1022 Evergreen Place - Debbie Macomber [50]
He didn’t bother to defend Bellamy, since Corrie’s dislike of him made her unwilling to listen.
A minute later she escorted Leonard Bellamy into Roy’s office. Roy stood and the two men exchanged perfunctory handshakes.
“Good morning,” Roy said, and waited until the other man had taken the upholstered chair across from him before sitting down again. “What can I do for you?” he asked. He was a busy man and so was Bellamy. They didn’t need to waste time with further chitchat.
“I believe you’ve met my daughter, Lori.”
Roy wasn’t sure he had. “I’m afraid I don’t recall.”
“But you know I have two daughters, correct?”
“Yes.” And a son. Older than the girls. Both Robert and Denise worked with their father.
“You may remember that Lori was engaged to…to that felon Geoff Duncan.”
Roy knew the Duncan case well. Geoff had worked for attorney Allan Harris as his legal assistant. Harris had been handling Martha Evans’s estate when several pieces of expensive jewelry went missing. All the evidence suggested that Dave Flemming, a local pastor, had been responsible for the theft. Sheriff Troy Davis and Roy had solved the case together. In a systematic search of pawnshops, Roy had come across one where Geoff had left a piece of the jewelry.
Geoff had accepted a plea bargain and was now serving a prison sentence.
“I do remember that Duncan was engaged at the time,” Roy said.
Bellamy sighed loudly. “I swear that girl doesn’t have the sense God gave a duck. You’d think she’d have better judgment, but Geoff managed to convince her that he was madly in love with her and the two of them were meant to be together. I had my suspicions the minute we met. The man was a con artist of the first order. He didn’t love Lori. It was blatantly obvious he was after her money.” He shook his head. “I have to admit he grew on me after a while—that con-artist-charmer type, you know. But I should’ve gone with my gut instinct.”
Roy didn’t respond, although he had his own opinion on the matter. He’d seen Geoff Duncan as an unfortunate case. The young man had gotten in over his head financially, trying to impress the Bellamys, and when his money situation became precarious, he’d stolen the jewelry. Roy didn’t believe Geoff Duncan was a career criminal—just irresponsible and desperate to make a good impression on his fiancée and future in-laws. His plan had backfired, and the man seemed genuinely repentant when confronted with the truth.
“I hate to say this, but my daughter isn’t the brightest girl you could hope to meet.” Bellamy sat back in the chair and crossed his legs. “I’m afraid she’s jumped directly from the frying pan into the fire with this latest stunt of hers.”
Roy had perfected his poker face years ago and was able to conceal his aversion to the way Bellamy spoke about his daughter.
“How do you mean?” he asked in a mild voice.
The question was ignored. “Did I mention she works at a dress shop? My daughter in a dress shop. Three years of college and she drops out because she’s got some fantasy about becoming a designer. This friend of my wife’s owns a dress shop and hired her. If Lori wanted to quit school and find a job, I could’ve given her one. When I offered, you know what she said?”
Roy wasn’t allowed to answer.
“‘No, thank you, Daddy,’” he said in a falsetto voice. “‘I’d rather work with Brenda.’” He closed his eyes, apparently overcome with frustration.
“You want me to check out her employer?” Roy asked, figuring this must be what he had in mind.
“No,” he barked, then cast Roy an apologetic look. “I’m afraid Lori’s done something to top all the other foolish decisions she’s made in the past few years.”
“And what is that?” Roy asked.
Bellamy clenched his hands until his knuckles went white. “She married a man she barely knows.”
“I see,” Roy said thoughtfully.
“From what I understand, she met this man and married him within a month. Perhaps less. I don’t know if my wife got the story straight. As you can imagine, Kate was more than a little upset.” He blew out a sigh, and his