She sighed. “Her father was a con man. Things were stolen in town back in the day. Indi’s parents’ hardware store was burgled.”
Ford frowned. Indi wasn’t here to confirm what Mrs. L said, but none of us doubted her.
“One day, it all stopped. It was pretty clear to everyone in town that it wasn’t any coincidence it matched with when the Hagers moved away.”
Kennedy nudged my arm and glared at my plate. I speared a carrot and tried to eat, but I just couldn’t.
“If Colin Hager was a thief, then it makes sense he taught Megan,” Mrs. L said. “They were close.”
“He did.” I attempted another bite. I was furious, but I knew I needed to have some manners. “Megan told me they did jobs together in Seattle after they left here when she was a kid. Until the last one where she was caught, and he left her to do the time.”
Mrs. L’s eyes widened. “This is news to me.”
Ford grunted. Clearly, this didn’t happen very often.
“She went to juvie for a year,” I added. “Then went on to the academy. Supposedly went straight.”
“Supposedly? Are you saying that she’s been a cat burglar on the side for the past… ten years? That she leads a double life? Megan?" Mrs. L’s voice dripped with doubt. “I can’t believe that. With her looks, she’d stand out. She’s far from forgettable.”
I had to agree with Mrs. L. I would never forget Megan. Not in a million years.
Still… “I’m going to try to forget her,” I grumbled. The food settled like ash in my stomach. “I’m not sure if I can ever forgive her for this.”
Mrs. L pushed her pot roast around on her plate. No one spoke, everyone else shoveling the dinner into their mouths. I sat and felt like shit.
“She doesn’t seem like someone who’s rolling in extra cash. She drives an old car. Her house is small. I really find it hard to believe,” Mrs. L said again.
Taft shrugged. “I guess you never know about a person.”
Mrs. L fixed him with a look. “Is that really true, though? I think I’m a pretty good judge of character. I’m not usually wrong about people. Megan’s dad was a bad apple, but Megan?” She shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
I stared at my plate as something in my brain tried to come through. Something had been nagging at me since I’d watched that security feed.
“Fuck!” I threw my napkin down and stood up from the table so fast I caused it to lift and thud.
“Hey! Watch it,” Ford growled.
“She knew we watched her feed,” I said to Kennedy. “She knew it because I told her we’d seen Burns on it before.” My heart thudded with the realization.
Kennedy stared at me blankly.
“She looked at the camera while she was talking on the phone.”
“I don’t follow.”
“This is a person who orchestrated a high-tech heist. She would know when she was being watched by security cameras, especially if they were her own. She wanted me to hear that. She was making sure I wouldn’t follow.”
“That makes no sense,” Quincy said. “She knows you’ll eventually watch the security footage, so she intentionally lies? Why even do it?”
I grabbed my plate and went to the sink to scrape off the uneaten food. “She wants me to think she’s bad, so I’ll stay out of it.”
“Why?” Quincy tossed up her hands.
“She might think she’s protecting me. When she stole the dagger, I asked her why she did it alone.” I put my dish in the dishwasher and leaned against the edge. “She said she was protecting me because I’m too honorable to break the law.”
“Oh.” Mrs. L set her hand on her chest. “Now that sounds more like the Megan I know.”
“So, you think she’s making sure you hate her enough to stay away,” Quincy said.
“Yes.” I pointed at Kennedy. “I bet if you look at her call logs, there wasn’t one at that time.”
“She was faking,” Kennedy said thoughtfully. “Yeah, could be.”
“I need to find out. One way or another, I need to know the truth.” I looked to Quincy. “I need a lift.”
Our helicopter pilot stood from the table. “Where to, sailor?”
“Kennedy, can you get me a location?”
“Already on it.” My brother-in-arms was up and moving toward the sewing room.
“Hayes, are you sure you’re not grasping at straws here?” Ford asked, doubt creasing his face.
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I might be,” I admitted. I’d been stupid when it came to Megan. I pointed in the direction of Mrs. L. “But you heard what your gram said. She believes Megan’s a good person.”
“Well, go find out,” Ford said mildly.
“I’ve got a location,” Kennedy hollered from command central. “She’s in Spokane.”
“Meet you at the helipad,” Quincy said, already leaving through the front door.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
MEGAN
I tossed and turned, finding it impossible to get any sleep. I thought of my father’s twisted plan. I thought of how it had worked. I’d fallen for it like the biggest dupe.