Played

by Barbara Freethy

  Racking his brain, J.T. tried to remember what he had seen on the monitor. He’d been watching the screen, as had Christina, waiting to see if anyone in the showroom would rush the diamond or if the auctioneer would make a sudden move, if someone would ask to examine the diamond up close. He’d anticipated any number of possible scenarios, but not this one.

  Glancing around the room, he tried to place everyone in the spot in which they had been standing when the diamond had gone onto the display. Russell, Luigi, Jeremy, and Stefano had been together by the table, which was now empty. The diamond had been in a glass case. Two other employees, a man and a woman, had been packing up some art on the adjacent table. Christina and he had moved away after she’d checked the diamond. They’d been standing in front of the monitor, which was now off. He knew he was missing something important, but whatever it was, it was just out of reach.

  He went over the four men again in his mind. Russell, Luigi, Jeremy, Stefano. A Barclay’s employee had set the necklace display form on the turntable. Stefano had placed the necklace on the display form. Why him? Sure, it was his necklace technically, but why hadn’t the Barclay’s employee done the deed? Had it just been professional courtesy? Jeremy Kensington had been standing right there, overseeing the moment.

  J.T. wasn’t sure what he thought of Jeremy Kensington. The hit-and-run accident the night before, the tie-in between Alexis and David, the fact that Jeremy’s wife might have been cheating on him -- what did it add up to? Was Jeremy involved in some insurance scam? Was there a policy on the diamond? Was that why he’d taken it upon himself to be right there when the diamond was placed on display?

  J.T. would have to ask Christina if it was common for Jeremy to be backstage. It seemed more likely that he would have been out in the showroom, overseeing the bidding.

  And what about Alexis? Where was she when the diamond went missing? They’d run into her and Sylvia as they’d entered the room, but he wondered where the two women had gone after they’d left.

  “J.T.” Christina burst into the back room, her voice breathless, her eyes panicked. “You have to get me out of here. You’re the FBI. They’ll let me walk out with you. Please, we have to hurry.”

  She grabbed his arm, but he stopped her. “Whoa, what’s going on, Christina? What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t explain. There’s no time. Someone is setting me up to take the fall for the theft. Everyone is upstairs in my office -- Russell, Alexis, Jeremy, God knows who else. They’ll be down here in a minute. You have to get me out of here.”

  For a split second J.T. wondered if she was playing him. Was this the final move in the game? Was she working with Evan? Or with her father? He hated to think so.

  “You have to trust me,” she said, obviously seeing the doubt in his eyes. Her agitated fingers twisted the sleeve of his coat. “I haven’t done anything wrong. But someone wants to blame me for everything. I can’t let that happen. Please, J.T. Help me.”

  She was asking him to cross a very big line. If he was wrong about her, all hell could break loose. He could ruin his career, the rest of his life. If she was telling the truth, he needed to help her. He wanted to help her. And deep down, he knew no matter how much he argued with himself, there was no way he could resist the terrified plea in her beautiful green eyes. “All right. But if you’re messing with me, Christina, you will be very sorry.”

  “The employees’ entrance is the closest,” she said, taking his hand.

  “Fine, but don’t look so nervous. Take a breath. Calm down. Otherwise you’re going to raise suspicion.”

  She paused a moment to draw in several deep breaths. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  When they reached the employee entrance, two security guards barred their exit. Christina greeted one of them by name. “Hi, Sam. This is J.T. McIntyre. He’s with the FBI. We have to go down to his office.”

  Sam nodded. “Sorry. Mr. Kenner said no one goes out.”

  “You can search us,” J.T. said, “but Ms. Alberti and I have to continue with the investigation off the premises. You can call Mr. Kenner, check it out.”

  Sam hesitated, casting a quick look at his partner, who simply shrugged. “Okay, but we’ll have to search your purse, Ms. Alberti.”

  Christina let Sam rifle through her purse while J.T. turned his pockets inside out for the other guard. A few minutes later they were cleared to leave. J.T. kept a hand on Christina’s arm as they walked quickly back to his car. He could feel her tension as if it were his own. She looked over her shoulder every other second, as if she expected someone to come running after them. Fortunately, their parking space down the block allowed them to leave without raising any flags. They were two miles away before she let out a sigh.

  “God,” she murmured, “I can’t believe this is happening. How did that diamond disappear right in front of us?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure that out.”

  She ran a hand through her hair. “I keep seeing that turntable come around and the candy necklace on the display.”

  “That touch was pure Evan,” he said.

  “But how did he do it?”

  “That’s what we have to find out. First, tell me where we’re going.”

  “Do you remember how to get to my father’s house?”

  “I think so. Why? Is he there? Have you heard from him?”

  “I haven’t heard a word, but I can’t think of where else to go. I have to find him so I can clear his name and mine. Maybe he left some clue as to where he is.”

  J.T. turned left at the next corner. “Let’s hope so. Now start talking. Tell me what happened back at Barclay’s.”

  “I went upstairs to my office. I heard Alexis, Jeremy, and Russell talking about how I must be working with my father, and something was obvious proof of that. Russell said I needed to be found and questioned as soon as possible.” She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what they discovered in my office, but it must have been incriminating in some way. They think I did this. They think I stole the diamond or that I helped my father steal it.”

  “He makes a good scapegoat. So do you,” J.T. said, computing the facts. “Evan set you both up.”

  Christina crossed, then uncrossed her legs, fidgeting restlessly in her seat. “What I don’t understand is how anyone could get out of the auction house with that diamond. The doors were locked immediately. We were searched before we left. Everyone will be searched. How could Evan get out with the diamond in his hand or his pocket, or in anything for that matter?”

  He’d been wondering about that as well. If Evan was responsible for stealing the diamond, then he had an escape route. “There was a moment of indecision,” he said, “before Russell called for the lockdown.”

  Christina sent him a doubtful look. “You think there was enough time?”

  “Unlikely but not impossible.” J.T. turned left as they neared her father’s street. “We’d better make this quick. If Russell calls the dogs on you and your father, this will be the first place they check.”

  “It will just take a few minutes. We won’t stay long.”

  “I don’t suppose you brought a key this time,” he said as he parked the car in her father’s driveway.

  “Actually, I did. I put it on my key ring yesterday just in case I had to come back here.”

  As they entered the house Christina called for her father several times, but no one answered. She headed straight for the study and the safe hidden behind a painting. In a few seconds she had it open. “I checked this the other night and nothing was here, but maybe he came back in between then and now.” She stuck her hand into the safe and pulled out an envelope with her name on it. “This wasn’t here before.”

  “Read it aloud,” J.T. commanded.

  She removed the slip of paper and read, “‘Christina -- I know you’re angry with me now. But I had to take the diamond. It is cursed and needs to be returned to its rightful owner. It is more important than you can imagine. I
will be in touch when I have made things right, when I have put the diamond back where it belongs. Don’t hate me. Love, Dad.’”

  She let out a breath, biting down on her lip as she lifted her gaze to meet his. He saw pain and disappointment in her eyes. Her father had let her down big-time.

  “You were right,” she said. “My father did steal the diamond. I can’t believe it’s true, but it’s right here in black and white.”

  “Is it? Are you sure that note is legit? Could Evan have written this, too?”

  “I don’t know.” A frown marred her features as she stared back down at the paper. “I was fooled before, but this note sounds just like my dad, the way he thinks, the way he talks. It’s pretty much what he said to me yesterday when I saw him at the zoo.”

  J.T. could see that she believed the note, which made him believe it, too. “Is there anything else in the safe?”

  She looked back inside. “Oh, my God, there is.” She pulled out a gray wig, letting it dangle from her fingers, as if she couldn’t quite believe what it was. “What is this?”

  J.T. moved next to her. He reached into the safe and pulled out a fake nose, a pair of thick glasses, and an ID for Howard Keaton, Ph.D. He let out a low whistle. “Look at this.” He held up the ID so Christina could read it. “I guess we know how your father got into the auction house.”

  Christina’s jaw dropped, surprise spreading across her face. “Professor Keaton? My father was masquerading as Professor Keaton? How can that be? I talked to him. I looked him in the face. I stood a foot away from him at the preview party. I would have recognized my own father--” She stopped abruptly.

  “What did you just remember?”

  “Well, now that I think about it, my father did fool me once before. He came to see me right after he left the museum and before I resigned. There was about a week in between when I was trying to fix things. He came into my office dressed as a janitor. I was talking to him for five minutes before he let me know it was him. And then there was that other time--”

  “Dammit, Christina, you should have told me this before,” J.T. said, cutting her off. “The fact that your father likes disguises would have been helpful to know.”

  “I didn’t think it was important, because I didn’t want to believe he would steal the diamond from me. But I was wrong. It didn’t matter that this theft would hurt me. It didn’t matter to him at all.” She threw the wig back into the safe along with the rest of the items and slammed it shut.

  “Something is off,” he muttered, as she pushed the painting back into place.

  “Like what?”

  “Too many thieves and not enough diamonds,” he said. “Professor Keaton hasn’t been at the auction house since Wednesday night, since the smoke bombs went off. He wasn’t there today, not as Professor Keaton anyway.” J.T.’s mind raced back to Wednesday night, the images from the party flashing through his head. Christina was talking to the professor. He reached up to touch the necklace. It slipped off her neck, landing in his hand. He handed it back to her. The smoke alarms went off. Someone shouted, “Fire!” Everyone went running.

  “J.T., what are you thinking?” she asked impatiently.

  He blinked, her voice bringing him back to the present. “If your father was impersonating Professor Keaton, and the last time Keaton was at the auction house was Wednesday night when the smoke bombs went off, then he took the diamond that night.”

  Christina’s eyes lit up. “The clasp opened, and he caught the diamond. But he gave it back to me.”

  “Only he didn’t give you the real stone. He gave you a fake, an exact copy. So when you looked at the diamond under your scope and didn’t see that flaw you were looking for--”

  “It was because the diamond was a fake,” she finished. “I think you’re right, J.T. My father took the real diamond on Wednesday. He probably had it on him when I saw him at the zoo the next day.” She drew in a quick breath. “But if that’s true, then who stole the necklace today?”

  “Evan.”

  She met his gaze head-on. “Do you think he has any idea the diamond he stole is a fake?”

  “He might not know yet, but he’s going to be royally pissed off when he finds out.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Success was sweet, Evan thought, relishing the pleasure of the moment. He loved stealing in the middle of a crowd, doing what no one else could do. There had been people standing not three feet away from him when he’d taken the diamond. In the chaos that followed no one had regarded him with suspicion, or accused him of being a thief. No, he’d made sure the clues led down a different path -- to Christina and her father, Marcus Alberti. He’d put his plans into motion weeks ago, ensuring that every detail had been covered, and today it had paid off.

  As Evan made his way up the elevator to the woman’s thirty-fifth-floor penthouse apartment, he thought of what was to come. She believed he would hand over the diamond in return for the cash she had promised him. It had been their deal from the beginning. At the time he hadn’t wanted the stone. He’d had no use for a gem that would be difficult to fence, but cash was always good -- not to mention the thrill of the steal, the knowledge that he had done what no one thought could be done. It had been fun -- while it lasted.

  Now he had another plan in mind, another woman whom he wanted to please far more than the one waiting for him.

  She answered the door, her face lit up with expectation. Twin fires blazed in her eyes, and her hand shook as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the apartment.

  “Where is it?” she demanded. “You’re late. You should have been here thirty minutes ago.”

  “Always so impatient,” he drawled. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. When she moved to take it, he held it away from her greedy hand. “Not so fast. Where’s my money?”

  “In the living room.”

  He followed her into the next room. The curtains were drawn. He had no doubt that her maid had been dismissed for the day. They were alone.

  “I want to see the diamond,” she said. “Give it to me.”

  He saw a silver case on the coffee table. He walked over and flipped open the locks. Stacks of bills greeted his eyes. “Very nice.”

  He handed her the diamond. She sat down on the edge of the sofa and picked up a jeweler’s loupe. She looked through the magnifying glass with a skilled eye. He frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “What the hell do you think I’m doing?”

  “How do you know how to examine a diamond?”

  “My aunt works in a jewelry store, remember?” She twisted the stone in every direction, holding it up to the light. “It’s not here,” she said, her voice becoming shrill. She turned on him, the fire in her eyes turning to madness. “It’s not here. Where is it?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re supposed to be able to see a heart in the stone -- the heart of the Médici.” She looked at the stone again and began shaking her head. “It’s not here. This isn’t it. This isn’t the real diamond. What did you do with it?” She jumped to her feet, waving the stone in her hand. “This is a copy.”

  She was out of her fucking mind. “No way. I stole the stone ten seconds before they were going to auction it off.”

  “You switched it then.”

  “I didn’t.” His mind raced to keep up with her accusations.

  “Someone did. Dammit, Evan. You screwed up. You brought me a fake, you stupid bastard.”

  Her insults burned into his brain. And suddenly he wasn’t hearing her voice anymore, but his mother’s, telling him he was a worthless piece of shit and that she wished he were dead. “Stop it!” he yelled.

  She wasn’t listening. She never listened. She kept talking and talking. She lifted her hand and struck him across the face.

  Her slap unleashed a roar of fury. She couldn’t talk to him like that. She needed to shut up. She lifted her hand again. He grabbed her arms. He shook her but she wouldn’t s
top talking, telling him he had failed. He couldn’t listen anymore. He put his hands on her throat. She gasped for air, and the sound drove him over the edge. “Stop talking!” he yelled, squeezing tighter and tighter. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she finally realized what was happening, her breath coming in choking gasps -- until she was quiet, until her eyes closed and her body slipped out of his hands, falling to the ground with a dull thud.

  He stared at her for a long moment. Then he took the diamond from her hand. His heart began to slow down as reality set in.

  There would have to be another change in plan. It would look like a robbery had gone bad. She had come home in the middle of the day. She had been alone. Someone had broken in.

  Carefully and deliberately he did what needed to be done. Then he picked up the case of money and took one last look around, making sure that he hadn’t left behind a print or any other evidence of his presence in her apartment.

  After leaving her apartment building, he got into his car and put his hands on the steering wheel. He looked at his fingers for a long moment, seeing them not on the wheel, but on her neck.

  She had driven him to it. He’d had no choice. She wouldn’t stop talking. She’d deserved what she’d gotten.

  Now he had to finish the rest. No one got the better of him. His brain whirred like a computer assessing the facts. Someone had taken the diamond before him. They’d made a switch. He could think of only two people who could have done such a thing: Christina Alberti or her father, Marcus. The knowledge burned through his gut. He would not let them win. The game wasn’t over yet.

  He would find the diamond and get it back. He couldn’t give his Jenny a fake. She deserved the real thing.

  She would have it, and he would have her.

  “Soon,” he whispered. “Very soon.”

  * * *

  Christina paced back and forth in front of the window of J.T.’s hotel room. He’d never seen her so on edge, not even when Evan had trapped them in the fun house. Her father’s apparent betrayal had cut her deeply. He knew there was nothing he could say to ease the pain, so he didn’t even try. She would have to work out her feelings about her father herself. In the meantime, they had bigger problems to deal with.