Hidden Deception: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  He was thinking Billie wasn’t going to like having to wait, but if it came from me, it might not be too bad. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.” I waved goodbye and quickly stashed my blanket in the car, then drove to the restaurant. It wasn’t far, so I got there a little early and decided to get a table and order a diet soda so I could gather my thoughts while I waited. It was a relief to have that whole mystery resolved, but it wasn’t easy to find out the horrible truth, and I needed some time to chill out a little.

  About five minutes later, Billie arrived, and I waved her over.

  “Hey Shelby, don’t you look cute.”

  “Thanks. Have a seat and show me your ring.”

  With a smile of pure happiness, Billie held out her hand, and I properly ooo’d and ahh’d at the beautiful setting. We spoke for some time about ‘the dress,’ along with all her wedding plans. By the time our lunches came, the subject had switched to my trip to Paris. Of course she wanted to know all the juicy details.

  “I’ll tell you as long as you promise not to print anything I say.”

  “Really?” She thought I was exaggerating.

  “Yes. Do you promise?” I’d worked hard to keep my name out of the whole thing, and I needed to keep it that way. If it ever got out, who knew what some crazy person might want from me? I was already worried that Blake might want my help again, even though he’d promised that we were even.

  Add Inspector Gabriel Dumont, and British Agent, Suzette Chevalier, into the mix, and my chances of exposure were even worse. Of course, only Gabriel knew my secret, but having a reputation that my premonitions actually worked could be just as bad.

  “Oh, all right.” She sighed. “But just so you know, I know all about the terrorist plot from the news, so it’s nothing I, or anyone else in the world, haven’t already heard about. I just wondered how much of it you were involved with. You can certainly tell me that much.”

  “Well… I was involved with quite a bit of it. I was even at the Luxembourg Palace when it all happened.”

  Her squeal of delight brought a few glances our way, so I lowered my voice and gave her an abbreviated version of the events. It was the same version I’d told my kids, where I left out most of the details, and glossed over my involvement.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you were there.” Billie hadn’t missed my shortened version and knew there was a lot more to the story than I’d told her. “Someday, you’ll have to tell me the whole thing. Maybe when I’m writing your memoirs?”

  I chuckled. “Now that is a great idea. Someday when we’re both old and gray, I promise to tell you everything.”

  “Good,” she agreed, but she hoped she could persuade me to share much sooner than that. After all, she needed her Pulitzer Prize and, deep down, she had a feeling I might be her ticket to get it.

  “Oh, look at the time,” I said, interrupting her thoughts. “It’s been almost a whole hour already, can you believe it?”

  She sent me a knowing smile, not fooled in the least. “Then I’d better ask you about the two bodies you and Drew discovered.” She pulled out her pad and pen, then glanced at me with expectance. “First of all, what were you doing at that house anyway?”

  “I was looking at the house because I was thinking about buying it. Isn’t that nuts?”

  “Are you kidding me?” It made her a little jealous that all the cool stuff happened to me. How did I do it? It was like I was a magnet for trouble, no matter where I went or what I did.

  I told her about the families, and that we’d notified them just this morning. “They were both missing kids from ten years ago. The girl, Riley Garrett, disappeared from the school yard. And the boy, Grant Johnson, was a runaway.”

  I waited while she wrote down their names. She was thinking that it would be easy to look up the cases from ten years ago and write an article that they’d been found. “Do you have any leads?”

  “We have a couple of leads, but I can’t talk about that right now because it’s an ongoing investigation and all that.”

  “Okay. But if you make an arrest or anything, you’ll let me know?”

  “Yes. You’ll get an exclusive, I can promise you that.” Once Johnson came in to Chris’ office on Monday, it would be great to have a reporter break the news from his point of view.

  “Thanks.” Billie put her pad and pen away, thinking it had been a productive lunch, even though there was one more thing she needed. “Hey… I was wondering what you thought about going with me to look for a ring for Drew? I wanted him to help me pick it out, but he told me to surprise him. Is that normal?” She wondered if he’d said to surprise him because he didn’t care, and that kind of hurt her feelings.

  “Uh… well, you know Dimples, he’s an easy-going type of guy. That’s why you two get along so well.” Before she could wonder if that was a compliment or not, I continued. “So I think if he said he wants to be surprised, he means it. I also think he trusts your judgement.”

  “Oh, well that’s good, I guess.”

  “So sure! I’d love to go with you.” I checked my watch, remembering my appointment with Uncle Joey. “I have to be somewhere at two, and it’s one now. Do we have time?”

  “The store isn’t far from here, so it won’t take long, and we can walk. In fact, it’s the same store where Drew got my ring. The store owner told Drew he’d give him a discount since it took him so long to get the ring ready, so I’m hoping for a good deal.”

  “Oh…” I’d almost said, oh yeah, but caught it in time, then decided to play dumb. “What happened?”

  After paying our bill, we gathered our things and began the short walk to the jewelry store. I listened to Billie tell me the story that I already knew, and I gave the appropriate responses. Billie pulled the door open, sending the familiar chime into the store. The owner’s son came out and greeted us warmly, thinking that I looked familiar.

  “May I help you?”

  “Yes,” Billie answered. “My fiancée bought my ring here. Maybe you remember him? Detective Drew Harris?”

  “Oh, yes. Of course.” His alarm grew that she might not be happy with it, and he hoped the detective hadn’t told her about the other ring he’d offered. If the cop had looked into it, and found that it was stolen, that little slip could have landed him in jail for a long time. Then he glanced at me and remembered that I’d been there too. Had I told her about the other ring?

  “How do you like it?” he blurted. “Is everything okay?”

  “I love it,” she exclaimed. “That’s why I’m here to look for a wedding band. Drew mentioned that you’d offered a discount because of the mix-up with my ring. Is that right?”

  “Yes. I’ll have to work out the details with my father, but I’m sure we can work something out to your satisfaction.” He smiled with relief and took us to his collection of wedding bands, willing to give her a deep discount to keep the detective on his good side. “Take a look and see if there’s something you like.”

  As we looked them over, I picked up that he was thanking his lucky stars the detective hadn’t come back in to nose around. With the unaccounted stash of high-grade diamonds in his safe, this was the worst time ever. Then he was thinking that Zack should have returned for them by now. Had something happened to him? But if that was the case, why hadn’t Manetto come for them himself? Having that much contraband in his possession made him nervous, and he was eager to move them out before the wrong people found out where they were.

  Holy hell! The missing diamonds were here?

  Just then Billie exclaimed over one of the bands, drawing my attention away from his thoughts. The band was simple, but elegant, and I told her it looked like something Dimples would love.

  “How much with the discount?” she asked.

  The clerk figured out an amount that hardly gave him any profit at all, thinking that the loss was perfectly acceptable, given the circumstances. Billie knew her good fortune at once, and bought it right there on the s
pot.

  He boxed it up, eager to see the last of us, and hurried over to the register.

  “Wait,” Billie said. “I don’t know if this will fit him. Shouldn’t I get it sized first?”

  “Of course, how thoughtless of me. Do you know what size he wears?”

  “Yes. It’s here in my purse somewhere.” She found the paper with his size and handed it to him.

  “This is perfect.” He said that mostly because it meant Dimples wouldn’t have to come in. “I can have it ready for you next week. Let’s fill out the paperwork, and I’ll call you as soon as it’s done.”

  The paperwork didn’t take long, and soon we were walking back toward our cars. Elated, Billie thanked me for my help, even though I hadn’t done much. In fact, going with her had helped me a lot more than it had helped her.

  “You’re welcome,” I said. “It was fun.”

  “Good. Do you think I should show it to him or just surprise him with it when I put it on his finger?” Just thinking about it sent shivers of anticipation through her, and I knew what she wanted to do, so I went with that.

  “Oh, that’s easy. Surprise him. He’ll love it.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, Shelby. That’s what I thought, too.” She gave me a little hug, and we went our separate ways. “Call me!” she said over her shoulder.

  “I will.” I sent a wave, then hurried to my car. It was great to see her so happy. Plus, the fact that I knew where the missing diamonds were didn’t hurt either. This day may have started out on a depressing note, but so far, things had worked out pretty well. The temperature had even warmed to the mid-seventies, and I wasn’t freezing anymore.

  Things were looking up. I knew what had happened to those kids and had even helped Mr. Johnson decide to do the right thing. Once he came forward, that case would be closed. Maybe then we could still buy that house.

  And who would ever believe that helping a friend pick out a wedding ring would solve the case of the missing diamonds? How awesome was that? Now I couldn’t wait to tell Uncle Joey. Who knew? Maybe this whole mess with the Russian mob could be straightened out today.

  My watch read two-fifteen, but with my good news, I didn’t think Uncle Joey would be upset that I was late once I explained why. Eager to share my news, I drove the few blocks to Thrasher Development as fast as I could and found a great parking spot.

  On a whim, I stepped behind the elevator to see if Ramos’ motorcycle was there. Yup. It even looked like he’d ridden it recently, and a sudden urge to climb onboard just for the heck of it came over me. And here I was in a stupid dress. What was I thinking? Still, with the way things were going, maybe a ride was possible. If I wrapped the blanket around me, it could work, right?

  After pushing the call button, the doors to the elevator opened, and I stepped inside. But instead of making faces, I just waved at the camera and hoped it made Ramos smile… even if I wasn’t sure he was watching.

  Exiting the elevator, I hurried into the office, but Jackie wasn’t at her desk. Surprised, I listened for voices, but the place seemed deserted and deadly quiet. I opened my mind but heard nothing. Not even a whisper of noise or a wayward thought.

  A surge of panic rose in my chest, along with an unbidden vision of Uncle Joey, Jackie, and Ramos all shot dead and riddled with bullets in Uncle Joey’s office. A grisly mob killing by the Russians in retaliation for the diamond fiasco. And because I was late, I’d barely missed dying with them.

  I swallowed and shook my head, hoping to clear those horrible thoughts. They were probably all in Uncle Joey’s office or, if not there, the apartment. All I had to do was look for them. It concerned me that the doors to all the offices were closed. Usually the conference room door stayed open. So I took a deep breath and opened that door, only to find the room empty.

  I did the same with each succeeding office, finding each one as empty as the others. Finally, I stood in front of Uncle Joey’s office. Gathering my courage, I knocked. Hearing nothing, I turned the knob. With my heart rate skyrocketing, I pushed the door open. My quick glance around the empty room sent me sagging into a puddle of relief.

  No dead bodies. So where the heck was everybody?

  With determination, I whipped around and opened every door on my way down the hall, even the security room, and found all of them empty. That left the apartment. I hesitated a moment, then turned the knob and pushed it open.

  A bright light flashed in my eyes, and I jerked back with a startled gasp.

  “Surprise!” Jackie called.

  I could hardly believe my eyes. Uncle Joey, Jackie, and Ramos, along with Nick and Ricky, all stood there with indulgent smiles on their faces.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We thought we’d surprise you,” Jackie explained. “Just one year ago today, you joined our little group, so we decided to celebrate.”

  I gaped at them, my mind blank with shock, and I couldn’t seem to form a coherent response. Uncle Joey’s brows drew together, and he wondered what was wrong with me. I should be happy they’d remembered. Well… Jackie had remembered. He’d been in a meeting when she’d come in with the cake.

  “Come on in Shelby,” Jackie said, taking charge. “We bought a cake for you. Why don’t you cut it and we’ll all have a piece?” She was thinking that she’d bought the cake after finding a notation on her calendar that said I’d started working there a year ago and thought it would be such a fun surprise. Especially after all the drama with the last few days.

  “Uh… thanks,” I said. “I certainly didn’t expect this.” I hurried over to the cake, finding a beautiful, double-layer chocolate cake with sprinkles and a red frosting rose on top. Even better, it didn’t have any crazy writing on it. “Wow. This looks amazing!”

  Uncle Joey was thinking that I needed to hurry up. He had things to do. He wasn’t real happy Jackie had done this without talking to him first. But since I was the only other woman in the office, it was probably okay. As long as no one else expected the same.

  I gave him the first piece, along with a sweet smile to help him feel better, then hurried to serve everyone else. As I handed Ramos his piece, he was thinking that he’d been with Manetto for a long time, and he’d never gotten any cake. What was up with that?

  I glanced at him sharply, meeting his gaze. His lips turned up in a sexy smile, and his eyes lit up with mirth before he winked at me. My heart flip-flopped, and a giggle bubbled up inside me, causing me to fumble my last piece of cake.

  Luckily, Ramos slid a plate under the piece before it fell on the floor, then sent a knowing smile my way. Standing this close, his shoulder touched mine, and I could smell that familiar scent of the soap I’d discovered in his shower, along with something that was all him. It triggered memories of all those times I’d relied on him in Paris. I tried not to lean against him, or close my eyes and inhale, but he was like a magnet that I had a hard time resisting.

  His deep rumbling chuckle brought me back to my senses, and I jerked upright. “Uh, thanks. Good save.”

  “My pleasure.”

  My breath caught, and shivers rolled over me. I narrowed my eyes, sending him a killer glare to make him stop teasing me, and he stepped away with a grin. Shaking my head, I grabbed a fork and took a bite of cake. As the chocolate hit my tongue, I did my best to enjoy it. I mean, if I couldn’t have Ramos, at least I could have chocolate, right? And it tasted pretty good too.

  Uncle Joey set his plate on the counter, and I realized that everyone but me was done. Uncle Joey caught my gaze, thinking that the fun and games were over, and it was time to get back to work.

  Taking the hint, I sent a smile of acknowledgement his way. “Uh, thanks you guys. This was so great of you.” They all did the polite head nod thing, but without a lot of enthusiasm, so I couldn’t wait to make it up to them. “Hey, since you’re all here, this might be the best time to tell you the good news!”

  “What’s that?” Uncle Joey asked.

  “I found the
diamonds!”

  Chapter 11

  Everyone froze in shock, and their thoughts of surprise, along with several curse words, flooded my mind.

  “What?” Uncle Joey could hardly believe it. “How? Where are they?”

  “They’re at Hodge’s old jewelry store. I don’t know who runs it now, but they’re in the safe, and the owner’s been waiting for you or Zack to come and get them.”

  Uncle Joey shook his head in disbelief. “How long ago did you find this out?”

  “I was there just before I came here.” His brows drew together in alarm, and I stiffened. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Yuri may have put a tail on you.” Uncle Joey turned to Ramos. “You’d better get over there.” As Ramos turned to leave, Uncle Joey continued, “Ricky, Nick, go with him. And go in through the back.”

  They were out the door in a flash, and I picked up a thrill of excitement from Ramos. It reminded me that he’d said he loved his job, and this seemed to prove it. Uncle Joey let out his breath, hoping they weren’t too late. He also thought it was too bad I hadn’t told them right off the bat. He glanced at me. “I think you have some explaining to do. Let’s go into my office.”

  He said that like I’d done something wrong. But how was I supposed to know Yuri had a tail on me? “Okay, but I never noticed anyone following me, so you might be wrong about the tail.”

  “I sincerely hope so,” he said. I followed him down the hall, a little bummed that I didn’t even get to finish my cake.

  We entered Uncle Joey’s office, and he shut the door. Before I had a chance to sit, he began to question me. “So how did you find them?”

  I waited until he sat down before I started, then took a deep breath and told him I had a friend who’d bought a diamond engagement ring there, specifically leaving out the part that he was a cop. I continued my story, finishing up with my visit there today, and how I’d picked it up from the jeweler’s thoughts.

  “If you didn’t ask him about the diamonds, then why was he thinking about them?” That part didn’t make any sense to Uncle Joey, and he wondered what I was hiding.