Heartbreaker

"From his father’s cabinet," she answered. "The sheriff prides himself on his gun collection, and Lo

"Yes," she answered. "Who are you calling?"

"Farley," he answered. "He can find out if Lo

"Who else could it have been?" Nick didn’t answer her.

Agent Farley was just about to step onto a plane in Des Moines when his phone rang. When he heard Nick’s voice, he moved away from the crowd filing on board.

"You just caught me," he said. "Another minute and I would have turned my phone off."

"Did you pick up Lo

"No," he answered. "He’s gone to ground, and I’ve been reassigned. Wesson’s letting the Nugent sheriff and his deputies go after Lo

"Is Feinberg still around, or did Wesson send him packing?"

"I’m not sure," Farley answered. "They both went to Nugent with Bre

"No, I don’t," he said. "But I don’t have anything to prove it yet."

"This could be an easy case, and you’ve just never had one of those before."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Are you going to stay in Holy Oaks?"

"Yes."

"Sorry I had to bail on you, but I didn’t have a choice. As soon as Wesson E-mailed headquarters and let them know I was ready for reassignment, they pounced."

"Where are you headed?"

"Detroit. There’s a situation brewing there, and it’s a messy one. Be thankful you’re on vacation."

"You be careful," Nick said. "And Joe, thanks for helping."

"A lot of damn good I did. I’ll tell you this. I’ve worked with Wesson a couple of times in the past, and he was always a pain in the ass, but he was never this difficult. I think it’s you," he added. "You bring out the worst in him. He’s gone too far this time though. I’m never going to work with that egomaniac again, even if means handing in my badge. By the book, my ass. Wesson doesn’t know what teamwork is, and that’s what’s going in my report," Joe paused a second. "Nick you know what’s worrying me?"

"Getting on that plane?"

"No, that’s your hang-up, not mine. It’s that gut feeling of yours."

"What about it?"

"If you’re right, and Bre

Chapter 32

Laurant found a couple of gowns that would work for the wedding, and after they dropped off the clothes at the cleaners, they drove to the abbey. Noah was in the kitchen eating cold fried chicken with all the trimmings. Nick pulled out a chair for Laurant as he grabbed a chicken leg.

"You should eat something, honey."

Noah’s right eyebrow shot up, and his gaze bounced between Laurant’s flushed face and Nick’s pained expression. Then he burst into laughter. "It took you long enough."

"Don’t start," Nick warned.

"Don’t start what?" Noah asked i

"Nick calls everyone honey," Laurant blurted, feeling like a fool.

"Sure he does," Noah agreed. "He’s been calling Tommy and me honey every chance he gets."

"Let it alone," Nick insisted. "Where is Tommy?"

"He’s in one of the conference rooms with that editor woman."

"What does she want?" Laurant asked.

Noah shrugged. "Beats me."

Nick heard a door close behind him and crossed the kitchen to look out the window. He saw Lorna hurry down the stairs.

"Where did this feast come from?" Laurant asked Noah.

"Noah’s fan club," Tommy answered from the doorway.

Noah gri

"He’s been doing a little counseling." Tommy shook his head in exasperation.

"Hey, I’m good at it."

Laurant was having trouble looking at her brother. It was Nick’s fault, she knew, because he had planted the ridiculous notion that Tommy would know what happened last night if he looked in her eyes.

"Laurant, I want a word in private with you," Tommy said.

Nick gave her an I-told-you-he’d-know look and turned around. "Tommy, you and I have to talk."

"No," Laurant all but shouted as she pushed the chair back and stood. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Lorna was just here."

"What did she want?" Laurant asked. "She has enough news to keep her busy for the next month, what with the fire and Steve Bre

"She is writing another article about you, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the fire or Bre

Laurant was stu

"Millions of dollars… our grandfather’s hard-earned money gone? When I signed my trust over to them to put with yours I thought…"

Her brother’s expression made her want to cry. He looked devastated. And horribly disappointed in her. He made her feel as though she had squandered the money.

"It wasn’t your sister’s fault," Nick said quietly.

"I know that."

"You’re not acting like you do."

Tommy’s shoulders slumped. "When exactly did you find out the money was gone?" His face was red with the anger he was trying to contain.

"On my twenty-first birthday."

"You should have told your family then. Maybe something could have been done."

Noah knew it wasn’t his place to interfere, but he couldn’t stop himself. He looked Tommy in the eye and said, "What family? From what I’ve gathered, Laurant didn’t have one of those when she was growing up. Who exactly was she supposed to tell?"

"I’m her family," Tommy railed.

"Try to see it her way," Noah insisted. "When you were growing up, you had Nick’s family to help you, and when you joined the priesthood, the church became your new family."

"My sister will always be part of my family."

"She was in Europe, and you were here. You can’t change the way things were. The guilt is making you angry because she was left out in the cold."

Tommy looked tormented. Laurant slowly shook her head and went to him. "That isn’t true. I wasn’t out in the cold. I always knew you were there for me. I knew you were fighting to get me to the United States. Tommy, I always knew you loved me. Please don’t be angry."

He put his arms around her and hugged her. "It just came as a shock, that’s all. Don’t keep things from me, Laurant. Big brothers are supposed to look out for their little sisters, no matter how old they are. Look, let’s make a pact, okay? From now on, we don’t hide anything from each other. If I have to have chemo, I tell you, and if you have a problem, you tell me."

"I don’t expect you to solve my problems for me."

"No, I know you don’t, but you should be able to talk to me about them."