Gift of Gold

won’t ever get any answers out of him.”
    Verity closed her eyes and sucked in a deep, steadying breath. “I’ll be right back.” She whirled and started to run back the way she had come.
    “Verity?”
    She paused, turning back. “What is it, Jonas?”
    “Right now, all we know is that this joker tried to break in to the cabin. Probably thought it was an empty tourist cottage. When he found it occupied, he panicked and used his gun. Don’t volunteer any more information than that to whoever takes the call.”
    “What other information is there?” she demanded with asperity.
    Emerson chuckled. “That’s the ticket, Red. Just play innocent. You’re good at that.”
    “For God’s sake, what are you two talking about? What’s going on here?”
    “We’ll discuss it later,” Jonas promised.
    Verity longed to dig in her heels until she had some answers but somehow she didn’t think the tactic would work. For the moment Jonas was in charge and Emerson was backing him. A stranger was slowly bleeding to death on the floor. That left her without a lot of options. The situation confirmed her long-held opinion that it was never a good idea to put men in charge of anything.
     
    It seemed a very long while before things settled back to a state resembling normal. By the time the sheriff’s men had left and the unconscious man had been taken away on a stretcher, Verity had finally figured out what Jonas and Emerson had concluded earlier.
    Scowling, she paced the small cabin, her arms folded under her breasts. Jonas and Emerson lounged at the table. There was a glass of straight vodka in front of each of them. Both tracked Verity’s restless progress with hooded expressions. They looked as if they half-expected her to go up in flames in front of them at any moment.
    “Let me get this straight,” Verity said coldly. “You think the man who broke in here tonight was sent by that loan shark you’re dealing with, Dad?”
    “There’s a distinct possibility Yarington sent him,” Emerson said blandly.
    Jonas thoughtfully tapped one finger on the scarred wooden table. “Except for one thing: sharks don’t normally kill the client who’s just a little late in paying. What’s the point? You can’t collect from a dead man.”
    Emerson shrugged. “He probably wasn’t sent to kill me. He probably had orders to impress me with a display of mayhem.”
    “Why the gun?” Verity snapped.
    “A man who makes his living as a collection agent for a loan shark doesn’t run around unarmed,” Jonas pointed out dryly. “The gun was probably for effect. But when he realized there were two people in the cabin he panicked. He didn’t know what he was up against, so he decided to shoot first and ask questions later.”
    Verity shook her head despairingly. “Why didn’t you say something about this to the deputies? Why let them think the man was just some unknown thief? What will happen when the guy wakes up and starts talking?”
    Jonas rubbed the back of his neck with a weary gesture. “Probably not much. Why should he say anything? His boss has undoubtedly issued standing orders to his collection agents about what to do if they get picked up, and those orders probably cover such issues as keeping their mouths shut until a lawyer arrives to take over.”
    Verity glared at her father. “And I suppose you don’t want to say anything because it will open up a can of worms. You’ll have to explain about the gambling debt, the man who gave you the pistols, the deal that was made for the pistols, which, it just occurs to me, did not include California State sales tax, and heaven knows what else.”
    Emerson sighed. “Like you said, Red, a can of worms. I can handle it if it’s necessary, but I’d just as soon not go into all the fine nuances of the thing if it can be avoided.”
    Verity came to a halt and confronted both men with her hands planted on her hips. “This is an inexcusable debacle. You both realize that, don’t you? It’s crazy and it’s stupid and it’s dangerous. Not to mention shady to the point of being illegal. And none of it would have happened, Dad, if you’d had the common sense to avoid a piece of lowlife like that damn loan shark Yarington.”
    “I know, Red.” Emerson gave her a woeful-eyed spaniel look that didn’t fool Verity for a minute.
    She swung her attention to Jonas. “As for you, do you have any idea what could have happened here tonight? You and my father might both have