by Andrew Grey
James opened it, standing shirtless in the doorway. For a second Mattias’s mind short-circuited, but he got it together. “It’s not necessary. I don’t know how much he could tell us. You stay here and rest for a while. I’ll get this done and then come right back.” To Mattias’s surprise, James stepped forward and kissed him. It probably shouldn’t have shocked him given the fact that they had been sleeping together for the last couple of days, but James was in work mode and….
Mattias held James for a few seconds, kissing him in return before stepping back. “You need to go right now or both of us are going to be very late for everything today.”
James shrugged on his shirt. “I’ll hurry as quickly as I can. The tour doesn’t start until two, so we need to be ready to go by one. That should give us plenty of time to repeat last night.” James seemed to put it in high gear and was still bouncing a little as he left the house.
Mattias watched him go from out the back window, wondering if he could allow himself to think that this could possibly be real. He had to be realistic. He and James were very different, and it was pretty plain that no matter how Mattias acted or what he did, James wasn’t going to be able to move beyond his past. This was a little fun, and once the case was over, Mattias would go back to Philadelphia and on to his next client. It didn’t matter that the thought left him empty. He couldn’t change what was in James’s heart or what had been ingrained in his mind.
He turned back into the kitchen and put the dishes in the sink. He was about to go up and change when a ding caught his attention. He followed the sound to where James had left his phone on the counter. He picked it up and hurried out the back, intending to try to stop him, but James had left already, and as Mattias went back inside, the phone dinged again, the messages appearing on the screen. They were from James’s mom.
Is your father there with you? It was immediately followed by another. I got a voice message from him, but it was left from a 717 area code.
Mattias nearly dropped the phone, but placed it on the table, doing his best to ignore the nagging feeling at the base of his neck. James’s father was a thief—it didn’t take a huge leap for Mattias to suspect what could possibly be happening.
He went upstairs and undressed, telling himself that he was jumping to conclusions. James’s father could easily have picked up a burner phone that happened to have a number with James’s local area code. He quickly showered and dressed, but the sense of dread didn’t abate at all. Something was going on, and Mattias needed to find out what it was. If James’s father was behind this spate of robberies somehow, then James was going to be put in a terrible position. The thought left Mattias cold. James had built a life for himself, one that was aboveboard. He was a good cop—honest and surprisingly caring.
“Shit,” Mattias said out loud, then hunted up his phone to make a call. “Carrie, I really need your help….”
“WHAT’S THE problem?” Carrie asked as she breezed into a coffee shop on the main street a block from James’s house where he’d asked her to meet him.
“Remember how I asked you to see if you could find anything out about James’s father?” He tried not to let the edginess he was feeling creep into his voice.
“Yes. I called a few friends who owed me a favor. He’s got quite a reputation.” She ordered a coffee, and Mattias asked for a decaf. He’d had enough caffeine already and was going to fly out of the booth if he drank more.
“It’s possible he could be here.” Mattias leaned over the table, explaining the messages he’d found. “What if he was behind putting this ring together?” Maybe he was leaping to conclusions, but he needed her opinion. “Stranger things have happened.”
Their conversation paused as the server brought their coffees, then resumed once she had left.
“Maybe they have, but that would be a real shit move,” Carrie said.
Mattias smiled. She didn’t pull any punches—never had.
“Yeah, it would. But, man, it would rip James to pieces. He deals with what his dad does through distance. It still bothers him, though…. I know it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. You really care for him, don’t you?” Carrie asked, and Mattias sipped from his mug, watching her over the top of it. “It’s okay, you don’t need to answer me. You wouldn’t be bothering if you didn’t give a shit.” Now it was her turn to stall, and Mattias drank his coffee, knowing Carrie would tell him what she wanted to in her own time and not a second before. “My source, who’s been around a lot longer than either me or you…,” she said, lowering her voice. “There are rumors that he might be in the area.”
“All right,” Mattias agreed. He knew how these things worked, and if he wanted more, he was going to have to pay. Not that Carrie would be the one charging him, but the money would flow back downhill. Thieving was like the plumbing business—the crap ran downhill… most of the time. “James seems to think his father is after a last big score. Why would he be here?”
Carrie patted his hand as though he were being completely obtuse. “Because if he’s caught, he’s probably counting on his son getting him out of trouble. Like I said, it’s a complete shit move, but it seems he’s getting desperate. One big score will let him retire, and he can walk away free and clear. The problem is that no one ever does that. They get pulled in because someone wants something, and if you know where the skeletons are buried, you can get whatever you want.” She continued drinking the coffee, making a face every once in a while.
“I need to find him,” Mattias said. “I need to talk to the man.” He needed to get word to him to back off. “I’ll pay what I need to, but I have to meet him face-to-face. Is that something your source can arrange?”
Carrie set down her mug. “I don’t know, but I’ll try. Give me a day or so, and I’ll get back to you.” She patted his hand once again and started to slide out of the booth.
“I hate that I’m getting sucked back into this stuff.” He’d left this life behind some time ago, and while he had no intention of taking anything, the shadowy life he’d known for so long seemed to be beckoning him once again, and it was scary that he could fall back into it with so little effort at all. The road to hell was paved with good intentions, and Mattias hoped he wasn’t on the four-lane highway heading in that direction.
“READY TO go?” James asked as soon as Mattias arrived back at the house. “We need to get you down to your station so they can go over things with you, and one of the ladies called a few minutes ago. There seems to be some trouble with setting up the booth, so they asked if I could come early to give them a hand.” James smiled with happiness, and Mattias didn’t want to ask about the texts or anything else right now.
“Give me five minutes,” Mattias said as he hurried upstairs. He quickly changed his shirt and grabbed a sweater in case it was chilly. Then he joined James in the living room. “How did it go at the hospital?”
“He’s feeling better but doesn’t remember much more. However, Kim called from the school. She asked if we could meet this evening, so I invited her to dinner. She wanted to talk, and maybe she’ll have something for us.”
So that was the source of James’s excitement. “That sounds promising. Do you want to cook or should I?”
“Let’s try doing it together?”
That sounded pretty amazing to Mattias.
James opened the door and held it for him. “Do you want to follow me or ride along?”
“It would be best if I had my own car since we’re going to different locations,” Mattias said before climbing into his car. He closed the door and almost got out again to tell James he’d changed his mind. He missed James’s company, but knew he was being dumb. Mattias was going to have to get used to doing things alone again once this was over.
He followed James into Carlisle and then went out to where he was supposed to guide. He messaged James that he was there, then got out of the car and headed around to the house and then up the drive. Mattias rang the bell, and the
lady from the party last night answered it.
“I was hoping it was you,” she said with a smile. “Sarah Danross.”
“Mattias Dumont. It’s very good to see you again.” He moved inside as she motioned.
She closed the door and stepped back as though the splendor of the interior was supposed to blow him away. It was gorgeous, with arched doorways and stone accents. Very much in keeping with the house exterior.
“This is lovely.” And it was, but the wall colors were too strident for his taste, as were the draperies and furnishings. It was like she was trying too hard and consequently went overboard rather than just letting the home speak for itself.
“Thank you.”
“What would you like me to do to help?” Mattias asked as she led him through the home. He paused in the dining room, where the table was set with china, crystal, and plenty of silver. This home was a casing thieves’ paradise.
“I have the house ready. I was hoping you could stand between the dining room and the living room.” She seemed a little frazzled. “I had only asked for one docent because my brother and sister-in-law were supposed to be here, but my niece got sick and they can’t come.”
“It’s no problem.” Mattias looked over both rooms with a critical eye for valuables. “Is there anything you want me to tell people as they come through?” He let his gaze fall over the living room, with its period craftsman furniture and two Tiffany lamps, as well as other art pieces. He knew exactly what she had and wondered if he should tell her it might be best to place some of the more valuable things out of sight. But then she went through fluffing pillows and turning on the lamps. She was clearly meaning to impress and probably wasn’t going to take Mattias’s advice. Besides, he was supposed to be a helper, not an antiques expert. It was best to keep his mouth shut and his eyes open.
“The house was built in 1919, and it’s very much of that period,” she said.
“I can see that. The fireplace is massive and perfect for the room. I love the windows on either side. Are they original?”
“Yes. We kept as much as we possibly could. The dining room built-ins are mostly original. One of the doors was broken and we had it restored. But otherwise all the embellishments to the home are as they were when it was built.” She did some last-minute fluffing and then stepped back. Sarah had obviously done a lot of work, and she was proud to get the chance to show it off.
“That’s very good. It will give me something to talk about as people come through to help make them feel welcome.”
“Wonderful,” she said, then hurried out of the room toward the kitchen as a timer sounded. “I was baking some cookies for the guests and….”
“Sarah,” Mattias said as he followed her. “Not for the tour?”
“Why, yes… I….” She paused as she took the cookie sheet out.
“They will end up strewing crumbs and grinding them in the rugs. I wouldn’t put them out. It will make things much less of a mess. The last thing you want is chocolate fingerprints on your chairs,” he cautioned. “Don’t worry. You’ve done a beautiful job. Just relax and try to enjoy the day.”
“Thank you.” She set the cookies out to cool and began putting the ones covering the counter away. “But what do I do with all these?”
“Once they’re cool, you could bag them up and give them out to the volunteers. I’m sure they would appreciate them.” He left her to figure out what she wanted to do and got himself situated in the living room. Mattias wandered through the home to check it out so he could answer questions, grateful that people weren’t going to be going upstairs. That way they could control the flow of people through the house more easily. Thankfully, one of the ladies from the historical society arrived and explained that she would watch the front door. Sarah decided to place herself toward the back of the house just as the first home tour patrons arrived.
Mattias texted James to check in with him and then went to work. He talked to the guests, explaining about the house even as he watched them, noticing who was paying particular attention to the contents of the rooms rather than the house itself. Most people fell into the second group. They asked plenty of questions about when the home was built and how much restoration was done. There were a few who seemed much more interested in what was on display. Mattias paid attention to them, as well as those who seemed to pay very little attention to much of anything.
He sent a few messages to James and received a few to alert him to the people to watch out for. About halfway through the tour, he pulled out his phone and sent James a message as one of the wallflower couples from the charity event walked into the house. They clearly had tickets and came right through to the dining and living room. Mattias could almost see their eyes widen and could hear the addition being done in their heads. Mattias managed to get a quick picture of the couple, adding it to his message before he went into his now rather rehearsed explanation of the room.
His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to check the message. Hold them there if you can. I’m on my way.
I’ll try, Mattias answered, then began talking about other items in the room and even inquired of Sarah if she had ever seen a ghost in the house. He was running out of items to talk about when James came through the front door. He kept his distance, and when the couple left, James went out with them. Mattias didn’t know what he was doing, but stayed at his post, continuing to watch the other people as they came in.
He saw nothing especially suspicious after that, and made a few more notes that he texted to James so he didn’t forget them.
By the time the tour was over, Mattias was tired and talked out.
“Thank you for all your help,” Sarah said, handing him a big bag of cookies. “You definitely deserve these.”
“Thank you.” He hadn’t meant for her to give them to him, but Mattias was grateful. He got ready to leave and met James out on the sidewalk.
“I followed them to the car and took down the plate. I had it run, and there was nothing unusual. It wasn’t like I could question them. But I have a name and driver’s license with all the associated information. If they become of interest again, we can find them and see what they were up to.”
“Did you see anyone suspicious at the ticket booth?” Mattias asked.
“Not really.”
Mattias nodded. “You are going to want to have patrols set up near the house I was at. That place screamed ‘Rob me. I have plenty of small, portable wealth.’ The house may be the best bait we could possibly have. It’s full, and I mean full. I could walk out of there with two people, their arms full, and hold hundreds of thousands of dollars in easily cashed merchandise that once it got to New York or Los Angeles would be nearly untraceable. There are three Tiffany lamps alone that are worth in the area of fifty grand each, and one that was stunning and probably worth a quarter million. It would take three minutes tops to get in, take what I wanted, and get out without anyone knowing.” He was being as honest as he could with James.
“They have an alarm,” James said.
“That would take a minute of that time to overcome… no more. I’m saying we need to protect those people from themselves.” Mattias knew he had James’s attention. “She put out all her best things on display for anyone to see. It’s a miracle no one tried to steal anything during the tour.”
James shook his head quickly, taking a few steps and then turning back around. “You have to be kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
He sighed. “Then it looks like we are going to need to set up a stakeout.” He looked about as thrilled as Mattias had been the last time he had his teeth drilled. “I hate those things, but I have to agree with you.” He walked up and down the walk before heading toward Thornwald. “They could pull in here, park, and go right into the yard through that growth. Then into the house. No one would see them if it was dark. This area is shaded from the streetlights, and if the car they used was anything other than white, no one would see them.”
M
attias nodded. “Exactly.” He walked farther. “What’s back there besides houses?”
“There’s a drive into the park area, but the way is barred.”
“By what?” Mattias asked, and James swore under his breath. “Let me guess, a chain that can be opened because people need access.”
James nodded. “They could hide back there and get in that way.”
“Not if a temporary construction barrier of some sort were to go up. Say a Jersey barrier. You have to have some of them. Have one delivered, with a sign saying that the road is going to be under construction. It can stay there for a week or so, right?”
“I need to call the sheriff,” James said, pacing away from him. Mattias let him talk while he explored the area a little more. He ended up leaving the park by the back way. There were houses lining the other road and most of them had fences, so that way was going to be problematic at best. No, if given the chance, thieves would take advantage of the darkness to make their move. His instincts screamed it. Mattias continued his circle, returning to where James was on the phone.
“You and I need to go back, right now,” James told him softly when he was done with his call. “Solly is going to have Clay and Pierre come to the house, and we’re going to figure out how we can do this. I’ll meet you there.” James took off at a quick walk, and Mattias got to his car.
By the time Mattias arrived at James’s house, he was the last, and hurried inside to find James cooking and talking, with the planning already underway.
“There’s an apartment building just down the street on the other side. We should be able to park in there and have a good view,” Pierre was saying.
“Yes. But we can’t just sit in cars there,” Clay took up. “People live there, and the last thing we want is for them to call the police. Granted, we can head things off with Carlisle PD, but if they can see us, so can others.”
“There’s a van we can use. It’s for transport but has windows in the back. They’re tinted, so we can park it and watch from the back,” James offered. “Mattias and I have a meeting in an hour. I’ll call Briggs and get his permission. You two take the first watch. I doubt anything will happen while it’s light….”
