“Don’t take too long,” Garrett suggested. “Patrice said something about chocolate mousse for dessert tonight.”
“I’ll hurry.” Janessa grinned.
Chapter 28
The next day, Garrett and Janessa stood in Janessa’s sitting room looking over a handwritten list. “I’m sorry, Janessa, but I can’t imagine any of these people being involved.” Garrett studied the list of his close friends, a list he had helped compose.
“I don’t know where else to look.” Janessa stood beside him and stared at the names. “Whoever planted that bomb knew you well, and it was likely someone familiar with the chateau.”
“Maybe we should concentrate more on people who know the chateau,” Garrett suggested. “It’s possible that someone noticed me pulling my car keys from my pocket as I walked to the garage sometime in the past.”
“Then it could be anyone who has been a casual guest while you were staying here.”
He nodded, noting the fatigue and worry on her face. Though it wasn’t yet noon, she looked exhausted. “You aren’t getting enough sleep.”
“I know.” Janessa sighed. “But the threats keep coming, and the gala is a little over two weeks away.” She motioned to the file on her coffee table and sat down on the sofa. “I’m still working on the employee lists, but so far everything checks out. There’s a high turnover rate with the caterers, so that’s going to be the biggest challenge, trying to keep up with them.”
Garrett nodded as he sat beside her. “Pierre Dumond, the museum director, narrowed the list down to three people besides himself who had access to the artwork at the times the stolen paintings could have been switched.”
“How many other thefts have been identified?”
“Only four so far. Two of them we already knew about. One was recovered during an arrest by Interpol in Paris two years ago, and another was discovered missing by an art expert in Cairo. The other two were both from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.”
“Had all of them been loaned to the museum in Bellamo?”
“No. The first painting was on loan to the museum in Calene. That theft was detected almost three years ago.”
“Which coincides with Manero’s bank records. What we really need are the records of everyone who had access to all of the artwork in question. If this has happened at both museums here, I would have to think that the switches must be taking place during transport.”
“The investigators are looking over the security and employment records for the past three years for both museums,” Garrett told her. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “I have to get back over to the naval base, but I should be back before dinner.”
“Do we have plans tonight?”
“I was hoping for a nice quiet dinner. Just the two of us.”
“Sounds perfect.”
* * *
Janessa stepped out of her room and was surprised to see Levi approaching. “Is something wrong?”
His hand tightened on the file he held, and his eyes darted to it before he looked back at her. “We received another threat. I thought you should see this right away.”
Janessa’s pulse jumped in her throat, too many images leaping to her mind, but she held out her hand.
Levi handed her the envelope, his voice low as he spoke. “Janessa, this isn’t like the others.”
She nodded, bracing herself against the possibilities. Slowly she opened the file and gasped. The images were similar to the other threats and yet so different. Like the others, words had been cut from newspapers to create the phrase “The Americans will be the death of the royal family.” This time, however, the photos were not from the newspapers, but bright, glossy photographs manipulated to create the frightening images.
A photo of Janessa wearing an evening gown was in the center. The photo had been altered so that she was holding a smoking gun—a gun aimed at Garrett. Surrounding her image were photos of the members of the royal family, each one manipulated to show a horrific death.
Janessa took a shallow breath and then slowly drew a deeper one. “These photos were all taken the night of the gas station fire.”
“That’s what I thought.” Levi nodded. “I checked out the list of photographers that were there that night. Unfortunately, all of these photos are on the internet. The magazine Societé has them on their website. Anyone could have printed them off.”
“Another dead end.” Janessa shook her head in frustration as she fought the wave of nausea that flowed through her.
“The police have already started trying to trace everyone who has accessed Societé’s website since these photos were uploaded, but it sounds like there may be too many to narrow down the possibilities.”
“Let me know if they find anything.”
Levi nodded as he started back down the hall.
Janessa walked back into her room to put this latest threat with the others she had collected since her arrival. As she placed the thick file back into the safe in her room, she tried to fight the sinking feeling that her engagement to Garrett—whether fake or real—might be the greatest security risk of all.
* * *
After her meeting with the caterers, Janessa returned to her suite to do some research. She pulled up the internet site for Societé, the upscale society magazine that focused on the prominent citizens in Meridia and the surrounding countries. As she studied the photos on their website, she took note of those in attendance. Cynthia Renault was in many of the photos, reminding Janessa of a Hollywood starlet accustomed to being in the limelight.
Unable to find anything of significance, Janessa clicked through the website to find a list of the magazine’s photographers. When she reached the editorial page, her eyes widened. The managing editor was Alfonzo Renault. Curious to see if he was related to Cynthia, Janessa dug a little deeper. After a few minutes of searching, she came across an article about the Renault family—Tomas, the owner of Societé magazine, with his two children—Alfonzo and Cynthia.
When she did another search and came across another image of Cynthia Renault, her mouth fell open. Beside an article dated today were several photos of Garrett with his arms around Cynthia. The surge of jealousy lasted several long minutes before she could bring herself to think logically. The photos had been taken on a yacht, but Janessa couldn’t think of a single day since her arrival that Garrett would have had time to go out on the water like that, much less with another woman.
As she looked closer, she could see the subtle differences between the man she had spoken to hours before and the one in the photo. His hair was a bit longer now, his skin not quite so tanned. Surely these photos must have been taken when Garrett had dated Cynthia years ago, but why were they suddenly surfacing, and who was trying to make it look like Garrett was being unfaithful?
She stormed out of her room, not terribly surprised to see Tim down the hall. Every time she turned around he seemed to be coming around a corner. She nodded a greeting and quickly turned toward the back staircase. She needed to get out for a while and clear her head. She jogged down the stairs, oblivious to everything until she heard the click beneath her foot and froze. It was then that she noticed Max sitting at attention and Alan squatting down by the door.
“Don’t move,” Alan commanded in a quiet voice.
Slowly Janessa shifted her gaze to Alan. “I guess I found what you’re looking for,” she managed as she swallowed hard.
As Tim started down the stairs, Alan caught his eye and held up a hand to stop Tim’s forward motion. “Go tell Martino to evacuate the chateau. Everyone needs to use the main entrance.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think Janessa just found another bomb.”
“Oh, no,” he breathed before turning to race back up the stairs.
Terrified, Janessa tried to maintain a calm tone. “Can you see how it was planted?”
“There’s got to be a loose floorboard.” Alan skimmed his fingers lightly over the wooden floor.
“This area was clean when I checked it out late last night.”
Janessa’s mind raced. “One of the caterers could have slipped away when they were loading up.”
“Right now it doesn’t matter much who did it.” Alan gently pulled up a loose board that was directly in front of Janessa.
Tim appeared beside Alan with Levi. “What can we do to help?”
Alan glanced at their feet and then up at both men. “Levi, give me your shoes.”
Levi didn’t hesitate as he reached down and pulled both shoes off and squatted down to hand them to Alan. “Here.”
Alan took one shoe from him and used it to brace one side of the floorboard up. Then he used the second shoe to brace the other side of the board. He dug a flashlight from the tool belt he typically wore and shined it beneath the board. “It’s active.”
“I already figured that out,” Janessa managed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Basically, we’re dealing with a grenade-type explosive. When you stepped down, your weight knocked loose the pin that kept the bomb stable.” Alan turned to Levi. “Go get me some tweezers. There’s a pair of rubber-tipped ones in the toolbox in my room.”
“I’m on it,” Levi agreed and raced in the opposite direction.
Tim edged closer to Alan. “Can you see the pin?”
“Yeah.” Alan shifted the flashlight from the explosive to the subflooring, where a metal pin lay in the dust. “But I’m going to need some help to get it back in.”
Levi returned a moment later with tweezers in hand. “Here you go.”
“Okay, let’s get this done.” Alan instructed both men about what he needed them to do. Tim sprawled out on his stomach on one side of Alan so he could hold the explosive steady while Levi sat on the other side and aimed the flashlight at the tiny piece of metal that could save Janessa’s life.
Carefully, Alan reached beneath the board and used the tweezers to extend his reach and grasp the metal pin. He then shifted so he could insert it back into the explosive. “Okay, everyone hold real still.” Alan’s voice was calm despite the trickle of sweat now visible on his forehead.
“Wait!” Janessa urged. “Are you sure there aren’t any booby traps like the last one?”
“It looks clean,” Alan told her. “Trust me. We’ll get you out of this.”
Slowly, Janessa nodded her head and closed her eyes. She could hear the rustle of the breeze outside, she could smell the mixture of cologne from the men trying to save her, and she could feel her heart pounding. A million thoughts rushed through her mind as she faced the reality that this breath might be her last.
“Got it.” Alan’s voice broke through, and she slowly opened her eyes. “Everyone clear out of here before Janessa moves.”
Janessa watched Levi and Tim reluctantly move to a safe distance while Alan remained sprawled on the floor with his hand beneath the floorboard. “What about you?” she asked.
“I’m going to make sure that it doesn’t reengage,” Alan told her. “Slowly take a step back.”
Janessa nodded and took a deep breath. Carefully, she slid one foot back and then the other. Relief surged through her whole body as she exhaled heavily, and Tim and Levi moved forward once more.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Tim said, taking Janessa by the arm.
“What about the bomb?”
“I’ll help him with it,” Levi told her, squatting down as Alan began removing the tape that held the explosive in place. “You go get some air.”
Reluctantly, Janessa nodded. She let Tim lead her out the terrace doors, vaguely noticing the servants clustered near the kitchen entrance.
“Are you okay?” Tim asked gently.
Janessa shook her head. “I know you’re here to watch out for me, but I need a few minutes alone.” She motioned to the beach. “I’m going to take a walk down by the water, but I’ll stay in your line of sight, okay?”
Surprise lit his eyes, but he nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
With a nod, Janessa moved toward the sea.
Chapter 29
Garrett glanced down at his watch before exiting the museum. In his hand he held the latest report on the art thefts. The task of finding someone who had access to the artwork at the time of each theft would be time consuming, and he hoped their security forces were up to the task.
He approached the waiting limousine, surprised to see more reporters than usual gathered nearby. Still focused on the information in his hand, he let his security detail keep the press at bay as he stepped into the limousine where Enrico was waiting. As soon as Enrico settled into the driver’s seat, he turned to look back at Garrett through the open window.
“Your Highness, another bomb was found at the chateau,” Enrico told him, his eyes dark with concern.
“What?” Sheer panic rushed through Garrett. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No, sir, but there’s something else.” Enrico handed Garrett a stack of newspapers and magazines through the window. “Martino asked me to obtain these for you.”
Garrett’s eyes widened when he saw the photograph of himself on the front page of the tabloid Enrico had given him. In it he was standing aboard his private yacht, his arms wrapped around Cynthia Renault. He vaguely remembered the outing nearly four years ago, and if he wasn’t mistaken, this exact picture had appeared in a newspaper a day or two afterward.
He flipped to the next newspaper, annoyed to find similar photos with Cynthia. The headlines consistently insinuated that he was secretly seeing this woman while engaged to Janessa. He looked up at Enrico. “Has Janessa seen these?”
“I believe so, Your Highness.”
“Take me home.”
Enrico nodded as Garrett closed the window between them.
* * *
Janessa stood on the beach watching the last of the sun’s rays glisten off of the Mediterranean. Her hair hung loose, the breeze pulling at the ends as the air began to cool. She wanted to be alone, but she knew she was far from it.
Activity was still buzzing at the chateau, where the most recent bomb was being loaded into a vehicle from the naval base, where it would be taken to be analyzed for fingerprints. Tim stood above her in the gardens, a silent sentry watching over her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one. Several photographers and reporters were parked outside of the chateau gates. She didn’t have to look to know that several had their telephoto lenses aimed in her direction.
Never before had she considered what it would be like to crave solitude and not be able to find it. Could she really live like this, with the press always hovering around a corner? Would her relationship with Garrett be able to withstand the strain of the exaggerations and purely fictional stories the papers would undoubtedly create when they couldn’t find anything better to print?
Tears threatened as she realized it didn’t matter. Whether she could learn to live with the intrusion was no longer an issue. As long as she was paired with Garrett, he was in danger. Even after this current threat was eliminated, there would always be extremists whose anti-American sentiments would threaten both their peace and their safety. She chastised herself for not facing this reality sooner. A tear spilled over and rolled down her cheek unnoticed. If she truly loved him, she had to leave him and this place.
Her heart broke neatly in two as her dreams shattered amidst the crashing waves and the mournful cries of the seagulls. The Meridian temple would be built, Garrett would eventually find someone else to love, and she would go on, year after year, wishing for what could have been.
She wiped at her eyes before glancing back up at the press corps. She considered having the guards chase them away, but she imagined that they would leave on their own once they found there was nothing new to report. As she turned back toward the water, the thought came clearly into her mind: The press was camped outside the chateau because they were expecting something to report.
If Garrett truly had been unfaithful, no one would expect Janessa to remain in Meridi
a. They were waiting for her to leave, she realized. Questions tumbled through her mind as she tried to analyze the situation without tying her emotions to the problem. Those recent tabloids were likely not just the mean trick of an ex-girlfriend. It seemed that someone was worried that Garrett’s engagement to an American would translate into stronger ties between the US and Meridia. But what if that wasn’t the real issue? Or what if that was only part of it? Could her presence be perceived as interfering with the smuggling operation?
She caught a glimpse of the limousine approaching, and her thoughts turned to the man within. Would he understand why they couldn’t get married? She uttered a quiet prayer, begging for strength as she saw Garrett descend the steps to the beach.
He closed the distance between them, but before he could reach for her, Janessa nodded to the crowd that had formed on the road. “We have an audience,” Janessa began.
“Nothing in the papers is true,” Garrett told her without preamble.
“I know that.” Janessa sighed. “But I’m concerned that several of the articles quoted Lady Renault. Why is she lying about having a relationship with you?”
“She has long aspired to marry a prince. I can only think that she considers you the reason I’m not interested in her.” Garrett shrugged. “I wish I could say this was the first time, but she has caused problems with other women I’ve gone out with as well.”
“These articles might be coincidental, or maybe Cynthia is somehow involved with the other problems we’ve encountered.” Janessa tried to sound professional but didn’t quite manage it. “Someone is going to great lengths to get rid of me one way or another.”
“I heard you found another bomb.” Garrett couldn’t hide the worry in his voice.
Janessa closed her eyes and banked down on the panic rushing through her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to say the words. “I have to leave here. This isn’t going to stop until I’m gone.”
“You aren’t the type to run away,” Garrett insisted, his voice clipped. “What’s really going on here? I already told you that nothing is going on between me and Cynthia.”
Royal Target Page 19
