First Charlie. He’d seemed innocent at first—in fact, I’d have described him as the victim, but that claims notice from the insurance company seemed to arrive at an opportune time. Would the missing reindeer qualify as an insurance claim? Of course, I could be reading too much into it and maybe he’d had a water leak in his house or had been in a car accident he hadn’t mentioned to me.

The red paint markings on the fence also struck me as odd. Charlie didn’t have a red vehicle, so they had to belong to someone else. I envisioned the perpetrator making a run from Charlie’s property after hitting him over the head or letting Rudolph loose, spinning out on the snow and hitting the fence. But who had a red vehicle? I hadn’t noticed one at Doug’s house, and I’d done a quick search at Tony’s and hadn’t seen one.

Why had Tony lied about his barn roof being replaced? And why had he wanted to board the reindeer at Charlie’s place?

Doug had been angry he hadn’t received the contract to provide the reindeer and had accused City Hall of corruption. Once he found out where Doug was storing his reindeer, he could’ve concocted a plan to make Rudolph disappear so he could step in and claim the contract for himself.

I stared at the paper for such a long time, the words seemed to be mashing together. Suddenly, I had a clear view of who had stolen Rudolph and why.

It was the only thing that made sense.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Trevor. After explaining my theory, he sat quietly for a long time. Finally, he said, “I think you’re on to something, Gina. I’ll swing by and pick you up.”

Chapter 11

We drove out of town under the cover of darkness except for the large moon hanging in the sky giving us just enough light so I could watch the countryside and see everything there. My heart thundered as I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

“I don’t know how this is going to play out,” Trevor muttered. “We’ve already asked a bunch of questions and got nowhere with him.”

“You’re right,” I replied. “That’s why you need to stop right up here.”

“Why?” he asked. “What are we doing?”

“Stop!”

He pulled over and turned to me. “What in the heck is going on?”

“You’re a cop,” I said. “I’m not. I’m going to sneak into Tony’s barn and see if my theory is right.”

“You can’t do that,” he hissed. “That’s breaking the law!”

“Only if I’m caught,” I said, pushing open the door.

“Gina, if you go in there and actually find something, it will be inadmissible because you are breaking the law.”

“If I go in there and find something, you can get a warrant,” I said. “If I’m not back in twenty minutes, then come get me.”

“And how do I explain why I’m out here?” he said. “If you get caught, you aren’t the only one who’s going to be in trouble.”

“We’ll be fine,” I said, stepping out into the bitter, cold night. “Relax, Trevor. I’ve got this. I’m not getting caught.”

I slammed the door shut and hurried across the road to the pasture. After wiggling through the barbed wire fence, I made my way through the snow to the barn, my boots crunching with each step. Perhaps the wine had given me a little courage, or maybe it was because I’d performed such illegal acts in my wild and carefree youth. I was getting into that barn and I hoped I found what I was looking for. After considering coming by myself, I’d brought Trevor along as backup. I had no intention of getting caught, but just in case I did, I liked the idea of having him with me. However, I wouldn’t allow him to do anything illegal or get in trouble for my bad choices. I’d take the blame for everything, which was the only right thing to do.

My working hypothesis was that yes, Tony did need his roof barn replaced. As I got closer, I saw it was very true, but there wasn’t a fresh shingle to be found. He’d also noted that money had been tight. He’d won the contract with City Hall to provide the reindeer for the Christmas Festival, but he could get more from an insurance company. Heck, for all I knew, he was going to attempt to double-dip and place a claim with his own insurance company and Charlie’s.

The barn stood far enough away from the house that there was no way Tony would see me coming, so I felt fairly confident that I would get in and out without any problem.

When I arrived at the door, I hadn’t expected it to be padlocked. Why lock a door to a barn that stood empty?

Or was it not supposed to be empty?

I hadn’t anticipated that I’d need bolt cutters.

With a curse, I walked to the other side in the hopes of finding another way in. Glancing up, I saw the windows were shut and I probably couldn’t reach them anyway. Not without a ladder or some other form of assistance. I trounced around the barn one more time and was about to give up when a hand landed on my shoulder.

Stifling a scream, I turned. Growing up with an older brother, I’d learned to defend myself. I brought up my palm and almost lodged it in my attacker’s nose.

Trevor.

“You just about scared me to death!” I hissed. Bending over, I placed my hands on my knees and took a couple of deep breaths. “You’re lucky I didn’t break your nose!”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

I stood upright and placed my hands on my hips. “What are you doing here?”

“The sooner we get out of here, the better,” he whispered while his gaze darted toward the house in the distance. “So, I’m here to help.”

“The door is padlocked, and I can’t see in the windows. They’re too tall.”

“That’s where I come in,” he said. Bending over, he laced his hands together. “Step in there and I’ll lift you up.”

I placed my boot on his hands and he hoisted me up.

“See anything?” he asked.

“No.” I stepped back into the snow. “It’s too high.”

Muttering a curse under his breath, he stared up at the window again. “Okay, you’re going on my shoulders then.”

That idea just seemed so… personal, and it didn’t sit right. “I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said. “I mean, we can bust that lock and⁠—”

“Gina, I’m a cop. I can’t bust a lock. Get on my shoulders and let’s get out of here.”

I tried to think of another excuse, but Trevor bent down before me. I swung one leg over and then the other.

With a grunt, he rose to his full height while gripping my shins. Meanwhile, I placed one hand on top of his head to help with my balance, and for a second, I was distracted by how soft his blond curls felt beneath my fingertips.

“What do you see?” he asked.

Right. The barn.

I glanced at the window. “Move closer. I can’t see in.”

He took a few steps toward the side of the building, and I realized that the windowpanes were covered in dirt. After wiping them with the sleeve of my coat, they only became slightly clearer. Most of the dirt was caked on the inside.

“What’s in there, Gina?” Trevor asked.