroom.”

  “Mrs. Rivers,” a voice behind them said. The officer apologized for interrupting Brenda. “Carolyn Pyles would like to speak with you alone before you leave.”

  “Tell her I’ll see her in a few minutes.”

  “This is our chance, Brenda,” Mac said. Adrenaline rushed through him.

  Brenda left the men to visit Carolyn Pyles. When the guard opened the cell door, Brenda noted the tear-streaked face in front of her.

  “What did you want to see me about, Carolyn?”

  “I don’t want to go to prison, please. I want to tell you everything right now. You can even record it if you want to.”

  Mac approached the cell door. “Brenda, before you begin I have some news for you.” Brenda stepped from the cell, leaving the distressed Carolyn for a moment, and followed Mac down the hallway. “We just received word that the FBI made a huge discovery of the black market business that Jason and Carolyn Pyles conducted selling their artifacts. There is enough evidence against them both to keep them off the streets for a long, long time.”

  “Do you feel a deal can be made for Carolyn if she tells all?”

  “I’ll speak to the chief, but ultimately we can only ask the prosecutor to take it into consideration. She won’t be allowed to omit any detail no matter how large or small it is. But I’ll have to talk to Bob first, and then the judge, to make sure we do it right.”

  When Brenda returned to Carolyn, the suspect’s eyes were filled with questions. Brenda decided not to suggest a deal unless Carolyn brought it up and simply waited silently. Brenda clicked on the digital recorder in her hand and nodded to the woman to start.

  The woman before her was ready. “I admit I helped Jason steal that night at the events center. I’m not innocent of everything as I tried to convince you earlier. I studied the procedures of the security firm that the event sponsor hired. In fact, we simply planned to break in. But after Jason arrived in Sweetfern Harbor, we felt really lucky they were hiring extra security at nighttime. I don’t think they expected that many vendors but they needed quite a large crew to guard the artifacts. I befriended a female guard at the coffee shop downtown and complimented her on how professional she looked in her uniform. I made careful observations of the way she conducted herself and details of her uniform. She told me there were clean uniforms brought back each night since her company didn’t want any guard to look shabby, as she put it. She even told me where the cleaned ones were kept. They weren’t under lock and key.”

  “According to the video footage it looks as if Jason and another man worked with him.”

  “That was me. It was easy for me to pick up the gait men use. My hair is short and the cap took care of any loose strands. No one guessed I wasn’t a man. The guard I befriended wasn’t there that night. I heard she came down with the flu or something similar. That was huge for me. We didn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing me if they paid close attention.”

  Carolyn continued to explain how Jason picked the locks and in seconds retrieved items he had observed earlier while casing the showroom floor. They simply hid the small items in deep pockets stitched inside their undershirts. When Brenda asked her how they left the premises, Carolyn said they simply walked out during the security tape change-out and let the others assume they had simply left the job early.

  “It was all so easy. The other guards were so busy looking through the cases that nobody noticed what we were doing.”

  “How did you know about the timing of the security footage? And weren’t the alarms set at the doors?”

  “Jason took care of that. He knows how to unarm alarms like that – it’s just a simple skeleton key you can buy off the internet. We walked out and he simply reset them. No one paid attention to us. It was toward the end of the night so they were all ready to get home after a long shift.” She wrung her hands. “As for the security footage…the two guards in the upstairs booth that were supposed to be watching enjoyed a bottle of Tennessee whiskey Jason gave them. He stayed and enjoyed a few drinks with them and then told them to finish it off. He left when it was just a couple minutes before they were due to switch the tape out.”

  “And that was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

  The realization hit Carolyn and she spoke the words aloud. “That just proves his expertise was in the actual robberies. I studied the security protocols. I should have taken care of the cameras and I didn’t.”

  “You and Jason are much more involved in serious crime than what you did right here in our town. As we speak, the FBI is in your apartment in Cincinnati taking meticulous inventory. It seems they have uncovered documentation of your extensive illegal business endeavors and accomplishments.”

  Dark black hair framed her ashen face. In the light that filtered into the cell from the narrow hallway, her appearance came across as eerily macabre. Brenda waited to hear if Carolyn had anything else to add. After a few minutes, she continued. Her voice lowered again and sounded as a vibration in the still air.

  “I know every detail of the inside and outside workings of our business,” she said. The clang of a cell door down the hall caused Carolyn to jump. “If I tell you everything, will you make a deal with me? I don’t think I would survive in a hardened prison.”

  “It’s not my place to make deals. I’ll speak to the chief and the judge. They will determine whether you have enough to give them to warrant a deal.”

  Brenda left a shaken Carolyn Pyles. She saw two officers escorting Jason Pyles to his cell in the men’s wing of the jail. The lawyer Jake Stewart nodded at her, his smile gone, before he allowed the front door of the police station to close behind him.

  Chapter 9

  The Truth

  Mac and Brenda walked into a quiet Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. They went into the kitchen to find Chef Morgan wiping off one last counter. She told them she had their plated dinners in the refrigerator. Brenda thanked her and picked up a dishcloth to help complete the job.

  “Go on home, Morgan. It’s been a busy weekend. No more guests until the middle of the week, so take a couple days off.” Brenda cocked her head and smiled.

  “What are you smiling about?” Morgan asked.

  “I know someone who will be interested to know that you’ve got some days off. After you rest, expect my father to come calling. You two should go on your first formal date and be done with it. You can’t keep us all waiting in suspense.”

  The chef turned away to hide the flush that heated her face. Mac kept silent knowing she was experiencing enough discomfort. Morgan told them goodnight and left with a weary but happy smile.

  “Why did you put her on the spot like that?” Mac teased.

  “It’s about time someone got those two moving forward.”

  Neither one of them had any desire to talk of the recent arrests. Instead, they enjoyed the reheated roast beef and buttered potatoes. Brenda added her chef’s specialty dressing to her mixed salad and handed the jar to Mac.

  “Have you wondered about the value of Randolph’s wampum bead, Mac?”

  “From what I’ve learned, and from how many guests and criminals you have in town poking around looking for it, it surely holds quite a high value. I think when you get it back, you should have it insured and then put it into a safety lockbox at the bank.”

  Brenda agreed. And never again would she tell guests about things stored in the attic of the 1890s Queen Anne structure she called her own. She thought seriously about the need for some strong locks on the attic doors, too. But that could come later. It had been such a long, weary day, and she was grateful to climb the stairs with Mac for a good night’s sleep.

  The next morning, Brenda awoke at the usual time. She started to get up before she realized the bed and breakfast had no guests in it.

  “Go back to sleep, Brenda. There’s no reason to get up early this morning.” Mac rolled over and kissed her before getting out of bed. He set his cell phone on the nightstand and headed for the shower.

  Brenda happily drifted off to sleep again only to be awakened by Mac’s phone ringing. She looked at the screen and answered it.

  “Hello, William. Mac is showering but I’ll tell him to give you a call when he comes out.”

  “I’m afraid I woke you up, Brenda. Phyllis told me all of you planned a late start to your day and I should have thought of that. I apologize.”

  Brenda assured him she could fall asleep again easily enough. William told her he wanted to come by the bed and breakfast with Phyllis around ten when she came to clean up a few last things before taking her days off. Brenda checked the clock and noted that the time was seven-thirty.

  “That sounds good, William. I’ll definitely be up and going by then. Do you want Mac here, too?”

  “He is welcome to be there for my news but if he has to get back to the police station to finish this business with the thievery, I’ll understand.”

  Brenda told him she would let Mac know. She heard her beloved

  husband in the apartment kitchen preparing coffee and decided to get up. She told Mac of William’s call and handed him his cell phone.

 

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