by Dale Mayer
When the doorbell rang, she ran to the front door and peeked out the peephole. It was him. She disarmed the security, unlocked and opened the door. She gave him a bright smile as he stepped in. “It would have helped, you know,” she said lightly, “if you’d explained why the pizza delivery guy was so worthy of you coming in person.”
“Because it let whoever sent him know if you were home or not and potentially if you were alone or not.” He studied her for a long moment, as if seeing the flash of consternation cross her face.
She winced, hoping she’d hid it, but, of course, no way she could.
He grabbed his phone, hit a Speed Dial number and said, “I’m here,” hanging up without waiting for small talk.
“How would he know if I was alone?” she asked.
“What size pizza was it?”
“An extralarge.”
He nodded. “Did the delivery guy make a joke about the size and it being just for you?”
Her stomach sank. “Yes. He thought that was an awful lot for someone alone,” she said. “And I just laughed and said no way I could eat that much. If I ever ordered a pizza, it would be a small.”
“So you just confirmed that not only do you normally live alone but that right now you were alone.”
Frustrated, angry and confused, with a little bit of terror mixed in, she reset the security and walked into the kitchen. The delivery guy had been fishing for information. As she thought about the details she had volunteered, she realized just how loose-lipped she’d been. “It never occurred to me to not say anything,” she explained. “I was just being friendly. It’s obvious he had the wrong address and had made the trip for nothing.”
“Not necessarily. You said it had the right address on the box?”
She nodded. “Yes, he read off the address.”
“Did you see it?”
She shot him a look, then shook her head as she led him to the backyard patio. “No, he appeared to be reading the order printed on the box.”
“So then you don’t know. Do you remember what pizza company it was?”
She frowned. “I don’t,” she said. “I think it was one of the small ones in town.”
“But again you don’t know. Did he have a sign on the top of the car?”
Irritated, she flung herself onto the outdoor chair where she’d been sitting before and pulled her legs underneath her. “I have no clue,” she said shortly. “It’s not like I can see much of the street from my door. I didn’t look.”
He nodded, as if it confirmed something.
And she imagined it probably did. That she was an idiot for one. “So, what now? You’re expecting they’ll come and break into the place, now that they know I’m alone? Why would they do that?”
“When you found out that one of your pieces was forged, what did you do?”
“I locked up all of my stuff and changed the security codes on my safe and on the security at the doors,” she said. “I tried to take extra precautions, but I’m still figuring out how a forgery could have happened.”
“What else did you do?”
She frowned, thinking back. “Well, I packed up everything I had loose in the office, and I locked it up.”
“At work?”
She slowly shook her head. “Most of it I brought home in a briefcase and locked in my safe here.”
“Bingo,” he said softly.
“But why? And how would they know that?”
“We have to assume somebody was willing to take a chance on you doing just that,” he said, “or it’s possible there’s a camera in your office with somebody running a live feed from it, or somebody in your office knew and told someone.”
“It’s possible,” she said. “Although I certainly wouldn’t have said, Okay, so I’m changing all the locks and all the security codes because we’ve had a breach, and everything else I’m taking home.”
“I’m not saying it’s somebody in your office,” he said, “but just think how much that pizza guy got from you in a few short minutes. What if somebody has been extrafriendly to one of your staff? Do any of them have new boyfriends or girlfriends?”
She started to shake her head, then stopped. “Sammy,” she said slowly. “He has a new boyfriend.”
“Since when?”
“Just a week or two, I think,” she said. “He’s really buoyed up with excitement over it all.”
“You might want to call and ask him if this new guy has been asking any questions about the security system or what you do with your designs. It’ll be done in a gushing admirational tone. But don’t fool yourself. It’s one thing and one thing only. It’s called fishing for information.”
“It’s possible,” she said. “I did meet him once. He was quite a character, wearing green pants and a big Hawaiian shirt.”
“Can you describe his face?”
She narrowed her gaze as she started to identify him, then stopped. “You won’t like this …”
“You mean, the fact that the bright clothes he wore completely dominated your thoughts so you don’t remember anything about what his facial features were like?”
Her heart sinking, she covered her eyes for a second, then looked up at him. “That’s exactly what it is, isn’t it?”
Dezi nodded. “These are old tricks.”
“I don’t even think like this,” she said. “How is it possible for anybody to spend their life doing this stuff?”
“They get well paid. It’s a hustle. For whatever reason, you’ve been targeted. Whether it’s a one-time target, and they’re expecting to get a bunch of designs, or they’re coming in after all the jewelry. What’s the chance they’ve been working on replacement pieces for your store’s inventory?”
At that, she almost wanted to throw up. “You mean, make a big switch out in the store all at once?”
“It’s possible,” he said. “Or maybe just one or two pieces. But, if they have the designs, you know it’s easy to do.”
“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t spend much time in the main part of the store checking my pieces. I don’t know if any of them have been replaced.”
“And you already know how easy it is for somebody to get into the store. Anybody with some sleight-of-hand could have convinced Sammy to show him a piece or two and made the switches then.”
She reached for her phone. “Should I call Sammy and ask him these questions?”
“Not yet,” Dezi said, smoothly pulling up another patio chair to sit beside her. He gently took the phone from her hand and laid it on the table. “If you were to alert Sammy and his new friend, you still wouldn’t catch whoever is behind all this.”
She groaned. “That’s what I need to do. Otherwise this will become something that never goes away, won’t it?”
He nodded. “But then I’m not sure, at your earning level, that that threat will ever go away,” he said with a sad smile. “Whenever people come up against somebody better than them and who has a lot more money than they do, jealousy and greed become two animals that are hard to tame.”
“That’s just so sad,” she said. When her phone rang, she looked at it and sighed. “It’s my dad.” She picked it up and answered it. “Hey, Dad. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” her dad said. “But I have to cancel our lunch date.”
“Sorry to hear that,” she said. “How come?”
“I’m supposed to go back to Europe early in the morning. I was thinking I could pop by right now, if you don’t mind. I’d like to talk to you about something.”
“Sure,” she said. “I don’t mind.”
“Good. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
She ended the call and placed the phone back on the table. “I’m not sure what that’s all about,” she said slowly. “My dad wants to talk to me, but he didn’t explain about what.”
“Will it be a problem if I’m here?”
She considered that for a moment and then shrugged. “If he wants to talk to me privately, then I gues
s I can go into my home office with him. Otherwise he’ll accept your presence as being something he wasn’t expecting, but really it shouldn’t stop him from bringing up something he wants to discuss.”
“Did he give you any idea what it was?”
She shook her head. “But he should be here in ten or fifteen minutes. I’m pretty sure he won’t have a problem telling me. My dad is nothing if not blunt.”
As it was, her father was less than ten minutes getting here. Still, she didn’t waste any time and sorted through her emails. She was smiling with relief when her father pulled up in the driveway. With Dezi at her heels, she disarmed her security and let him in. They exchanged hugs, and she noted how tired and worried he looked.
He was stiff as he reached for Dezi’s hand. “You should have told me that you weren’t alone tonight.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said gently. “Besides, if you need to talk to me about something, then you need to talk to me regardless.”
He kind of half nodded but didn’t seem too convinced.
She took him into the backyard, and he sat down. She offered him a glass of red wine.
He took it and smiled. “This should help.”
“Hard day?”
He nodded. “The thing is, I need to talk to you privately,” he said with a sideways glance at Dezi.
Dezi just raised an eyebrow and looked at Diamond.
“This is my father, Henry Liechester.”
Neither man moved or spoke.
Diamond turned to her father. “Dezi is part of an investigation into the security of my business,” she said. “So, if whatever you need to speak about has anything to do with security or fraud or anything else, speak in front of him please.”
Her father’s eyebrows shot up toward his hairline. “What kind of trouble are you having?”
She hesitated, glancing at Dezi.
He responded for her. “Somebody is forging her artwork.”
Her father’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “So far we’ve only found one piece, but the fact that I’ve found even one piece is enough to send me into full alert.”
“Of course,” he said, groaning. “I don’t think it’s related, but it’s definitely a security issue.”
“What’s up?” Dezi’s voice was hard and impatient. She shot him a frown, telling him to ease back. He shrugged and settled a little deeper into his chair.
She turned to her father. “Obviously something is going on, Dad. What is it?”
“Looks like we’ve had an IT breach,” he said. “Some of our customers’ personal information was divulged in credit card releases. More than that, it appears to be personal contact information.”
She sat back to digest that. “I’m not sure if that affects us or not,” she said, turning to Dezi. “Does it?”
Dezi leaned forward. “We did confirm someone had hacked your business computer network. And you said you used the same security company for your business as your father uses for his. Right?”
She nodded. “But they didn’t tell me anything about a breach.”
Her father’s voice was bitter when he said, “No, they won’t. I had to dig it out of them.”
She winced. “In other words, I probably have had the same breach, and nobody said a word. Great. Just great. Does this shit never end?” She rose, pacing her backyard. As she turned, she saw her father and Dezi, their heads together in a deep conversation. She joined them. “Share, please.” She left no doubt in her tone of voice that they were expected to tell her exactly what they were talking about.
Dezi settled back. “Your father thinks it’s one particular person in the company. And there’s a personal connection.”
She focused on her father and shoved her hands in the pockets of her dress. “Who?”
“Ruby’s new boyfriend.”
She sat down hard beside her father. “I don’t think I’ve met him, have I?”
He shrugged. “I have no clue if you have or not. But I didn’t think you’ve had much to do with any of your sisters lately.”
“How long have they been going out?” Dezi asked.
“About a year. They’ve known each other for closer to two though.”
“Any chance it’s contained to just him?”
“I would certainly hope so,” her father declared. “Ruby would never do anything like this.”
“I know you don’t want to discuss it, and it’s personal,” Dezi said, “and I know Diamond would prefer I didn’t bring it up, but I do have to ask. Do her sisters hold any grudges against her? Is there any ill will that she shares equally in an inheritance they might feel they deserve more of? She isn’t involved in the family’s company business. That can present hard feelings with the others.”
“I’ve thought of it,” her father said calmly. “I’ve discussed it with them. It’s not like any of them are broke, and, once I’m gone, there’s certainly enough money to be spread around. The fact the company goes exclusively to the other three is something that has eased a lot of jealousy and angst.” He shot a look at Diamond. “Diamond got her inheritance early, when she set up her store. She needed a large chunk of investment for the raw materials. Of course she gets equal assets per my will but not a portion of the company.”
“He wouldn’t let me pay him back,” Diamond said drily.
“No, because I also know this way your sisters don’t know anything about it. When the company goes to them, they’ll feel justified about you not getting anything.”
Diamond laughed. “You know that I’m totally okay with that. Although I hate to hear you talk about keeping it secret. Better it’s all open and aboveboard.”
“So your daughters don’t know all this?” Dezi asked. “Do all three of them know Diamond doesn’t get a portion of the company?”
He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve stated it that way. I didn’t want to because I didn’t want to explain that I invested in her business.”
Diamond watched Dezi, his mind obviously spinning. “You’re still thinking it’s one of my sisters, huh?”
He shrugged. “When it comes to motives, family is a good place to look.”
“But why a forgery?” her father asked Dezi.
“Because eventually it’ll ruin her name and her business, won’t it? And, in the meantime, an awful lot of money can be had on the black market for her pieces.”
A thundercloud formed on her father’s face. “You think that forgery might be related to the IT break-in at Liechester?”
“IT was one of several links where we could have had a hacker event related to Diamond’s business,” Dezi said. “Everything from the insurance companies she uses to the courier companies, but IT is always a good one. We figure somebody has been watching her emails, figuring out when her pieces are being shipped in and out to replace them with forgeries. And tonight she had a pizza delivery guy come to her home with a fake order.”
Her father looked at Dezi. “And that means precisely what?”
“It means he now knows she is here, and she lives alone. Which means, when she’s gone to work, the place is empty. And, when she found out about the one forgery, she brought all her designs and a lot of partial pieces home for her personal safe, rather than leaving them at the store.”
Her father settled back in his chair. “Shit,” he said. He turned to look at her. “It sounds like we have a bigger problem than I originally thought.”
She winced. “But that doesn’t mean they can bypass my security.”
“No,” Dezi said. “But money buys all kinds of connections.”
Her father grabbed her hands. “He’s right. You have to make alternative arrangements.”
She laughed. “Well, I did for tonight.”
Her father looked at her in surprise.
She pointed at Dezi. “I brought him here. He’s the only security I need right now.”
*
He couldn’t help it. Dezi chuckled.
“So I’m downgraded to a personal security guard, am I?”
She flashed him a wicked grin. “Not necessarily,” she said, “but since you’re the one who put the fear of God into me after that pizza guy showed up tonight, you’re here to make sure he doesn’t come back with his buddies.”
He inclined his head. “My overnight bag came with me. I had no intention of leaving you alone.”
Her father interrupted, “If it’s that serious, maybe we should bring in the police on this.”
Diamond shook her head. “I can’t afford the publicity, Dad, and you know that.”
“So how about private security then?”
She motioned toward Dezi.
He held up his hand. “I work for Legendary Security,” he said. “She contacted Levi and Ice, my bosses, when Diamond realized she had a problem.”
Her father nodded. “Levi has made quite a name for himself. I’ve spoken to him but have yet to meet him. He’s a good guy with a good company. I feel much better knowing you’re here, keeping an eye out for my daughter.” But then he narrowed his gaze as it went from one to the other. “But I sense something quite personal going on here.”
Diamond gave him a wide-eyed innocent look that fooled no one. “We like each other,” she said. “But there’s nothing else to it.”
That surprised the hell out of Dezi. Not that she had acknowledged it—he loved that part—but that she did so publicly. That was even better.
Her father didn’t look convinced.
Dezi smiled and said, “I’ll make sure your daughter is safe, sir.”
And he had to be content with that.
Dezi wasn’t sure what Diamond was up to. Definitely they liked each other, and something had sparked between them, but the circumstances were hardly conducive to an affair. But her name was Diamond, and he couldn’t forget Stone’s comments from days earlier about Ice finding him a diamond. It was the first thing that had hit him when he had heard her name.
In many ways she wasn’t his usual type, and he wasn’t hers. But that didn’t mean opposites didn’t attract. As far as Vince was concerned, Dezi’s background had nothing to do with it. Dezi wasn’t so sure though. He’d been raised on the streets. He’d had a rough childhood and rough teenage years.
