Savannah frowned at him as Mac asked, “Where did you go?”
“I went walking around for a while.”
Now Savannah sensed he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Dammit, TJ. You’re going to make things worse for yourself.
“When? For how long? Who might have seen you?”
“I left about five. Was gone a couple hours.” He gave Savannah a sidelong look and said, “I got all the orders done that needed to go out tomorrow. I’ll work extra to make up for the time off.” To Mac, he said, “I don’t know if anyone saw me or not.”
“I’m sure someone noticed you. Town was quiet today, with all the businesses closed for LaNelle’s service. I’ll bet someone saw you if you were walking up and down the streets.”
“I wasn’t outside the whole time. I, uh, went into the church. I didn’t talk to anyone.”
“You went to LaNelle’s memorial service?” Mac clarified.
“No. I went into Sacred Heart.”
“The Catholic church?” Savannah said. “Why did you go into the Catholic church?”
“It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. They have the whole light-a-candle-and-pray thing going on. I like that. I lit a candle. And I put money in the box for it, too.”
Mac gave him a measured look, then backtracked a bit. “Did you lock up before you left Heavenscents?”
“Yes.”
“What about on Sunday?” Mac asked Savannah. “Did you lock up then?”
“I did.”
“Was the door locked while you were in the workshop, TJ?”
“No. No, it wasn’t. I went in the house to take a … to go to the bathroom, and I didn’t lock the door when I went back out.” He looked at Savannah. “That must have been when it happened.”
“What about your dog? Where was she?”
“Inny was in the backyard.”
“She wouldn’t have barked,” Savannah added. “She doesn’t bark.”
“It’s true.” TJ nodded. “She’s worthless as a watchdog.”
“Okay, then. We can establish opportunity. Now, let’s work on motive. Who would want to frame you for the theft, TJ?”
He didn’t say anything, so Savannah said it for him. “Aiden Marshall.”
That familiar mulish look returned to TJ’s face, and Savannah decided she’d had enough. “You have to tell the story now, TJ. You have no choice. What happened between the two of you up at Jack Davenport’s camp?”
TJ slumped back in his chair and Savannah wanted to scream. But just as she opened her mouth to scold him some more, Mac cut her off at the knees. “Aiden Marshall didn’t put that stop sign in your kitchen, Savannah. His family left on vacation Saturday morning. They’re in Europe.”
She gripped the back of the chair she’d sat in briefly. “Not Aiden? Then who could it be? Who else has a grudge against you, Teej?”
“I dunno. Honestly, I don’t have a clue who might have done this.”
“Okay, then. Well, we’ll just have to hope that Zach can identify whatever fingerprints they found on the sign.”
“That could be a problem, Savannah. They were dusting the sign when I went in to speak with Zach. They weren’t through, but he said it looked like it had been wiped.”
She exhaled a heavy breath. “So. We have no other suspects?”
Mac spoke to TJ. “Son, you need to open up now. Sure would be helpful to have another name or five to give the sheriff.”
“But I don’t have one to give. Honestly. If Aiden Marshall and his brother aren’t around, I am clueless about who would have done this.”
“He’s a scapegoat,” Savannah said. “When bad things happen, the new kid with the funky hair and the nose ring is the guy to blame. Everyone will believe it. Zach will believe it. He’s the sheriff, and he knows TJ vandalized a cabin at Angel’s Rest. He’ll have a genuine juvenile delinquent in hand and he won’t look any further.”
The longer she talked, the more worked up she got and the faster she paced Mac’s office. Mac had to call her name twice before she actually listened to his attempt to calm her. “Honey, Zach isn’t going to railroad TJ. He’s a good cop. He’ll do a thorough investigation and—”
“We’ll be screwed. I’ve been through this before. I know what will happen.” She met TJ’s gaze and said, “Maybe we should run. Just pick up and start over someplace else. I won’t have you going to jail for a crime you didn’t commit.”
“Jeez, Aunt Savannah.”
“Savannah, calm down. That’s not going to happen.”
She whirled on the attorney. “It’s exactly what could happen. I know. It happened to me. I have a news flash for you, Mac. I’m an ex-convict.” She babbled out the details