“Okay, okay. See, if I was making bank—that’s what they call making a lot of money—and it was supposed to be on the down-low—you guys know—”

“Yes, Frost, both Wilson and I know what that means. Please continue.”

“Right, so if I was keeping my art a secret, I’d probably be keeping my money a secret too, right? I mean, a painting for $1,200?”

“Sydney had a private bank account?” Wilson asked.

“Yes. But that’s not what’s important.” Frost pushed up his glasses again. “It’s where her money was coming from.”

Wilson cocked an eyebrow. The young deputy had their attention now. And from the smug look plastered on his face, he was enjoying the moment.

“You going to keep us waiting, Frost?” Wilson stood.

“Uh, no. Sorry. Here.” Frost held out a piece of paper. “This is Sydney’s account.”

Charlie took the sheet and scanned the numbers until his eyes hit the bottom figure. “Twelve thousand dollars?”

“That one sheet is the total account history.” Frost took off his glasses and wiped them with his tie. “You can see she opened up the account a year ago and since then has made a number of deposits. A couple hundred dollars at a time.”

“Please tell me you got this legally.” Charlie stared at the paper in his hand.

“Agent Padello helped me.” Frost slid his glasses back on. “That’s how we found out the money was coming from—”

“Something tells me I need to hear what’s going on over here.” Sheriff Huggins returned with a full cup of coffee. “What’s happened?”

Charlie tilted his head toward Frost. “Sir, I think Frost missed his calling.”

“Is that so?” Sheriff Huggins took a seat on the corner of Charlie’s desk.

“The kid’s got talent.” Charlie handed the sheriff the bank statement. “If you’re not careful, the FBI’s going to push a little harder to recruit him.”

The compliment hit its mark and Frost’s smile spread from ear to ear. The spattering of freckles gave the impression Frost was young, but Charlie knew better. They were lucky to have him on their team. It would be bittersweet if he ever took the Feds up on their offer.

“It’s true. Agent Padello told me I had potential.” Frost smirked. “Told me if I got bored of Walton I could head up to Virginia for some real action.”

Wilson grumbled something incoherent in their direction and Charlie tucked his chin to hide the smile playing on his lips.

“Before you sign up for the academy, why don’t you tell me what you found.” Sheriff Huggins settled into an empty chair and sipped his coffee.

Charlie let Frost fill the sheriff in about what they had found. Sheriff Huggins listened and only interrupted twice to slow Frost down. As his excitement grew, so did the speed with which he spoke.