Free The Stranger's Sin by Darlene Gardner Page A

an overhead window and struck the fake jewels, making them glint.
    “This necklace was one of her favorites,” Jill continued. “I think it’s a Heffinger.”
    Kelly frowned. “A what?”
    Jill laughed. “It’s a who. Helene Heffinger. She’s a very talented jewelry designer. She usually signs her pieces.” She turned over the broken clasp and read the signature. “I was right. It is a Heffinger.”
    “This Heffinger, does she have a shop somewhere?” Chase asked, already thinking about sales receipts and records.
    “Nope. Doesn’t have the temperament for it. You can’t find her on the Internet, either. She’s old-school, kind of a tough old broad.”
    “Then how do her customers find her?” The question came from Kelly, whose forearms rested on the bar as she leaned forward.
    “She’s a regular on the craft-show circuit. Come to think of it, there’s a show down in Allentown this weekend. She lives somewhere in the Lehigh Valley so I’m betting she’ll be there.”
    “Hey, barkeep!” Chin Strap yelled, his words slurring. “Can we get a beer for the lady?”
    “Be right there,” Jill called, then handed the necklace back to Kelly.
    Silence stretched a few beats after the bartender left until Chase broke it. “You’re thinking of going to that craft show.”
    “I am going. Helene Heffinger might keep a mailing list of her customers. She might have a phone number or an old address for Mandy.” Kelly voiced the possibilities that had run through Chase’s head. “You’re going, too, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah,” he said, “but my going makes sense. I’ve got Mandy’s baby. You’ve got her necklace. A necklace I said I’d return for you.”
    She moistened her lips. “How can you return it when you don’t know where Mandy is, either?”
    The verbal dancing had gone on long enough. He pinned her with his gaze. “Why is it so important for you to find her?”
    “I already told you,” she said. “To give her back the necklace.”
    She looked him straight in the eyes, the way somebody who was telling the truth would, but he wasn’t falling for her act anymore. Too much didn’t make sense, including the sketch she’d drawn of Mandy. Who went to that much trouble to return a relatively inexpensive piece of jewelry to a stranger?
    “You’re lying,” he said.
    She flinched, alerting him that his barb had hit the mark. She pressed her lips together and dropped her gaze. He waited for the inevitable denial, but she surprised him.
    “You’re right,” she said. “I am lying.”
     
    K ELLY WAS GOING TO tell Chase about everything. The kidnapped baby. Agreeing to babysit for Mandy. The arrest. Skipping out on bail. Everything.
    It wasn’t surprising that he’d accused her of being untruthful. In fact, she’d been waiting for the charge. After enduring round after round of interrogation with the Wenona cops, she recognized when somebody didn’t believe her.
    She’d gotten a reprieve last night when his father had stumbled into the room clutching his chest, but now was her time of reckoning. She had no choice but to trust him.
    “The reason I’m looking for Mandy has nothing to do with that necklace,” she said.
    A clattering at the opposite end of the bar interrupted her. The man with the scraggly beard, the one accused of moving in on his friend’s girl, lay sprawled on the floor beside an overturned bar stool.
    The man with the goatee stood over him, shouting, “I told you not to touch her!”
    “It was just a little kiss! It didn’t mean anything.” The petite woman pushed at her boyfriend’s chest, but he didn’t budge.
    “You shouldn’t have got me mad.” The man on the floor rose unsteadily to his feet, lending credence to his statement. He was about five inches taller and forty pounds heavier than his friend. He raised his fists, boxer-style.
    “Somebody should call the police,” Kelly said.
    “No need. I got it.” Chase left his bar stool and strode toward the