Abandoned (The Beckett Series Book 6)

by Mary Martinez

  “So you don’t know if they’re the same guys?” This from Jones.

  “Because of their masks, as any trained agent I studied their body movement and any of other their characteristics while viewing the video. They’re the same men.” Patrick’s raised brow challenged Jones to contradict.

  Jones frowned, seemed to be about to say something, then reread his notes again. He continued after another heavy sigh. “Describe them as you remember.”

  Patrick closed his eyes to picture the day before when he found them coming up on him.

  “One was lanky, most likely a runner. I remember thinking this one will be fast. Another one was solid muscle. A body builder, most likely slow. The third one ran a little chunky around the middle, probably the brains, again slow, and also the one we did not see on the tapes. The last one was a combination of lanky with muscle, stocky, he would be the toughest one. Then the action started.”

  “Did they say anything?” Beckworth asked.

  “Oh, they said plenty.” He straightened in the bed and refrained from groaning. He’d hoped to feel better by now, not worse. “Most of which I’d never say in front of a lady. It was the questions you’ll want to hear.”

  Jones poised his stylus above his tablet in readiness. “And they were?”

  “Mostly about what they were looking for, they never said exactly what that was. I don’t believe they’re convinced we know what they’re after. And if we don’t, there is more chance they’ll be able to find it before we figure out what is so valuable.

  “And of course, there was a lot of grilling about me assigned to the case. I gave them enough to check into my story that while I knew what happened at Ms. Beckett’s shop, that wasn’t why I was with her. They were justifiably skeptical, they thought it was too big of coincidence.”

  “I agree with them it is rather far-fetched. What are the odds that you just happened to be dating her, especially if they’re connected in any way to the missing fiancé?”

  Patrick fisted his hand hidden behind Glenna on the bed. He really wanted to wipe that sneer off Jones face. Beckworth seemed to be content to let his younger partner take the lead. Maybe for that reason, he figured Jones would get more information out of him by pressing his buttons.

  It was working, dammit.

  “As my superiors have contacted your department, you know I’m officially on the case. That is not all the history there is here though. Don’t worry, I gave them something to follow up on. I’m sure they’re using their sources to check out my story.”

  “Which is?”

  “I met the beautiful Glenna through her brother, Tyler. We started out together at Quantico and we’ve been together for other training several times over the years. All of which, with the right hacks, they can verify.”

  Beckworth finally decided to step in, and Patrick let himself relax.

  “Now the bastards think the two of you are an item, what are you planning? What does this have to do with whatever they’re after?”

  For a moment Patrick was confused by, ‘whatever they’re after’, then he remembered they’d never actually gotten around to filling the cops in on the plan and what they found. He felt Glenna stir next him and chanced a glance at her, and sure enough she was giving him a questioning glance. Now was the time to fill the two in, and he had an idea they could be of help.

  “We actually have what they’re after.” He threw up his free hand. “Now don’t get your panties in a wad. It isn’t that we didn’t trust you, it’s that we wanted to buy time in case the bad guys have a way to access to your reports.”

  “We’re secure as the feds, just because we’re a small department doesn’t mean we’re not professionals.” Jones words were punctuated with indignation.

  “He didn’t say you weren’t. But we wanted my sister to have a chance to track these guys through the Dark web, and figure out a plan all before we revealed anything. If these guys have professional technical resources, the minute you filed your report, we’d have been vulnerable. And yet…”

  Patrick felt Glenna tense next to him, and heard the emotion gather in her voice as she answered Jones.

  “…Patrick was still attacked even with our precautions.”

  “Have you heard anything from Ms. Beckett’s family? Her sister or brother?” Beckworth asked.

  “I heard from Agent Reagan Beckett this morning right before you two arrived.” He looked down at Glenna. “I wanted to tell you first, but since they’re here I might as well fill everyone in now.”

  She gave him a brief nod. For the next several moments he brought them up to speed on the events in New York, and their plan to flush the culprits out.

  “We’ll leave for Brooklyn to stay with Glenna’s parents, so they can get to know the new fiancé. The gala is a week from this Sunday. Tomorrow night Finn has a big game…”

  Glenna patted his thigh and finished for him. “…and we’ll be there to support him, after all where would we be? I’m getting to know my new soon-to-be-son, and getting to know Patrick’s family also.”

  “Now we know the plan, what are they after?” Jones asked.

  “It’s a Giovanni Bellini. The Madonna with Child circa 1430. Part of a collection that was stolen during the Nazi occupation. Very rare and valuable. Most of the art, when found, is either sold to the highest bidder on the black market or given back to the country of origin for a reward. Now, though with the Dark web, it’s become even easier to find a home to the highest bidder.”

  Patrick wanted everyone to go but Glenna. Mostly he just wanted to go home and rest. But he knew they had things that needed to be done. So the sooner they finished with the officer’s the sooner he could get on with his day and hopefully rest a moment or two before the game.

  “Are you all right?” Glenna asked.

  “Yes. Sorry, just gathering my thoughts. We have the picture at my house. It’s not very large so we have it packed in a large box so they wouldn’t know what we were transporting. However, they know where I live and will be watching for us to move anything. That’s where we’re going to need your help.”

  Jones perked up. Beckworth looked bored.

  “While we’re out of town, we need you to move the box to a safe place.”

  “Given they’re not watching.” Jones broke in to add.

  “Oh, someone will be. From what Reagan said this morning, most likely they’ll be at the Gala, which is exactly what we’d hoped for, if her sources are correct.”

  “You know who they are then?” Beckworth asked.

  “We believe we know what organization. There’s a large group of international thieves, but they call themselves collectors. They go after rare art and antiquities and do what all thieves do; sell it for the highest bid. They obviously don’t let things like people get in the way. Reagan said they’re one of the most ruthless groups. Most of the art rings try to stop before they commit murder. In other words, they’ll lie and cheat and go to great lengths to get what they want but they won’t harm anyone.

  “This group goes for the crème of the crop and will stop at nothing to get what they want. This particular piece is something they want.”

  Glenna straightened away from him, and he felt the loss. He stifled the sensation. He had to make it through until the end without letting her distract him. This was her wheelhouse, she knew more about it than he did. He had assumed she’d take over the reins and he’d been right.

  “This particular piece is believed to have been evacuated in the early 1940s from a museum in Berlin to be housed in a flak tower in Berlin-Friedrichshain, located within Russian control at the time. Most of the objects in the tower were either looted or presumed destroyed, including Bellini’s Madonna.”

  Jones gave a low whistle. “How the fu… sorry, how in the world did you get your hands on it? I mean, let’s face it, your shop is just a tiny little tourist trap on the north end of the Napa Valley.”

  Beckworth sighed and shook his head. “Jones that was
uncalled for, Glenna’s Surprisingly Vintage is a very popular place, and some people come to the valley exclusively to visit her shop.”

  Patrick could see that while Glenna wasn’t happy with what Jones had said, she was pleased by his boss coming to her defense.

  “Thank you, Officer Beckworth. He’s right in the fact that I’d never be able to sell the piece for what’s it worth. It’s simply over my patron’s budgets. Hey, it’s over my budget. It was packed away in a grab box I found at an estate sale in upstate New York. Since they keep an inventory of what’s sold at those sales, I can only assume the thieves found the manifest of items and sales.”

  Patrick took over from her and turned back to the law enforcement officers. “That brings us back to how you need to move the art. We’d planned to find a safe storage unit, but now if they see us move anything, they’ll go after it in case it’s what they want.”

  “If Ms. Beckett…”

  “Glenna,” she told Beckworth.

  “If Glenna is your fiancée wouldn’t she be moving some of her things to your house and packing up some of her things for storage?”

  Glenna turned to him, and he saw she wasn’t ready to give up her little cottage. He didn’t want to push. He also thought it was a good idea. But this would be one thing he stood firm on. No pressure. She had to come to terms with his profession and other things before she took that step.

  “I’m not exactly in the best shape to be moving things. There isn’t much time before we leave for New York on Tuesday. That’s only five days.”

  “He’s right, sir. But if they’re watching how can we move it.”

  “And what would they be doing at your house Patrick?”

  Another good point. Think.

  “I don’t want my parents involved at all.”

  “In what dear?”

  His mother’s voice startled him. His parents were standing at the door. He hadn’t noticed their entry, obviously. How to answer her question without doing exactly what he’d just said he didn’t want to do. His mother was the most stubborn person he knew. His dad would say Patrick was the stubborn one. He’d heard it a lot during his growing up years. Ye’r a stubborn laddie.

  Beckworth came to his rescue. He almost wanted to hug him.

  “It’s a police matter. We really can’t discuss it ma’am. We need to be on our way.”

  He turned to Patrick and gave him a brief glare as if he’d like nothing better than to walk out the door, take over the case, and push the unwanted fed out of the picture.

  Not going to happen, boyo.

  “When can Glenna open the shop for business?” Jones pursed his lips and gave Glenna a look that Patrick couldn’t decipher. “We still need to have that expert come in and look at your inventory. Oh wait, we don’t need to do that anymore do we? Were you ever going to tell us?”

  “If my superiors hadn’t wanted you to know, you wouldn’t know now.”

  That didn’t go over well, to say the least. The two officers slammed out of the room, as much as anyone could in a quiet atmosphere.

  Unfortunately, they still hadn’t solved the dilemma of moving the art. Gauging his mother’s expression she wasn’t going to let what she’d overheard drop as he’d hoped.

  “What don’t you want us involved in dear, and do not say nothing.” Then as if she just noticed Glenna, she asked, “And why is Glenna sitting on your bed? Is that wise? What would the nurse say?”

  At that moment said nurse walked through the door. “She would say, they’ve been hanging together on that bed since he got there. I don’t think it would do any good to tell her to move. She’d just crawl back in when I left.”

  She grinned at Patrick, then Glenna. “Okay missy you will need to move while I get all these lines out of the man. I think he wants to go home.”

  As the nurse worked, she kept up a running litany of what he could and could not do. Mostly he’d do what he wanted, and the woman seemed to know that.

  Patrick’s mother insisted on following them home to make sure he was settled and safe. Glenna had a feeling this was her way of coping. And she wouldn’t stand in the woman’s way. Though mostly quiet during the drive, because Patrick didn’t like to be out of control by not driving, they decided to announce their engagement to his parents.

  Against his mother’s arguments, and even Glenna had grumbled a bit, Patrick insisted on talking in the living room. He made his overstuffed Lazy Boy his bed. Once settled in and all the fussing was over, Patrick called Glenna to his side and patted the armrest.

  He winked at her. How he wished he didn’t have to take things slow and catch the bad guys. For the first time in his career he wished he wasn’t in the middle of a case. Usually it was the case that made him feel alive. Glenna was starting to replace that feeling. Who knew, maybe he’d be willing to take that management position and sit at a desk while delegating when all this was over.

  NOT.

  “Mum, Da have a seat.”

  His mother threw a hand over her heart and slumped into a chair, his father placed on hand on her shoulder and stood like a sentinel as if protecting her.

  He glanced at Glenna then back at his parents. “Exactly what do you think I’m going tell you?”

  “They found something while you were in the hospital, didn’t they?”

  His da barely let his mum finish before he asked his question. “They take all those blood tests and they found out you had the big C. We were worried when we saw all those tubes and machines.”

  His parents were fairly savvy people, or so he thought. At the moment there were sounding more like his grandparents. Glenna wiggled and he knew she was trying not to laugh. Though having cancer would be horrible and wasn’t a laughing matter.

  “No. I’m a little rough around the edges but mostly I’m healthy as a horse. Da have a seat. I hope this is good news.”

  “You’ve decided to come to your senses and take that job your boss keeps asking you to take so he can retire.” His mum sounded so hopeful he almost wished he could grant her wish.

  “No. Can you two just let me tell you my news?”

  His da gave him the father look then glanced at Glenna and grinned. “Please do.”

  He put his arm around Glenna’s back and gave a tug until she was on his lap, which elicited an unwilling groan. For a moment he’d forgotten he hurt in every molecule of his body.

  “Glenna and I are, not exactly engaged, but we’re a couple.”

  Silence settled over the room. His mum’s eyes fell to Glenna’s hands, and she frowned when she didn’t see the evidence of his statement, she apparently had missed the part about not exactly. His da just grinned.

  “It’s about damn time. I want a few more wee grandchildren.”

  “But you’ve just met. How can you be in love?” Then a horrified expression danced across her face. “Oh, Glenna, not that you wouldn’t make a wonderful daughter.”

  “Wonderful daughter?” The voice came from the other side of the room.

  Apparently they’d left the back door unlocked for his sister had entered unnoticed. She took in Glenna on his lap, then to her parents who had totally opposite looks on their faces.

  “What exactly is going on?” Margaret Kathleen asked.

  “Your brother just told us he has asked Glenna to marry him. But I don’t see a ring. It must be for this assignment they’re on. You know undercover and they want us to go along with it.”

  Patrick was a little disgruntled to have his mum come so close to the truth. He needed to come across convincingly if they were going to pull it off. Because his mum definitely couldn’t lie with a straight face and if she were confronted by a neighbor about his engagement they’d see through her announcement.

  Glenna wiggled in to get a little more comfortable. Desire warred with his screaming thighs. He’d never realized a man could use thigh muscles when using his fists in a down and out brawl, a little one sided, but that was what it had been. But then when the basta
rd had his arms pulled behind him, he had made good use of his legs.

  “Patrick and my brother, Tyler, trained together at Quantico and have had several refreshers together since.” She snuggled in, and again he managed, barely, not to groan. “You’ve met Keira also, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, that’s Tyler’s wife. She’s an agent also. I believe a couple of years ago, she did some cyber training with us.”

  “Anyway, I met your brother…” She glanced at Margaret Kathleen then grinned at his parents. “…and son, through my brother.”

  He was impressed. She hadn’t lied. Everything she said was the truth. Though it had been phone call to have him check on the missing Lance Gordon, which was sort of meeting through her brother, wasn’t it?

  “And you fell in love in what a week?” Margaret Kathleen was going to make this difficult.

  “Did you miss the part about I’ve met Tyler years ago, I met Glenna because of him?”

  His sister raised a brow, no she wasn’t buying it. “And I didn’t miss the part where you never said you didn’t just meet her a week ago.”

  Glenna turned away from him to get a better look at his sister. She gently extricated herself from his lap. When she stood in front of Margaret Kathleen she held out her hand.

  “I’m Glenna Beckett, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m using the room your kids stay in as my office.” she giggled a little, something Patrick had never heard. “I’m sharing it with Agnes. I needed someplace to work while I can’t be at the shop.”

  Nicely distracted his sister took the bait. “Who’s Agnes?”

  The cat wandered in at that moment, Horace lazily following in the feline’s wake.

  “That is Agnes.”

  All three of his family stared at the round gray tabby and the huge dog. Then astonishment took over when the two curled up together for what looked like a long afternoon nap.

  “Horace let her live? Horace hates cats. We have one and I can never bring Stripes when the kids visit.”