Hidden Riches

displays of bickering. It was no secret that they detested each other, but neither would divorce the other due to the convoluted financial connection between Bester and Skimmerhorn.”
    “Heartwarming,” Dora murmured.
    “Oh, indeed. Jed made a name for himself on the police force. He gained a reputation for being part bloodhound, part terrier. Sniffing out clues and getting his teeth into a case.” Quentin smiled, enjoying his own analogy. “A bit over a year ago he was made captain, a position many feel would have been a stepping-stone leading to chief of police. Then there was Donny Speck.”
    “Will told me. Speck killed Jed’s sister.”
    “That’s the general assumption. As to why Jed left his position, I can only speculate. I would suggest that you ask him yourself.”
    “He wouldn’t tell me.”
    “Is your interest personal or professional?”
    She thought it through, then accepted the mint her father thumbed out of the roll. “I haven’t decided. Thanks for the details.” She kissed his cheek. “Which I shouldn’t have had to ask for in the first place.”
    “You’re quite welcome.”
    “Jed’s back in the storeroom. You can go bother him while he puts in the new lock.”
    “It would be a pleasure.” He picked up his coat, draped it over his arm.
    “You can leave that here.”
    “Here . . . ah, no, no.” Avoiding Dora’s eye, he stroked the coat lovingly. “I’ll just take it along. I might get chilly.”
    Might need the flask in the inside pocket, Dora corrected, and returned to work.
     
    Back in the storeroom, Jed was putting Brent’s drill to use again. He had a nice thick dead bolt nearly installed when Quentin toddled in.
    “And happy Boxing Day to you. It seems you’re our man of the hour. May I extend my deepest and most sincere gratitude.”
    “Mr. Conroy.”
    “Quentin, please. After all, according to Will you’veprotected my little girl at the risk of your own life and limb.” Quentin settled into a ladder-back chair. “Tell me, do we have any clues?”
    “Call headquarters and ask Lieutenant Brent Chapman. He’s in charge.”
    “But, my dear boy, you were on the scene, weapon drawn. Where are the bullet holes? Will told me shots were exchanged.”
    “In the plaster, by the stairway.” Amused, Jed watched Quentin stride over to peer at the wall. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the man had pulled a magnifying glass and a deerstalker out of his pocket.
    “Curious, isn’t it? You know, I once played Poirot in a little theater production of Orient Express. ”
    “And Will played a drug dealer with Stallone. Quite a family.”
    “One must play the villain as well as the hero to fully develop one’s art. We have theater in our blood, you know. Although Izzy’s seems to lean more toward props.” He came back and settled himself again. He stretched back, crossed his legs at the ankles and folded his hands on his trim belly. “Do you have the time?”
    Jed twisted his wrist to read his watch. “Couple minutes shy of noon.”
    “That’s fine then.” Satisfied, Quentin reached in his coat for his flask.
    “Don’t bring that near me.”
    Quentin smiled genially. “I’m afraid I’d filled it with what we might call my high-test the other day. We have a much lower octane today.”
    “I’ll pass just the same.”
    “Well, here’s to all the girls I’ve loved.” Quentin took a slow drink, sighed, then tucked the flask away again. Dora might pop in at any time. “I had another reason for dropping by this morning. I’d like to renew the invitation to our annual New Year’s Eve party, at the theater. My wife would like to thank you personally for looking out for our Izzy.”
    “I’m not big on parties.”
    “I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d at least drop in. After this incident, I’m concerned about Izzy driving there alone.” Having planted the seed, Quentin snuck one more nip before making his exit.
     
    With business slowed to a crawl, Dora left Terri in charge and spent most of the afternoon reorganizing her files. It was nearly dusk when Jed came downstairs and, without a word to her, began measuring the wall where she’d told him to put the shelves.
    Dora ignored him, too, for nearly five minutes. “This security system you’ve dumped on me is complicated enough for Fort Knox.”
    Jed scribbled down figures on a pad. “All you do is cue in a six-digit code.”
    “And if I forget the code, bells and buzzers go