Mallory didn't mention that there had been a close call once, just once, after Morie left and he was depressed enough to need comforting. But he hadn't crossed the line with Gelly. So even if she made the charge, he'd be able to refute it. He did worry, though, that she might try to trap him. She wanted money and now she was desperate. He wondered if she might have taken that priceless egg. She did have the opportunity and the motive. It would have to wait for the private detective to iron it out, he supposed.

He went up to bed, his mind still full of Morie's real identity and the picture that he'd carry forever in his heart, of her in that white gown, looking as elegant as a princess and quite at home among the wealthiest cattlemen in the world.

A FEW DAYS LATER, AT ALL, dark man with long black hair and pale gray eyes, wearing a suit, knocked at the front door.

Mavie let him in and called Mallory, who was the only brother in the house at the moment.

"Ty Harding." The man introduced himself and shook hands with Mallory. "I work for Dane Lassiter, out of Houston."

"Come in," Mallory invited. "Mavie, coffee?"

"Coming right up," she said, casting a last, smiling glance at the handsome newcomer. Not only was he handsome, he had the physique of a movie star, tall and muscular without being overtly so.

Harding sat down across from Mallory. "I've finished the investigation."

"Then you know who took the egg?" Mallory asked at once.

He nodded grimly. "It was sold to a fence in Denver through a third party for ten thousand dollars."

Mallory gaped at him. "It's worth ten times that!"

"Yes, we know. The fence has been arrested and the egg was confiscated from its new owner. He's pretty upset. He paid a quarter of a million for it. Luckily, the fence hadn't had time to distribute more than a third of the money."

Mallory was relieved. "That piece of art was our grandmother's," he explained. "It really is priceless, but it has a sentimental value, as well. Who stole it?"

Harding hesitated. Mavie came in with steaming cups of black coffee in mugs on a silver tray. There was pound cake, too. She put it down, grinning at the newcomer. She didn't smile much. Mallory was amused at her friendliness to the visitor. "Hope you like cake," she said. "It was made fresh yesterday."

"I love it. Thank you."

"Cream? Sugar?" she offered.

Harding shook his head and chuckled, showing perfect white teeth. "I got used to drinking it black years ago. It's hard to find condiments in some of the places I've worked."

"Thank you, Mavie," Mallory said pointedly.

She glanced at him, cleared her throat, excused herself and left.

"Nice lady," Harding commented as he sipped coffee. He closed his eyes. "Colombian," he decided. "My favorite."

Mallory's eyes widened. "You can tell the origin of the blend?"

"It's a hobby." His eyes twinkled with secret amusement.

Mallory didn't comment. "Now. Who took the egg?"

Harding had another sip of coffee and put the cup down. "A threesome, I'm afraid."

"What threesome?" Mallory's mind was working overtime as he searched for suspects.

"A local woman, Gelly Bruner, took the egg. She had a key to your cabinet, which was made for her by an escaped convict, Joe Bascomb, who needed money to avoid being captured. There was a third man involved, peripherally, a man named Bates. It seems he helped Ms. Bruner by planting evidence."

Mallory's face was thunderous. "Bates works for me! He said he saw Morie Brannt holding the egg in the bunkhouse."

"I believe he also helped plant evidence on another cowboy who worked here, a man named Harry Rogers, who's retained counsel and plans to sue for false arrest."

"Great," Mallory said. "I guess we'll keep our lawyers busy."

"Rogers does have a case, but it's the sheriff who arrested him that he's suing, and also Ms. Bruner. He isn't suing you. He said you were set up, just as he was."

Mallory was touched. "In that case he can have his job back with a raise, if he wants it, and I'll pay for his attorney."

"You'd have to talk to him about that. Your cowboy Bob Bates has been arrested, however, and charged with aiding and abetting theft."

"I'm just astonished," Mallory said heavily. "I did suspect Gelly, but I had no idea Bates was that involved."

"He had feelings for her and he's very young," Harding replied. "He's sick at heart about what he did. She told him it was a prank. He didn't find out different until Ms. Brannt was fired, and then he was afraid to come forward."

"It doesn't excuse theft," Mallory said. "Not at all."

"He's a first offender," Harding said. "I'm almost certain that he'll get probation. Ms. Bruner is, however, in a different situation. She has a record."

"For what?" Mallory asked, stunned.

"Theft. This isn't her first walk around the justice system. She's never been convicted, but she's been charged twice in the theft of priceless antiques from private homes. I'm afraid she's not going to have an easy time. Her signature was on the receipt for proceeds from the sale of the stolen egg, and Bates is turning state's evidence against her in return for first-offender status. He can put her in the house with a duplicate key at the time of the theft. It seems that Bascomb also made her a copy of your house key."

"Oh, good God," Mallory exclaimed.

"So it might be a good idea for you to check your other valuables and see if any are missing or have been replaced with copies," the detective suggested.

"I'll do that today," Mallory agreed. "That's a lot of good detective work for such a short time."

Harding shrugged. "I love my job. I used to be a cop, but I got tired of the hours, so I quit Houston P.D. and went to work for Dane Lassiter." He grinned. "He's some boss, let me tell you."

"So I've heard."

"There's a rumor going around that Joe Bascomb didn't get his cut of the money and he's out for revenge," Harding added. "If I were you, I'd put on extra patrols out here and watch where I went. He's really desperate now. They've brought in other law-enforcement personnel to go into the woods after him, including some trackers and some K-9 units."

"I'll make sure we're all armed," Mallory told him. "And thanks."

Harding smiled. "My pleasure."

MALLORY TOLD HIS BROTHERS what Harding had related, and they went around the house looking for other missing objects. To their shock, they found at least two priceless ceramic vases missing and one irreplaceable solid gold miniature goblet, not to mention an entire silver service that was kept apart from the others in a special cabinet. It was almost never unlocked and the brothers paid it little attention, because it was in an out-of-the-way place in the house.

Mallory called the sheriff's department and an officer took down the descriptions of the missing items and their value. He promised to have their investigator get in touch with the appropriate authorities in Denver and search for them. Mallory didn't expect them to be found. But there was always a chance, even if it was a small one.