"You came!" Gabe exclaimed as Nathan walked through the door of Brookfield's Mountie office.

Nathan spread his arms, a lazy grin on his face. "I came." He sat across from Gabe, crossing his arms. "This had better be a safe mission, Kinslow. I expect to get back home to my wife and children in one piece. Preferably without being almost shot or blown up."

Gabe chuckled. "No promises, but we'll do our best to keep you alive and breathing."

"Good," Nathan said, placing his campaign hat on the table. "Now, seeing as how I'd love to get home as soon as possible, what do we have so far on this case?"

"Not much," Gabe said, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. "Whoever this is, they've stolen before. This guy has barely left a trace. The only consistency is that expensive jewelry gets stolen every couple of days. And it's almost always at the hotel. Of the four thefts, three of them were wealthy guests traveling through on their way to Hamilton or Calgary. I've been trying to nab this guy for almost two weeks and have come up with nothing. That's why I need your help."

Nathan nodded. "Take me to the hotel. Let's see what the owner has to say."

He and Gabe walked the short distance to the hotel, where Ronnie Stewart was wringing his hands in dismay. "Gabe!" he said, relief flooding his face at the sight of two Mounties. "We have a problem!"

Gabe raised his brow. "What might that be, Ronnie?"

Ronnie glanced around, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "We have another wealthy guest. They just checked in. You know what that means?"

Gabe's lips set in a hard line. "It means there will probably be another attempted robbery. How long are they staying?"

"Three days," Ronnie replied. "And they plan on doing a lot of traveling to nearby towns for shopping and dining. They won't be here except to sleep."

Nathan frowned. "Have most of the robberies been during the day?"

Ronnie shook his head. "Only one of them was during the day. The other three were at night. But I'm worried that since these people won't be here often, the thief will try again in broad daylight."

"That seems like an awfully risky move," Nathan mused. "Why would they take that chance?"

Ronnie shrugged. "Most people don't look for a thief during the day."

"He has a point," Gabe said. "There's a definite possibility this thief attacks during the day."

Nathan thought for a moment. "Alright, then we keep watch during the day. We can take shifts, and sit across the street from the hotel to keep watch. Can we see the window to this room from the front of the hotel?"

Ronnie nodded. "You can if you sit far enough to the side. You should be able to see both the window and the front door.'

"Good," Nathan said. "And can the room be locked during the day when the couple is out of town?"

"Yes," Ronnie said, nodding vigorously. "And the only ones with the key are me and the maid."

"The maid?" Gabe asked, looking at Ronnie. "When did you hire a maid?"

"About a month ago," Ronnie said, frowning. "Didn't I tell you that?"

"No," Gabe said with a shake of his head. "You didn't. And we're going to need to talk to her. She might have seen something." He pinned Ronnie with a look. "Is she here now?"

"She is," Ronnie said. "I'll go get her." He disappeared into the back.

Nathan looked at Gabe. "Do you think she might be involved?"

Raising a brow, Gabe shook his head. "A woman working in the hotel? I don't think so. That would be too obvious. Besides, these robberies happen when she's not on shift." He leaned against the counter. "But I would bet she saw something that could lead us to the thief." He blew out a frustrated breath. "I really wish Ronnie had mentioned her before now. I might not have had to drag you out all the way out here to Brookfield."

Nathan chuckled. "Well, we can't change the past. I'm here now, so we'll work together to catch this thief."

Ronnie reappeared with a petite young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was wearing a typical maid uniform and smiled shyly at the two Mounties.

"This is Genevieve," Ronnie said. "I told her to take as much time as she needs to answer your questions. Still on the clock, of course," he hurriedly assured her when she looked at him in alarm. The assurance seemed to calm her, and she gave the men a quiet hello.

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Genevieve," Nathan said, giving her a smile that he hoped would put her at ease. She looked incredibly nervous. He motioned to a table in the dining room. "Shall we all sit?"

She nodded without a word, following them to the table. Gabe held her chair for her, and she thanked him with another shy smile. When they were all settled, Gabe leaned forward. "We won't take up too much of your time," he said, smiling. "We just need to know if you've seen anything in the past week and a half that might tell us who this jewel thief is."

Genevieve swallowed, her eyes darting from them to Ronnie. "Will I get in trouble for not saying anything sooner?" she whispered, looking back at Gabe. "I can't afford to lose my job."

Gabe shook his head. "You won't get in trouble. It's not your fault Ronnie didn't mention you worked for him." He studied her, and Nathan knew he had picked up on the same words he had. "Not saying something sooner? Does that mean you saw something?"

She nodded slowly. Gabe sat up straight. "That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "I've been trying to get a lead for almost two weeks and have nothing. What can you tell us?"

She licked her lips, taking a deep breath. "Not much, to be honest. But…"

Nathan nodded, trying to encourage her. Nerves were clearly getting the better of her. "Go on."

She bit her lip. "What if the thief finds out I helped you?" she whispered. "Could something happen to me?"

Nathan leaned forward. "Genevieve, the information you give us could help us catch this guy, and then you and everyone else will be safe from him. We won't let anything happen to you."

That seemed to relax her a little, though she still looked around before speaking. "Everyone assumes these thefts have happened at night," she said, her voice barely over a whisper. "But no one knows that for sure."

Gabe frowned. "How do you know?"

She bit her lip again and sighed. "Most of the people who have been stolen from are out during the day. They don't notice until the following morning that their jewelry is missing. They just assumed it happened overnight. And...and last week, in the afternoon, someone ran into me when I was about to go into the room that was stolen from. Whoever it was pushed me away and ran down the hall."

"Did you see who it was?" Nathan asked.

Genevieve shook her head. "No. But the person was small, only a little taller than me. He was wearing all black and had a facemask on."

"Really?" Gabe asked, surprise in his voice. He looked her over. "How tall are you?"

"Five foot two," she said, looking down. "Whoever pushed me was only an inch or two taller."

Gabe looked at Nathan. "Do you think we're dealing with a woman?"

Nathan shrugged. "Could be. Or it could simply be a shorter man." He looked back at Genevieve. "Do you remember anything else?"

She shook her head, an apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, that's all. I wish I could be more helpful."

Gabe smiled. "That was more helpful than you know. Thank you. That's all we have for now."

She smiled once more and got up, heading back to her work. Nathan leaned back in his chair, mulling over the information they'd been given. "What do you think?" Gabe asked, watching Nathan's face.

Nathan pursed his lips. "I think we better keep watch for the next few days. I can wear my civilian clothes and keep an eye out in the hotel itself. A thief isn't likely to know who I am. And you can keep watch outside from across the street."

Gabe nodded. "Good plan. Are you sleeping at the hotel while you're here?"

"Yes. And it just so happens my room is next to the room where we think the next theft will happen. We'll catch this thief." He grinned. "And then I'm going home."

"Lucas, can we talk?"

Lucas looked up to see Henry standing in front of his desk, hat in hand. "Of course," he said, gesturing for Henry to sit. "What's up?"

"I heard you and Fiona talking about possibly expanding the company this morning," Henry said. "And I might have a suggestion about that."

Lucas leaned back, studying Henry. "I'm listening."

Henry shuffled a bit in his seat, looking contrite. "I feel real bad about the way things went down with Mr. Wolf when we were first starting out in the oil business. We still have the rights to his land, and I was thinking maybe we could look there for more oil."

Lucas tilted his head, considering it. "We struck oil on the land adjacent to his, didn't we?" he asked.

Henry nodded.

"Hmm," Lucas said, steepling his fingers. "If that's the case, there's a good chance we could find oil on the Wolf land. How hard would it be to get some rigs onto that land? Assuming Mr. Wolf still wants us to drill, of course."

"We could get the rigs there in a week or so," Henry said. "And I think Mr. Wolf would be glad of the business. He would get twenty percent of the profits."

"Tell you what, I'll go see him and ask what he thinks," Lucas said, standing. "Would you like to come with me?"

Henry shook his head. "That's probably not a good idea. I think he's still annoyed with me for how I handled things last time. It's best if you go without me."

"Okay," Lucas said. "I'll ask Fiona to come along." He held out his hand, which Henry shook. "Thank you for the suggestion, Henry. It's a good one."

Henry smiled, looking down. "Mr. Wolf deserves the chance," he said. "I'm glad you're willing to give it to him."

Lucas nodded, then went to find Fiona. She was chatting with Clara at the dress shop. Poking his head in, Lucas smiled and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the Wolf farm."

"The Wolf farm?" Fiona repeated, crinkling her brow. "Why are we going there?"

Lucas offered her his arm with a smile. "I'll tell you on the way." With a goodbye nod to Clara, they started down the street.

"What's going on?" Fiona asked.

"Henry heard us talking about expanding the business this morning," Lucas said. "He suggested that we ask Mr. Wolf if we can drill on his land, since we own the rights to it. He said he wants to make up for not drilling there when we first started. I think he feels badly about how that happened."

"It's a good idea," Fiona said. "I'm sure Mr. Wolf will be happy to let us drill on his land."

He was. Lucas had never seen a man so excited as Mr. Wolf when they asked if he would still be willing to let them drill on his property. He pumped Lucas's hand, thanking him profusely for the opportunity. Lucas stepped back with a smile. "It was Henry's idea," he said. "We talked about expanding, and he suggested your land."

That made Mr. Wolf pause. "He did?"

Lucas nodded.

Mr. Wolf pressed his lips together before letting out a breath. "Then I suppose I owe him some thanks as well."

"I'd be happy to pass on your thanks," Lucas said, knowing things were tense between the two men.

Mr. Wolf considered it, then nodded slowly. "I'd be much obliged, Mr. Bouchard. Though I'll probably end up saying something to Mr. Gowen down the line."

Lucas smiled, placing a hand on Fiona's back. "Perfect." He reached out, shaking hands with Mr. Wolf again. "Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

"Likewise," Mr. Wolf said, waving as Lucas and Fiona turned to go.

"That went well," Fiona said, looking up at Lucas.

"It did," he said, feeling a strong sense of relief. He wrapped an arm around Fiona's shoulder. "How would you like to get lunch with me? Gustav told me he's making pot pie today, and I know how much you love his pot pies."

Fiona laughed. "Who doesn't love his pot pies? They're delicious!" She grinned. "I would love that."

"Excellent," Lucas said, drawing her closer. "We found new property to drill on, and I have a lunch date with my beautiful bride-to-be." He smiled. "The day just got infinitely better."

On the final night of the wealthy couple's stay in Brookfield, Nathan managed to convince them to stay in his room for the night while he took theirs. None of their jewels had gone missing, and Nathan was starting to wonder if the thief had finally left town. He and Gabe had kept a close eye on the hotel for the past three days, and there had been no signs of a disturbance or attempted robbery. Since it was the final night, Nathan had a sense that if the thief was still in town, tonight would be the attempted attack. He and Gabe had set a trap just in case; they would stay in the room, and if the thief tried to break in, two Mounties would be waiting for him.

It was nearly two in the morning, and Nathan was struggling to stay awake. He and Gabe were sitting in chairs far from the door, so he decided to risk speaking as quietly as possible.

"So, you and Lillian seem very cozy lately," he said, smiling in the darkness. "Have you finally told her how you feel?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Gabe replied. "We are officially courting."

Nathan slapped Gabe's back. "It's about time! I had a feeling you two would eventually work things out." He paused. "How did Sam take it?"

"He wasn't thrilled at first," Gabe said with a chuckle. "But rumor has it he and Lucie Clay are making eyes at each other. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks her out before long."

"Lucie?" Nathan asked.

"Tess Stewart's ranch hand," Gabe supplied. "Personally, I think they're a match made in heaven."

Nathan chuckled. "You would think anyone besides Lillian is a perfect match for Sam."

Gabe grinned. "I'm not going to deny that." He settled back, trying to get into a more comfortable position. "So, how are you feeling about welcoming a baby soon?"

"I can't wait," Nathan said. "I want to meet this baby so badly, but Elizabeth keeps reminding me to be patient. 'These things take time,' she says." He chuckled. "I'm so excited, Gabe. Words just can't describe it."

"I'm happy for you," Gabe said. "You were made to be a father, Nathan, and I'm glad you found Elizabeth."

"Thanks, Gabe," Nathan said, clapping him on the shoulder. In the pause, they both heard a creak outside the door. Both men went completely still, and Nathan nodded at Gabe. They quickly took their predetermined positions, Gabe in the bed and Nathan behind the door, waiting breathlessly.

Though the door was locked, the sound of a key in the lock broke the silence. The door handle slowly turned, and all was quiet for a moment. Then someone slowly, very slowly, began to push the door open just enough to slip through.

A small figure dressed all in black and wearing a facemask crept toward the bed, looking to see if the residents were indeed asleep. The intruder gave a cry of alarm as Gabe sprang from the bed, grabbing him. The thief fought, surprisingly strong for his size. He broke free from Gabe's hold and bolted for the door. Nathan quickly put out his foot, tripping him. Hauling him up, Nathan switched on the light and secured his prisoner. He pulled the mask away, revealing the identity of the thief. Both he and Gabe stared in shock.

"Genevieve?"