moving things from one shelf to another.
She called Mr. Lee, and he answered right away. “Any trouble?”
“Uh, no. I just found vintage marbles in one of the boxes. Did your brother know I collected them?”
“Yes. Several times over the years during the summers when you were gone, your parents had him over for dinner. He enjoyed the wolf camaraderie. He didn’t join the pack, but he thought the world of your family. They often mentioned you and how proud of you they were.”
Brooke wiped away tears.
“Whenever I had a chance to visit with my brother during the summer, they’d have both of us over. As Mr. Gulliver’s assistant, my brother didn’t have much time to himself, but when he had the opportunity to visit with your parents, he did.”
“But I didn’t pay for the wolf statues.”
“He was cleaning house, knowing when he had enough evidence against Mr. Gulliver, he’d be leaving. He wanted to tell you himself the story behind the treasures he left for you. He wanted you to have them. When I found out he had been murdered, I wanted you to have the statues as a gift from our family to yours.”
Josh’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Our sandwiches are ready. I’ll just run and get them.”
Brooke nodded to Josh. “The man who took my credit card number wasn’t a real cashier,” she said to Mr. Lee.
“No. He was another federal agent, a friend of mine, there as backup.”
“I wish I could have given your brother a hug for his kindness. Thanks for carrying out his wishes. If you don’t have any plans, would you like to have Christmas Eve dinner with us?”
“I would be delighted.”
“We’ll have dinner at—” She noticed that the mechanic, Randy Winters, who had been taking care of her great-uncle’s cars and truck had parked the Ferrari in front of the shop. She’d meant for him to drive it around to the house and hide it in the garage. She hoped she could reach Randy in time and tell him to move it to the garage before Josh saw it. Then Maverick pulled into the parking space next to it. Smiling, he looked thrilled to be driving the vintage Corvette.
The door jingled open, and Brooke saw the woman from the auction, her hair long and black, her spiky heels clicking on the wooden floor, her gaze shifting from Brooke to the boxes from the Gulliver estate. It was Daisy Gulliver.
“She’s here,” Brooke whispered to Mr. Lee on the phone.
“Where’s Josh?”
“Across the street getting our sandwiches.”
“Do you have a gun you can easily get to without arousing suspicion?”
The shelf! “Yes.” She loved her great-aunt for being prepared. Brooke knew how to shoot a gun at cans. People were a different story.
“If you can safely get to it, do so. We’re headed back to your place. Don’t hang up! Adam’s calling Josh to tell him the trouble you’re in. He’s closest to your location for now.”
Daisy pulled out a gun and pointed it at Brooke. “Hand over the thumb drive.”
“I have the FBI on the line, and they’ve just notified the police detective across the street you’re here. The thumb drive wasn’t in any of the boxes.”
Keeping her eye on the woman, Brooke set her phone on the counter and pulled the security card out of the drawer and stuck it in the porcelain bowl on top. Then she slid the bowl across the top, and the shelf opened. Before she could grab the gun, Daisy glanced back out the glass door and cursed. She raced out the door. She couldn’t get away!
Brooke ran after her, gun in hand, not sure what she was going to do about it. She couldn’t shoot the woman in the back. Then Daisy grabbed the keys from a startled-looking Randy, jumped into the Ferrari, and nearly ran over Josh, who was running across the street to stop her.
As soon as Daisy peeled out of there, Josh jumped into the passenger’s side of the Corvette, and Maverick and he sped off after Daisy.
Police sirens were wailing in the distance. Brooke stood on the sidewalk, gun in hand, watching as Josh and Maverick chased after Josh’s Christmas present. She prayed no one would be injured or killed and the vintage cars wouldn’t be damaged. And that Daisy would be arrested and jailed this time!
* * *
“Hell,” Josh said, his heart racing, Maverick’s too, as they turned down another street, trying to keep up with his Ferrari. “If she destroys my