Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Kate’s mouth flew open but she was too furious to string words together in a coherent sentence. Ace Mason hadn’t changed a bit. He was still the “do it by the book no matter what” FBI guy that cared more about FBI rules than anything.

  “Anyway,” Ace continued, “when I realized you’d slipped away and could be walking into one of Darkstone’s traps, I called Gideon. He’d just witnessed your abduction, so he felt it was best to fill us in so we could come and rescue you.”

  Rescue her?

  Kate’s hands balled into fists and she marched over to Ace who looked at her fearfully as he tried to land the plane.

  “Hey, wait a minute.” Kate jabbed her index finger in his direction. “I didn’t need rescuing. I could have climbed out of that volcano just fine on my own. And, to top it off, I had to do your job and get rid of the bad guy!”

  “Now, now,” Vic soothed as he pulled Kate over to him and kissed the top of her head. “Everything worked out for the best, Kitten. We wouldn’t have been able to capture Darkstone’s people if we didn’t have the added help of the FBI.”

  Kate doubted that. She felt certain they could have pulled it off without Ace Mason or any other FBI help, but the helicopter jolted to a landing and they were rushed by Carlotta and the others before she got a chance to say so.

  The next thing Kate knew, she was in the middle of a round of hugging with everyone gushing about how great it was they were all alive. Eventually she found herself facing Ace Mason, who grabbed her in a hug before she had a chance to protest.

  It must have been the excitement. When Ace’s arms went around her, Kate felt a rush of emotion. She felt safe. Secure. She started to melt into his embrace, her heartbeat kicking into high gear and her insides starting to get all tingly. She was still clutching the Millennia Ruby and she felt his hand snake around her waist toward it.

  Kate jerked back, flattening her left palm on Ace’s chest and pushing him away while she clutched the ruby tighter with her right hand.

  “Oh no … you’re not getting the ruby,” she said.

  Ace spread his hands at his sides. “I wasn’t trying to get the ruby, Kate.”

  Kate glanced sideways at him. He almost sounded like he meant it.

  “Hey, we better get going,” Vic yelled. “The volcano could blow at any moment.”

  Kate’s stomach twisted as she looked at the gray smoke billowing from the top of the volcano.

  “I’ll take the bad guys back in the helicopter.” Ace pointed to the left then turned to Vic. “You guys take the boats.”

  “Okay,” Vic said, then did something that made Kate’s jaw drop. He clapped Ace on the back and said, “Good job, son.”

  Son?

  Kate stared at them as they shook hands, looking at each other with something Kate thought she’d never see them look at each other with—mutual respect. Carlotta was standing behind Vic. Kate caught her eye and made a face while she tilted her head toward the two men. Carlotta shrugged. Apparently, Vic and Ace had formed some sort of bond during the rescue. Kate just hoped that didn’t mean they’d be inviting him over for holiday dinners.

  As the two continued with their bonding ritual, Kate’s gaze drifted to the left where Ace had pointed. Four men were chained up with what looked like the very chains that had held her, Carlotta and Sal. One of them was Sheldon. Their eyes locked and he shoved his pinkie-less hand up in a gesture that was reminiscent of giving one the bird. Except in his case, it was four fingers and no pinkie.

  “How do you know Darkstone is dead?” Ace pulled her attention away from Sheldon.

  “I pushed him into the shaft of the volcano,” Kate said. “I watched him fall.”

  “You’re sure he’s dead?” Ace glanced uncertainly at the volcano.

  “Of course, no one could survive a fall like that, could they?”

  “Well, you did.”

  Kate frowned. “Yeah, but I had special equipment. I saw him fall all the way down. And my mother and Sal did, too.”

  “Okay,” Ace said. “You’re right. He must be dead in there.”

  A man approached them. “Ace, we better get going.”

  “Kate, this is my new partner, Mick.” Kate’s eyes widened. So this was who had replaced her. She murmured a greeting and the two of them shook hands, then Ace tossed a set of keys to Mick. “Jim and I will take the captives in the helicopter and you take the boat back.”

  Mick nodded and headed off.

  Ace turned back to Kate. She saw emotion flood his eyes and he reached out almost as if to touch her, then let his hand fall back to his side. “You’ll have to come in to headquarters and give a statement.”

  “Of course,” Kate said feeling a little disappointed that he hadn’t touched her. She didn’t want him to though, did she?

  “Okay, I guess I’ll see you there, then.” Ace turned and walked away.

  Kate stared after him feeling … well, she didn’t know exactly what she was feeling.

  “Katie. Come on! We gotta get out of here!” Vic’s voice interrupted her thoughts and she turned and hurried after her father, the sound of the helicopter taking off drumming in her ears.

  As they walked back to the beach, Carlotta recounted the details of their capture and how Kate pushed Darkstone into the volcano. Vic filled them in on how he, Gertie and Frankie had teamed up with the FBI. Everyone, except the two FBI guys, got a good laugh out of that—no one ever thought any of the Golden Capers gang would be working with the FBI.

  They used the inflatable to ferry themselves to their respective boats. The FBI were nice enough to hang around while Sal spliced together the electrical wires that had been cut during the abduction, even though Kate did catch them glancing uneasily at the volcano, which was starting to emit louder and more frequent rumblings.

  Once power was restored to the High Jinx, the two boats took off, leaving the grumbling, bubbling volcano in their wake.

  “Is the satellite connection restored?” Kate slid into the dinette and placed the Millennia Ruby on the table.

  “It is,” Carlotta said as she picked the ruby up and held it to the shattered window. The sunlight filtered into the crystal lighting it with a deep red glow. “Now this is more like it.”

  Kate couldn’t wait to call into the museum and let them know she had the ruby. Should she call Max’s private line or the lab?

  On the one hand, she was kind of mad at Gideon for telling Ace about the island but she had to admit the presence of the four extra FBI guys had tipped the scales in their favor. Plus, Gideon’s glider vest and switchblade thumb had saved the day.

  She brought up Skype and pressed the button to call the lab.

  “Kate. Are you all right?” Gideon’s worried voice blared out of the computer.

  “Is that Kate?” Kate practically melted as she heard Max’s voice. “Kate—I’ve been so worried about you.”

  She stared at the screen, which showed an empty lab. Where was everyone? Or Max in particular … she could see Gideon any time. As if on cue, Gideon’s face filled the screen. His hair was a disheveled mess and his forehead creased with worry.

  “I’m fine,” Kate said. “Are you okay? You look like crap.”

  “I’ve been worried about you!” Gideon said.

  “Well, no need to worry. The bad guys have been taken care of … and I have something to bring back.” Kate proudly held the Millennia Ruby in front of her so they could see it back at the lab.

  “You got the ruby?” Gideon asked.

  “Yes,” Kate said. “Why don’t you move out of the way and let Max see it?” Or let me see Max.

  Kate held her breath as Gideon’s face zoomed away and was replaced by a large blue mass. Squinting at the screen, Kate realized it was the crotch of someone’s pants. Max’s pants … he was standing in front of the computer!

  “I hear you went above and beyond the call of duty to get that,” Max’s voice said. “Gideon tells me that crazy killer, Darkstone, did all this to lu
re you to him.”

  “Yep, but I took care of him and got the ruby,” Kate said. “Have a seat and I’ll hold it up closer so you can see it’s the real deal.”

  Kate felt her cheeks turn red as she watched the crotch on the computer screen move. Max’s crotch. It was nice and all, but she really wanted to see the rest of him. She held her breath, waiting for his face to come on the screen.

  Instead, she saw a tanned arm lightly dotted with dark hair and wearing a Rolex watch.

  “I wish I could stay and talk, but I have a meeting.” Max moved away from the computer and Kate saw a view of the lab again. “I just came down to keep Gideon company as he was frantic with worry. But now that you’re okay, I must tend to business. We’ll catch up when you get back.”

  “Right, of course,” Kate said hiding her disappointment.

  Ka Boom!

  The explosion, even as far away as it was, rocked the boat and Kate had to hold on to the table to keep from falling over.

  “What the devil was that?” Max’s voice again, laced with concern.

  Kate looked behind her. In the distance, she could see Blue Crow Island … or what was left of it. The top of the volcano had been blown clear off and there was a cloud of debris above it. Glowing red lava poured down the sides toward the island below. Kate shuddered—even if Darkstone had somehow survived the fall, he certainly couldn’t have survived that.

  “That,” she said, “was the end of Blue Crow Island … and Damien Darkstone.”

  “Let’s see.” Gideon’s eager face filled the screen and Kate turned her computer so that the camera could capture the island.

  “I must commend you on a job well done,” Max said. “You killed a violent criminal, captured his henchmen and escaped an exploding island, all to bring the Millennia Ruby back home to the museum.”

  Kate’s heart surged as she basked in the glow of Max’s praise.

  “Thanks,” she said. Then, so as not to appear too full of herself, she shrugged and added. “It’s all in a day’s work.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way,” Max replied. “I was afraid you might ask for a raise.”

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Two days later, Kate stood on the steps of the FBI building after a grueling six-hour interview where she’d told the same story about what happened in the volcano with Darkstone over and over again to several different agents.

  “I guess you guys really want to make sure Darkstone’s dead, huh?” Kate said to Ace, who had escorted her out of the building and was now standing on the steps beside her.

  Ace shrugged. “We never recovered a body.”

  “You expected a body? The man was incinerated.”

  Ace laughed. “I know, but you know how the bureau likes to cross its t’s and dot its i’s.”

  “There’s just one thing,” Kate said. “How did you know so much about the ruby theft?”

  Ace smiled. “We’re the FBI. We have our ways.”

  Kate’s thoughts drifted to the man she’d thought looked familiar at the hotel—Westlake. “You had someone inside the ice hotel, didn’t you?”

  Ace shrugged.

  “Wait a minute.” Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you planning on stealing the ruby from there too?”

  Ace shook his head. “No. Of course not. It was never about the ruby anyway, Kate. It was always about keeping you safe.”

  Kate stared into his eyes. He seemed sincere, but she didn’t know if she believed him.

  Finally, she broke eye contact and glanced down the street. Max had said he was going to pick her up in his Ferrari Testerosa and take her to Clio, one of the best French restaurants in Boston, to celebrate the return of the Millennia Ruby.

  “So anyway, I was hoping we could bury the hatchet and you’d let me buy you a burger and a beer,” Ace said.

  Kate whipped her head back in his direction. She had to admit he looked kind of cute standing there with his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet on the ground. He seemed nervous about her answer and for some reason that tugged at her heart.

  Did he really want to be friends again … or was this just a ruse to get close to her so he could get information on the next case?

  “Well, I …” Kate stammered. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She was finally going to get to see what Max looked like. And he was going to pick her up in a Ferrari and take her to a fancy restaurant. Surely, that was more appealing than a burger and beer with Ace Mason.

  She glanced back down the street, then back at Ace. He had a boyish, hopeful look on his face that made him very appealing. She bit her bottom lip and saw something flash in the depths of his gray eyes.

  Her stomach flip-flopped like a teenager, but her heart didn’t follow. She wasn’t ready to forgive Ace Mason yet. She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready.

  Looking down the street again, she saw the red Ferrari turn the corner.

  “Sorry, Ace. Max is coming to pick me up.” She nodded toward the car that was pulling to the curb, its dark windows making it impossible to see inside. She ran around to the passenger side.

  “Oh.” Ace’s face hardened. “Well, maybe some other time then.”

  “Sure.” Kate smiled over the hood of the car at him as she opened the passenger door. “Some other time.”

  The smell of “new car” and leather tickled Kate’s nose as she slid into the buttery black leather seat. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation. She slowly turned her head and looked straight into the deep, brown eyes of … Mercedes LaChance.

  “You?” What are you doing here?”

  “Max had some business but he let us take the car,” Gideon said as he stuck his head in-between the two seats. Kate craned her neck to look behind her and noticed Gideon’s body uncomfortably wedged on the luggage shelf behind the front seats.

  “And use the expense account.” Mercedes waved a credit card in Kate’s face as she pulled out into traffic.

  “He said we could buy ourselves a great meal and maybe see a show,” Gideon added, “as a reward for our fine work in getting the ruby back.”

  Kate cut her eyes over to Mercedes. “Well, I know what Gideon did and what I did, but what did you do?”

  “Come on Kate, you know I keep everything running like a greased wheel,” Mercedes said.

  Kate made a face. As far as she was concerned, Mercedes was more of a hindrance than a help.

  “Yeah like getting these photos of Blue Crow Island.” Gideon shoved some photos between the seats. They showed an ash covered island with a big volcano sticking out of the middle.

  “That’s what it looks like now?” Kate’s brow creased. All the lush vegetation was gone—covered with ash and rock.

  “Yes.” Gideon pushed the glasses up on his nose. “It’s all rock now. Not one single Blue Crow survived—It’s such a shame the whole species is extinct.”

  “You know this case was kind of weird,” Kate said. “It started with Crowder, ‘The Crow”, and ended with a bunch of weird crows on an island.”

  “At least you got two good things out of it—you got rid of Darkstone, and you got the ruby back,” Gideon said.

  “Yeah, all in all it came out pretty good,” Kate replied. She relaxed into her seat as Mercedes zigzagged through the traffic. It had worked out pretty good. Kate felt satisfied that she’d proven herself to Max and redeemed herself in the eyes of the FBI. And the fact that she’d never have to worry about Darkstone again was an added bonus.

  Plop.

  “Eww, what’s that?” Mercedes fumbled around on the steering wheel for the knob that worked the wipers.

  Kate stared at the large white blob that had appeared on the windshield, her stomach growing uneasy as she realized it was bird poop. Something in the middle of the white blob caught her eye and she bolted up in her seat.

  “Hey is that a bl—”

  Mercedes found the wipers and they squeegeed across the window obliterating the bird poop and the bright blue downy feat
her that Kate thought she’d seen right smack in the middle of it.

  “What?” Gideon asked.

  “Nothing,” Kate said as she sank back into the seat pushing the image of the feather from her mind. Plenty of birds had bright blue feathers, didn’t they?

  She’d been hoping for a night out with Max, but now it looked like she was going to get Mercedes, Gideon and bird poop. With a sigh, she glanced out at the shops and restaurants whizzing by. She’d make the best of it, relax and enjoy a night filled with fun and free of trouble.

  That’s why Kate didn’t want to think about the feather or where it might have come from. She knew that would be inviting trouble to find her and, from her experience, trouble didn’t need an invitation—it always had a way of knowing exactly where she was.

  The End.

  About The Author

  Leighann Dobbs discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. When she’s not reading, gardening or selling antiques, she likes to write romance and cozy mystery novels and novelettes which are perfect for the busy person on the go.

  Find out about her latest books and how to get discounts on them by signing up at:

  http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter

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