Page 57 of Sleigh My Heart

“It was, but I needed to go through the Staniski case again.”

Jim slipped into her spare chair and crossed his leg over his knee. “Any luck finding Garmen, yet?”

“No. That’s one of the missing pieces. And I’m wondering if my new garage decor has anything to do with the case.”

“I heard about that. Did you have any old subs released from jail this week?”

“A couple, but they don’t seem the type.”

“Well, I have a new lead I was going to check out tomorrow. If you want it—” Jim rubbed his jaw.

“Spill.”

“I found out old man Silver had a meeting with Towers a week before the sleigh disappeared.”

“And? I know Towers put in an offer to buy the mall.”

“Yeah, but did you know that Staniski got a parking ticket in front of the HighTowers offices the next day?”

Michelle sat up taller. “Really? Have you checked to see if he was in the building that day?”

“Cameras from the traffic light on the corner showed him entering at 10:24 a.m. and exiting twenty minutes later.”

She might have to have another chat with Elaine. The administrative assistant knows all. “I will check it out. Did you learn anything else about Garmen?”

“He’s either in the wind or six-feet under.” Jim pushed off the chair. “Oh, did Mom call you today?”

“No, why?”

“She mentioned having you bring Nick Jolley and his daughter to dinner on Sunday.”

Shit.

“Hey, if working with him is messing with you, I can…”

“No. We, uh, worked it out. The past is in the past.”

Jim’s eyes scrunched. He was scrutinizing her.

Crap. She schooled her expression.

“It’s not the past but the future I’m worried about.” He gave her his lie-detector stare.

Well, she had one of those as well and was immune. “I can handle myself.”

“Sure, that’s why he’s insinuated himself into my case.”

“It’s my case, too. And he’s got a lot riding on this. If we could just give him the sleigh, he wouldn’t be involved.”

“You know that’s not the way procedure works.”

She knew. Her phone buzzed, and her mom’s smiling face filled the screen. Michelle’s stomach flipped.

Jim laughed. “Say hi to Mom for me.”

She flipped him the bird as he sauntered out of her cubicle. She sucked in a breath and hit the button. “Hi, Mom.”

Chapter 15