Dinner came and went, an evening with my brother and sister-in-law came and went, the night came and went, and, somewhere during that time, I made a decision that I didn't even realize I had made until the next morning. I was lying in bed, planning out my day, and realized that my sole plans were to see Rob.

Rob and I didn't really know each other. At all. It would be kind of weird for me to show up on his doorstep - or office - without a reason other than to question him. I didn't even know if he'd be mad at me for what everyone assumed my brother had done. It would only make sense if he was. All I wanted was to ask a couple of nosy questions about the safe. I knew he had certain precautions in place in case something like this happened, but I didn't know exactly what they were.

I wondered why I felt the pressing need to do this. Isn't this something the police normally do? Or a PI that works for whatever lawyer Ben ended up with?

Probably.

But I didn't care. Curiosity was eating me up from the inside out, and I was convinced someone set my brother up. He had to have been. The way things happened - that had to be staged. The news? The police? All seemingly waiting for him right outside? I needed to find out what happened. It made no sense at all.

Once I'd pieced together in my head what I was going to ask Rob and what I wanted to know, I got out of bed and got ready for my day. An hour later, Lilly stopped me as I was about to head out the door.

"Oh, Brenda, hold up," she said, waving a spatula at me. Ben was looking at me.

I stopped in the middle of the kitchen with my board under my arm. "Yeah?"

"Remember we were planning on heading into Denver today. Don't be gone long."

I forgot about our annual trip to sporting goods stores. We always went with our dad to get all the camping supplies we'd need for our last trip of the fall, something Ben must still want to do without our dad. I nodded. "I won't be."

Snow flakes weren't falling yet, but the skies seemed heavy with the promise of them. Soon the flakes would blanket the world and I was looking forward to it. There was little that was more serene than fresh snow. I loved being the first down the slopes, being the first to make a mark in the fresh powder. That rarely happened, of course - only once a year - but often enough I'd been able to learn how to snowboard well, but not ski. I hated skiing, if I was honest. 

It surprised people from other places sometimes. They seemed to think that everyone loves to ski and snowboard, but that's not the case. Lilly could ski on the beginner slopes, and couldn't snowboard at all.

I rolled into town and eventually stopped outside of the firm. It wasn't closed, which surprised me. I thought that the day after you got robbed and your assistant manager was arrested for it that you'd close, at least for a day or two. If for no other reason than respect.

Holding my tongue has never been my best ability, but I knew that, at least for this meeting, I had to try.

I walked right on in, brazen, marched right past people at their desks who turned to look at me. The door to Rob's office was in the back. I felt all the eyes in the place on me. I ignored their stares as I lifted my hand and knocked.

"Come in," came a velvety voice. I opened the door and closed it once I'd stepped inside. He sat back and eyed me. He wasn't quite thirty - not much older than my brother - but he had a few deep wrinkles on his forehead and he looked older than he really was. "Brenda. To what do I owe the pleasure? Surely Ben didn't send you."

I shook my head, leaning on the door and trying to exude confidence I didn't feel. "I'm here to ask a few nosy questions." I shrugged. "That's all."

He chuckled at me, leaning his chair back far enough to prop his feet up on the desk. "Well, I guess I can indulge you. Fire away."

I smirked at him. "Do you have any sort of alarm on your safe?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Of what concern is that to you?" I shrugged again, keeping the small smirk in place. He pursed his lips as he studied me. After a moment he seemed to deem me every bit the scruffy skater kid I knew I looked. "Yes. There's a silent alarm that goes off at the police station. I don't honestly know what happened last night. I'm having someone look into the malfunction. Apparently, nothing went off at the police station and it was a tip from a business across the street that brought the cops."

Across the street? All that was over there was a bistro. There was no way I could find out who called the police - if anyone even did. I'd have to look into it at some point.

"Good," I told him, eyeing the safe. It was in perfect condition. Not even a scratch that I could see. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You probably want to get that fixed before something else happens."

He narrowed his eyes in return. "Is that a threat?"

I shrugged, giving him my smirk again. "Does it matter? I doubt there's anything in there right now."

Rob's feet hit the floor with a thunk. "Out." He pointed at the door behind me. "Please don't come back any time soon." Steel belied his words, making the order impossible to ignore.

"Have a great day, Rob." I turned and left on shaky legs.

---

The short foray into Denver was full of surprises. First, Ben bought new gear for me to use on a future snowboarding trip, and then he announced said trip would be the upcoming weekend.

The biggest surprise by far is that he could afford it. As far as I knew, they were struggling. I was looking for a job because I wanted to be able to buy all of my own stuff - as well as save up to leave this place - instead of Lilly buying it for me. That's also why I'd used my savings to bail Ben out. 

I kept quiet while we were out, waiting until we got home before asking for my money back.

The second biggest surprise wasn't mine - it was Lilly's. She was also surprised we could get everything we did. How could she not know how much money her and her husband had? She should have known.

By the time we both walked through the front door of our house, I think Lilly and I had the same agenda. We had barely sat the bags down before she turned to Ben. "Babe, I thought we were skipping the trip this year," she said. Though there was no menace there, her voice held a weight that warned Ben to choose his words wisely.

He slowly straightened up once he'd sat down the bags he was carrying. "I've been saving up for this," he said carefully.

"For how long? Where did the money come from?"

He glanced at me. I was watching him intently, waiting for his answer. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it on my face. "Since before Dad went away."

She raised an eyebrow. "Where, exactly, did the money come from?"

He shifted. "Little odds and ends." He shook his head. "Why does it even matter? I have the money. Why aren't you happy that we're even going? Do you realize how much else I could've gotten with that money?"

Lilly crossed her arms. "The least you could do is repay your sister. She used her own money to get you out of jail!" I'd never heard her shout before, and apparently neither had Ben. We both looked at each other. But her words were undeniably true.

"Lil, it was something she chose to do with her own money," he said. 

Anger began slowly simmering. "Only because I thought you couldn't afford it," I told him.

He turned to me. His eyes narrowed. "Brenda, you spent it. You're the one that spent it. If you'd have come to me, I would have told you, but you didn't. It was your decision." He looked from me to Lilly. "You're my wife. You should know by now that I do side jobs to help make ends meet. I earned some extra and set it aside. Is that really so hard to believe? Or is it only hard to believe because I was arrested?" He gave her a long look before taking his board out of the hall closet and walking out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

It took only seconds before Lilly started sobbing. I tore my gaze away from the door and rushed to her. How could my brother make her cry? Lilly was a sweet person and she'd never done this before. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard her speak up about anything. "Thank you," I said in a hushed whisper.

She sobbed into my shoulder before sniffling and saying, "It's what you deserve." 

It made my heart swell. "Thank you," I said again, unable to think of anything else to say.

---

I was sorting through my new items when someone knocked lightly on my bedroom door. I got up and opened it, finding Ben on the other side. I frowned. "What do you want?"

He held up a wad of cash. "Lilly was right," he said quietly. "I should have gave you something in return."

I snatched the cash from his hand and counted. Five hundred. "This is only half." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Where's the rest?"

He sighed. "I don't have it. What I have left covers the lodge and about a hundred extra for the little things we may need while we're there. If there's anything left when we get back, I'll give it to you."

I nodded and tucked the money in the back pocket of my jeans. "Is that why you left?"

"Not at first," he said slowly. I turned and walked back over to the stuff I was sorting on the floor. He sat on the bed. After a minute he sighed. "I'm sorry, Brenda." His voice was contrite. I glanced up at him, brow furrowed. He looked troubled. "I really am." He took a deep breath and met my eyes. I saw the moment where the next words out of his mouth died on his lips. "I shouldn't have made you pay for anything," he said in place of whatever he had wanted to say.

I studied him for a moment. I knew he was either baiting me or he was genuine, and I wasn't sure which one. "Well, I suppose it worked out this time," I told him. "I just hope there's no next time." I raised an eyebrow at him. "By the way, do you know if there was anything like a silent alarm on that safe?"

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, he didn't used to."

"What about now?"

He shook his head and stood up. "How's Lilly? I should check on her."

I frowned. "She's fine right now. Do you know anything about a silent alarm?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. "Will you please stop asking me about that? I need to check on my Lilly." He walked out of my room.

I watched him go. He was acting weird. It was connected to what happened. I was sure of it. It'd probably bothered him badly that this happened. It was a permanent stain on his record. I had to believe that was it. Things suggested that was it, along with his own story.

I couldn't afford to think he was guilty of anything. Someone else had to have done it.