Dougie
Dougie stared at Sylvia and Frederick through the double way mirror. They’d been apprehended just a few minutes after the radio call came through, and Officer Shelby was now leading the interrogation.
“You’re both going away for a long time, but maybe I can cut a deal with the DA if you tell me your side of the story.”
The two exchanged glances and then Sylvia, probably realizing there was little left she could do to save herself, began speaking. “It was all his idea. When Frederick realized I worked in the same town with Holly, he convinced me that he could con her because he knew her from cooking school, but he failed.”
“That’s not true,” Frederick said. “This was her idea. When I mentioned that I knew Holly, she came up with the idea, and when the initial idea failed, she came up with the idea to burn her restaurant down and convince Holly to let her handle the insurance claim.”
“What? Burning down the restaurant was your idea. I just tried to salvage the money.”
Dougie turned down the volume and turned to Holly. “It’s over. They’ll both be serving quite a bit of time.”
“What I don’t understand is, why would Sylvia do this? Isn’t she a real attorney?”
“She is, but evidently not a very good one. Our background check revealed that she graduated last in her class and couldn’t get hired at any firms which is how she ended up here. She was used to a lavish lifestyle that she couldn’t afford on her meager case load and racked up quite a few bills. We’re still working on Frederick’s background, but it appears he may have done this a few times before.”
“So, it was sort of by chance that they found me?”
“Unfortunately. The good news is that we were able to secure the funds from the account. Your insurance money is being transferred to your bank account as we speak.”
Holly sighed and leaned against Dougie’s chest. “Thank you. You really have been my saving grace.”
He wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her against him. “I’m just happy it’s all going to work out for you. Are you going to rebuild your restaurant?”
“I don’t know. I mean I’ve always wanted to run a restaurant, but it’s been nice not having to work such long hours.”
“Maybe you should just take some time off and see what you might want to do. You could spend some time getting to know your sister, hang out with the girls, take a much needed vacation.” Though he kind of hoped she didn’t do the latter.
“Yeah, maybe. I definitely like the first two options, but I was thinking maybe instead of a vacation, I could just spend more time with you.”
He smiled down at her. “I definitely like that idea,” he said softly before his lips met hers. Dougie had kissed a few women in his lifetime, enough to know a good kiss when he received one, but he had never felt anything like kissing Holly before. Maybe it was the tantalizing buildup of waiting years to do it or maybe it was the feeling that shot through him when her hand touched his cheek. Whatever it was, the only thing he knew was that he liked it and he couldn’t imagine kissing anyone else for the rest of his life. He was going to ask her to marry him; he just wasn’t sure when.