Luxury Model Wife (19 page)

“Hmm.” The cop leaned over to inspect the padlocks. “You can see where someone tried to cut the locks. Guess they either gave up or ran out of time.”

“Maybe both,” Steve replied.

“Right. It’s possible that P.I. kept an eye on you and Mrs. Van Orr last night to prevent you from interrupting the burglary. I doubt that fighting and getting arrested was part of the plan. Whoever did this isn’t happy he couldn’t crack the warehouse.”

Steve glanced around them at the tall pines and oaks offering shade and privacy to the environmentally controlled unit. “Never thought I’d be part of a multi-million-dollar bar fight.” He nodded to Wilson. “I appreciate you letting me go.”

“Don’t make me regret the decision. If I find out you’re part of this—maybe took Mrs. Van Orr out on the town to steal her stuff, I’ll be gunning for you.”

Steve shook his head. “Then I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

They walked back to the store in silence.

When they returned, Steve went looking for Beverly. He found her behind a counter, sitting on a stool, holding a wad of damp tissues. She dabbed her red, runny nose and gazed up at him with swollen, red-rimmed eyes. “I’m so sorry.” She choked out the words and started bawling again. Steve found the box of tissues under the counter and handed it to her.

He put his arm around Beverly’s shoulders, and she leaned into him, while she cried all over again. He held on, his insides alternately churning or feeling like lead inside his body.

Victoria kept her distance on the other side of the room. He longed to hold her, too, but the daggers she shot him warned him off. She was mad at him, and from her point of view, he couldn’t blame her. He’d been responsible for her valuables. She was vulnerable and had depended on him. He could only hope that when she cooled down, she’d see things clearly and forgive him.

The front door flung open and Jimmy Van Orr rushed inside the shop. He scanned the room with murder in his eyes. When he spotted Victoria, he strode toward her, and wrapped her in his arms.

Steve could hardly breathe as an overwhelming sense of loss shrouded him. His history with Jimmy was happening all over again.

When Jimmy released her, he charged across the room with his fists raised and his teeth clenched. “Why didn’t you tell her you’d been robbed before? Why did you lie?”

“I never lied.” Although, by omitting those details, he realized he had.

Jimmy shook his head. “I told her not to trust you.”

Steve resisted the urge to punch Jimmy’s lights out. “Your guys are the ones making threats. They’re the ones with motive. How do you know it wasn’t that P.I. who’s been sniffing around? Maybe he’s part of a crew.” He poked Jimmy’s chest. “Or maybe Pinnacle robbed us on your behalf.”

Jimmy blanched.

“If you’re not here to help, get the fuck out of my store.”

Jimmy glared and his eyes glittered with hatred. “You almost had me feeling sorry for you last night. I’m taking Victoria the hell out of here. Don’t bother her again. The next time you hear from a Van Orr, it will be our attorneys filing a negligence suit.”

Officer Wilson made his way over to the men, clearly assessing the hostilities between them. “Are you James Van Orr, Jr.?”

Jimmy nodded.

“Do you mind telling me where you were last night?”

Jimmy’s face flushed. “You consider me a person of interest? You must be joking.”

The officer remained poker-faced. “With all due respect, Dr. Van Orr, you had as much motive as anyone. According to the facts of the dispute between you and Mr. Carlson, you weren’t happy with Mrs. Van Orr’s choice of brokers. And you were trying to force her to sell the house.”

“This is insane. Do you really think I’d steal my own father’s things? Or take Carlson’s worthless junk?”

Wilson shrugged. “You’re both insured. Maybe the insurance money was a simpler solution to your dispute.”

Jimmy’s tone turned icy. “For your information, last night Victoria and I reached a new understanding.
Amicably
.” He gritted his teeth and bared them at Steve. “There’s more to the Van Orr estate than the valuables stolen from this pathetic little shop, officer. There’s certainly not enough here for me to risk losing my license and going to jail.”

Wilson clearly sized Jimmy up. Whether he was baiting him or seriously considering him a suspect, Steve wasn’t sure.

“You got an alibi for last night?” the officer asked.

Jimmy hitched a thumb at Steve. “Ask him. He and Victoria were at my place. So was my friend, Katherine. You can ask her.”

The officer nodded. “All right, Dr. Van Orr. We’ll do that. Then we’ll see what we can do to catch the thieves and recover your father’s property.”

“Yeah, right. They’re probably across state lines by now.” He turned his back on them and walked away to rejoin Victoria and Lieutenant Leighton. Beverly sat alone on her stool behind the counter.

“Is it all right if Beverly goes home?” Steve asked the cop.

Wilson looked in Beverly’s direction. “Think she had anything to do with this?”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “Absolutely not. No way.”

The officer appraised him and glanced back at Beverly. “Just because she looks innocent, doesn’t mean she is. Never be fooled by tears. Everyone has secrets.”

Icy fingers crawled up the back of Steve’s spine as he recalled Beverly’s heavy debt. He’d done as much as he could to help her, but was it enough? Was it possible she’d racked up more bills? Could she have done this?

Wilson spoke again. “This could easily be an inside job. Does Beverly know the security code?”

Steve groaned. Of course she did.

“I want her to come down to the station to answer questions. Fallon and I will start canvassing the neighborhood. See if anyone saw or heard anything.”

Steve looked over at Beverly and wondered if he’d gotten her all wrong. He’d always been hopeless with women. Why not her?

She glanced up at him with sorrowful eyes and he questioned his doubts. This was
Beverly
they were talking about. He’d trusted her as much as he’d trusted his own father.

“Were there any other burglaries last night?” Steve asked, hoping to convince himself it couldn’t have been Bev. “Any other antiques shops robbed? There were a few on the list the last couple of times.”

“No reports of anything. Your store seems to be the only one hit.”

“Do you think that means the Van Orr collection was the target?” He glanced again at Beverly. She loved that doll collection, especially the Rohmer, but would she betray him to own it?

The officer scratched his jaw with the top half of his pen. “Could be. We’ll investigate and let you know. We have more people to question.”

He didn’t want to believe Beverly could be responsible, but maybe his brain had been battered worse than his body.

His thoughts turned to the owners of Pinnacle Antiques Auctions and his internal radar hummed to life. Steve looked around his store. The pride he typically felt when he entered his place was replaced by fury. Who’d done this to him? To Victoria? He tried to meet her eyes, but she ignored him.

He’d lost her. Hopelessness filled his gut.

“I’ll drive Beverly to the station,” he told the cop. She looked scared, and she’d need him, one way or the other.

First, he crossed the room to Victoria, where she stood with Jimmy and Lieutenant Leighton. “I’d like to talk to you.”

He glared at Jimmy. “Privately.”

Victoria passed him a look of uncertainty, but took a step toward him. Jimmy started to protest, but she lifted her hand to stop him and then moved with Steve to another area of the room.

“If I could do anything to change what’s happened, I would.” His gaze searched Victoria’s face but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Steve tried again. “I had a top-notch security system installed. Do you really think I’d do anything to hurt you? Or James?”

His voice cracked on those last few words and he struggled to regain control. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Don’t you know that by now?”

Finally, Victoria looked up, and her expression was filled with pain.

Steve pressed on. “Don’t do this. Don’t you know I’m falling in love with you?”

Victoria winced. “Your timing sucks.”

“It usually does.” He wrapped a hand around her wrist. “Be angry with me if you want. Hit me, throw things at me, or sue me. But don’t walk out of my life.”

Victoria sighed. “I’ll say the same thing to you that I said to Jimmy. This isn’t about you.” She sounded tired, as if the weight of the Van Orr legacy had redoubled on her shoulders. In a way, he guessed it had, and for that he was especially sorry.

She stared down at his hand on her wrist, but he refused to let go. “It’s not about me, either. It’s always been about wanting to do the right thing for James. You might never understand the debt I feel I owe him. He saved my life.”

Steve lifted her hand and placed a kiss on the soft skin beneath her wrist, where her pulse beat. “If he hadn’t, I never would have met you. I’m grateful to him, too.”

She returned a sad smile. “I know this isn’t your fault. I’m sorry I lashed out at you. It’s just…” She raised her free hand in a helpless gesture. “I have issues.”

“And I’ll do whatever I can to help you fix them. I didn’t mean to let you down. Tell me it’s not over between us.”

Before she could answer, Jimmy called to Victoria from the opposite side of the room. “We’re leaving.” He scowled at the sight of Steve holding her hand.

“I promised to take Beverly to the station to answer questions. Then I’ll drive her home.”

“I’m sure they’ll question all of us before this is over.”

Steve walked Victoria to the door, where Jimmy and Lieutenant Leighton waited.

Beverly gathered her purse and made her way to the front of the store.

As Steve turned off the lights, Pirate began to screech. The bird hopped from one end of his cage to the other, flapping his wings and scattering birdseed across the floor. Everyone in the room turned to watch. The cockatiel screeched again before settling down. He pecked his wing then sat up straight.

“Encantado. ¿Que tal?
” Pirate said. “
Encantado.
”

“I’ll be damned.” Victoria turned toward Leighton. “Lieutenant, I think Pirate just gave his witness statement.”

Chapter Twelve

“It’s time we called Sotheby’s,” Jimmy said, opening the refrigerator in Victoria’s kitchen. “There’s no food in this house. What do you eat?” He found a pint of cream for their coffee and went to a cabinet for mugs.

Victoria gathered spoons and napkins while coffee brewed. “I eat mostly takeout. It’s no fun cooking for myself.” Few things had been fun in a long while.

Except her time with Steve Carlson.

She finished setting the table and sat down. The events at Carlson’s had drained her and she needed a caffeine fix.

If only relationships were as easy to fix as drinking a cup of coffee.

Steve’s handsome face filtered through her mind. She recalled his easy laughter and warm embrace on the dance floor. In his arms, she’d wondered if it was possible to bury the past and start a fresh, new life.

As a regular girl.

Not as someone’s throwaway, or a luxury model wife, but as herself. She longed to test her skills and see where they’d take her.

She put her thoughts aside and returned her attention to Jimmy. “We have competent auction houses here in Chester County. You know I prefer doing business locally.”

Jimmy poured coffee. “Considering what’s happened, I think we should have the rest of my father’s things moved from Carlson’s warehouse to an out-of-town storage facility.” He placed the carafe back on the burner and sat next to Victoria.

“What about Pinnacle? I thought you were adamant about hiring them.”

“Only to avoid using Carlson’s. Since that option’s been excluded, there’s no reason to start over with Bruce and Carlos. With the bad press this story will get, they’re bound to walk away.”

“They might have walked away already—with your father’s antiques.”

“And they’ll suffer the consequences, if that’s true. But if the items aren’t recovered, take the insurance settlement.”

He took a sip of black coffee and sat back in his chair. “An insurance settlement will be good for you.”

“Why is that?” She added a dollop of cream to her cup and stirred.

Because you’ll be free to make a fresh start.”

“Then you’ll finally be rid of me.”

Jimmy’s expression filled with pain. “C’mon, I didn’t mean it like that. I know I’ve said some rotten things…especially since Dad’s death.”

Victoria drank her coffee then set the mug down. The house that had been her sanctuary had begun to feel like a tomb. “Let’s wait for the police and the insurance company to do their work. Then I’ll decide.” She felt a migraine forming and rubbed her temples.

“Headache?”

Victoria nodded. Tragedy was having its way with her again. She wanted nothing more than the safety of her warm, comfortable bed.

Jimmy pushed his chair back, came to her side of the table, and turned her chair around. He touched his fingers to her forehead and she closed her eyes while he kneaded the pressure points above her eyes, around her temples, and along her hairline.

“Mmm, that feels good.” The anxiety that had gripped her began to dissolve.

He massaged the tension from her face and then buried his hands in her hair. Victoria’s scalp prickled at the sensations and she moaned as her muscles relaxed. Minute by minute, the headache loosened its grip.

Fingers worked her neck and shoulders and her muscles gave way. Her arms turned to jelly by the time Jimmy reached her elbows then worked her wrists. He lifted one boneless hand. When he kneaded the soft flesh of her palm, she sighed.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much. I didn’t know you could do that.”

Jimmy came around the chair to squat in front of her. He looked up, and the instant she met his eyes, she saw James. Her heart ached with an unexpected intensity that took her breath. She felt herself flush.

Jimmy smiled with the apparent belief that her blush was meant for him. He took her hand and raked his nails across her palm with the barest of touches, sending shivers along her skin.