you really think something was odd about that one appraiser?”
“Definitely something was odd about him and I don’t know what to think about that Mindy person,” she said. “But I just don’t know how odd.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He didn’t want to let the jewels go,” she said slowly. “So I don’t know if he recognized them somehow, but he wanted to buy them off me right then. Maybe he was just the kind of guy who saw something of good quality that then slipped through his fingers when I took them back, and he couldn’t reconcile himself with the fact he couldn’t have them.”
“Do you think he’s dangerous?”
She looked at him, smiled, and said, “Honestly, Mack, that’s something you’ve been pounding into me since we first met. Everybody under the right circumstances is dangerous. If you’re asking if this guy is dangerous to me, I’ll have to say I believe he is.”
As she said it, she realized inside it really was true. Something was off about that guy. He had really wanted those jewels, and that made him dangerous.
She just didn’t know how bad it would get.
Chapter 12
Sunday Early Afternoon …
It was amazing how much work could be accomplished with the two of them working together. Doreen wasn’t sure if Mack had planned to be here all afternoon helping her out, but he’d done so much already, and then he just put his shoulder to it and kept on working. And she, for one, really appreciated it.
“Thank you for all this,” she murmured, looking at him.
“Not a problem. I wasn’t planning on coming over quite so early,” he muttered, as he dug the shovel yet again. “Considering we’ll do dinner tonight.”
“And I have an awful lot of gardening to do.” Looking down at her watch, she groaned. “It’s well past lunchtime too.”
“Yeah. I didn’t get here until twelve o’clock,” he said, “And you were hours down with Heidi.”
“More than I expected,” she admitted. “It was nice to have somebody of a like mind and a shared hobby to visit with.”
“Have you managed to make any friends since you moved in?”
“No,” she said with a bite to her tone. “It seems like the only women I ever meet get embroiled in one of the cases, and they don’t have the same view of me by the end of it all.”
Mack laughed at that. “Can’t really blame them,” he said. “Look at Penny. You’re putting her in jail for years.”
“That is not my fault,” Doreen said. “That woman attacked me.”
“And that’s not all she did,” Mack said. He brought over the wheelbarrow and filled it with another load of compost material. “I’ll take this out front.”
She nodded and bent again, tossing in a few more clumps. “Do you think we’ll get much farther on this?”
“You’re getting a little bit done every time. I do need to go shopping, but that won’t take long. I’ll come back later for dinner.”
“While you’re gone,” she said, “I’ll eat some food. I only had toast for breakfast.”
He stopped, turned, and glared at her.
She glared right back. “I did go shopping yesterday,” she said. “So I can make a sandwich.”
He rolled his eyes. “Are you eating anything other than sandwiches?”
“I made an omelet yesterday,” she said. “I even added mushrooms.”
A pleased smile played at the corner of his lips. “How about you do some more pasta?”
“I’d love to,” she said. “I was thinking maybe you could cook some while you’re here.”
“How about I watch while you cook some?” he asked.
She gave a decisive nod. “That’s probably better. Do you know I can’t remember what we’re supposed to have for dinner?” Worried, she chewed on her bottom lip. “Did we ever decide?”
“That’s why I’m going shopping,” he said. “We had talked about lamb chops, but I have a craving for salmon.”
She stared at him. “Can we afford that?”
“I can,” he said cheerfully. “So, if I pick up salmon for tonight, do you have any vegetables?”
She shrugged. “I have fresh vegetables for a salad. Nan sent them home with me.”
“Any rice?”
“Still got that partial bag from when you cooked it last time.”
“So how about we just keep it simple then. Salmon and a salad with some steamed rice.”
“That works,” she said. Then she looked at him again. “Or we could have pasta on the side.”
He chuckled. “Or maybe we can cook pasta along with the salmon,” he said.
“Sounds good,” she said. “We could put the salmon in the pasta?”
He looked at her, frowning. “Like in a cream