“Things were a little tight here,” he said. “I had every intention of giving Charlie his money before Christmas, but not now. Not after he lost Rudolph.”

“It looks like the deer was stolen or set free,” Trevor said.

“Right out of Charlie’s barn,” Tony said. “He’s responsible for keeping the livestock safe, and he didn’t.”

Trevor nodded. “You’re right.”

“What’s the plan for the festival?” I asked. “Are you going tell the kids that Rudolph is on vacation?”

“I don’t know what to do,” Tony muttered. “I’m actually talking with the organizers later today to see if the reindeer are even going to be involved.”

“If they decide to go without the reindeer, are you going to be paid?” I asked, honestly curious.

“I hope so,” Tony replied. “I should get something.”

We chatted a few more minutes, then Trevor said, “Who’s doing the roof on your barn?”

“Oh.” Tony seemed to be caught off guard by the question. “A… A guy from Sedona. I forget his name, though—something Porter.”

“When’s the work going to be completed?” Trevor asked.

“Not sure. The snow’s making it difficult to finish. Why? Do you need a roofer?”

“My sister’s actually looking for one,” Trevor said. “I like to be able to give recommendations from people I’ve met instead of having her pick some guy off the internet.”

I wasn’t sure what Trevor was up to. Last we’d talked about it, he didn’t speak to his sister, but I smiled and played along anyway.

“I can fetch his card for you if you want,” Tony said. “I’ve got it on the kitchen counter.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll be able to find him. Thanks so much for your time,” Trevor said. “Really appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Tony stood. “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”

I grinned while I followed Trevor to the door. As far as I was concerned, Tony had nothing to do with Rudolph disappearing, but maybe he’d hit Charlie over the head for losing the deer. “When did you find out that Rudolph was missing?” I asked.

“The day it happened,” Tony said. “I got a voicemail about it.”

“Thanks again,” Trevor said, shaking Tony’s hand. “Appreciate your time and the recommendation.”

We returned to the truck and slipped inside. He started the engine.

“I thought you didn’t speak to your sister,” I said.

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you asking about the roofer for her?”

He jammed the gearshift into drive, and we were off. He pointed to the right. An old barn stood in the middle of the snowy field. It definitely needed a new roof. “That right there is Tony’s barn,” Trevor replied. “There hasn’t been a lick of work done on that thing.”

I stared at the building for a long moment, then said, “But he needed to keep his deer at Charlie’s house because the barn was being worked on.”

“Exactly.”

“And it’s not.”

“You’re correct,” Trevor said. “So why is he lying about it?”

Chapter 10

Why would Brewer say he was having work done on his barn when it was apparent he wasn’t? And why would he pay to house his deer at Charlie’s when the roof wasn’t being repaired?

Something wasn’t adding up.

“I’d like to have another chat with Doug Miller,” Trevor said.

Yes, Doug had acted like a jerk toward Clara when he’d lost the bid, but he really didn’t have a motive to hurt Charlie or let Rudolph loose, except revenge. The idea he’d go through all the trouble over losing a contract seemed a bit far-fetched to me, but desire for payback could be a powerful motivator.

We drove the rest of the way in silence. When Trevor pulled up in front of my house, he turned to me. “What are you thinking?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s like there’s a bunch of puzzle pieces floating around in my brain and I can’t make them all fit to save my life.”

“That’s police work for you,” he muttered. “It’s frustrating.”

“It is,” I said. I glanced at my phone and realized that tomorrow would be Christmas Eve, as well as the Christmas Festival. “Are you still coming over tomorrow night?”

“Am I still invited?”

“Of course,” I said. “If you can put up with my brother, that is.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I can tolerate Vic for a bit. It beats getting drunk by myself.”

“That’s really pathetic, Trevor. Come over at five for dinner, then we’ll all head over to the Christmas Festival. It should be interesting to see if the reindeer are there.”

Again, how I was going to manage Christmas Eve dinner with a kitchen full of puppies, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps I could lay out some pee pads in the living room and corral them out there for a bit while I cooked.

“Sounds good,” he replied. “Maybe we’ll actually get to the bottom of who took Rudolph and hit Charlie while we’re there.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?”

I exited the car and headed toward the house. Daisy greeted me at the door, her tail wagging. “Gina! Gina! I missed you sooo much!”

“I missed you too,” I whispered as I stroked her head.

“Hey, Mom.” I glanced up to find Jacob coming down the hall.

“Hi, honey. What’s on your agenda today?”