Kate started in the kitchen, not really sure what she was looking for, but hopeful she’d know it when she saw it. She put the glove she’d removed in the hallway back on before touching anything. She probably didn’t have to worry about leaving prints, but she’d learned in the FBI that one could never be too careful.
The sink was full of food-encrusted dishes. From the looks of things, they’d been there a few days. Probably not too unusual for a bachelor though, and the neighbor did say he was on vacation. The fridge held a half gallon of sour milk, a loaf of bread, ketchup and peanut butter. Not much different from Kate’s own fridge.
The cabinets didn’t yield any results so she moved into the bedroom. She looked under the bed, in between the mattress and box spring and then started on the bureau with one ear cocked toward the living room, in case Caleb came home. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if he did, but it would be good to have extra warning … if she could even hear him coming in over the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.
She opened the last bureau drawer and her heartbeat kicked into overdrive. The gray wig, makeup and other fittings Caleb had used to transform himself into Jon Nguyen sat on top of a stack of white t-shirts.
So, it was true, someone had hired him to impersonate Nguyen and steal the ruby. Did Summers still have it? Was it somewhere here in his apartment? Kate felt a rush of adrenalin and she kicked her search into high gear.
Two hours later, she’d searched the whole apartment and no ruby was to be found. Now she needed to find Caleb Summers more than ever … but if he’d gone on vacation like the neighbor said, he could be anywhere. And he might not be planning on coming back.
Kate pressed her lips together as she made a final sweep of the table Caleb was apparently using as a makeshift desk in the living room.
If he went somewhere, why hadn’t he taken any money out of the bank?
Kate flipped through the calendar that lay on the desk. It was filled with times and dates, all with the designation “Actors Studio.” Apparently, Summers spent a lot of time there—he probably had friends that could tell Kate something. But the rest of the calendar was disappointing. There were no appointments out of the ordinary and nothing to indicate a clandestine meeting with whoever hired him to play the part of Jon Nguyen.
A pile of Actors Studio pamphlets, which included the phone number, address and a schedule of shows, lay on the desk. Kate took one last look around the apartment, then swiped a pamphlet and headed out the door.
***
The Actors Studio was on Tremont Street so Kate hopped in her Toyota and made her way toward Boston’s South end. She lucked out and got a parking spot across the street from the old brick building.
She jumped out of the car and scooted across four lanes of traffic, marveling at the fancy carved cement work next to the two-story tall rounded window above the Actors Studio doorway as she stepped onto the brick sidewalk. The attention to detail in the centuries-old buildings of Boston never ceased to amaze her—it was one of the things that made the city so unique.
Grasping the large brass door handle, she swung one side of the oversized oak double door open and walked into a cavernous lobby. She stepped onto the aged hardwood floors polished to perfection and looked around at the old brick walls. Inside there were several cathedral arched doors, which had been retrofitted with glass doors in-between the arches. One of them had “Actors Studio” in old-fashioned gold lettering on the front and she headed in that direction.
“Hello there.” Kate was greeted by a tall thin blond man wrapping a long fuzzy fuchsia scarf around his neck and then holding his arms out, the ends of the scarf wound around them. “You like?”
Kate tilted her head. “It’s you.”
The man smiled. “Thanks. Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Caleb Summers,” Kate said.
“Yes. Caleb.” The man screwed up his face and tapped his index finger on his pursed lips. “I don’t think I’ve seen Caleb for a while. Let me get Amanda.”
He floated off toward a doorway, ducked his head in and yelled “Mandy!”
Seconds later, a mime appeared in the door. She looked at both of them with an exaggerated quizzical look and fuchsia-scarf said. “She was asking about Caleb.”
The mime’s eyebrows shot up and she made those annoying motions with her hands like she was trying to get out of a box.
Kate shot a look at fuchsia-scarf. She hoped she wouldn’t have to receive all her answers from Mandy in mime.
“I’m his cousin visiting from out of town and I was wondering if you know where he is?” Kate said to the mime.
She stopped with the hand motions and puffed out her cheeks. “No. It’s the strangest thing. He was supposed to be here last night for rehearsal, but he never showed. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been here all week.”
“Is he usually?” Kate asked.
“Yes.” Amanda’s face wrinkled with concern. “I hope nothing’s wrong with him … did he know you were coming?”
“What?” Kate’s brow creased at the question. “Oh, no. It’s kind of a spur of the moment visit. Did he mention anything … like a vacation, or anything he had going on?”
“No” Mandy looked at fuchsia-scarf. “Did he say anything to you, Darrel?”
Darrell shook his head. “No. You must be here with Uncle Roger.”
“Uncle Roger?” Kate tilted her head at Darrell.
“Yeah. Isn’t he your uncle too?”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Kate said. “What about him?”
“He came to take Caleb to lunch last week and Caleb sure seemed nervous. It was almost like he was afraid of him or something.”
“Uncle Roger can be a little intimidating,” Kate said. “Well, I guess I’ll be going, then.” She turned toward the door.
“Do you want me to tell Caleb you were looking for him?” Mandy yelled after her.
“Sure,” Kate tossed over her shoulder as she pulled the door open. “Tell him his cousin, Ruby, was here.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kate’s brow creased with worry as she balanced the pizza in her right hand while pressing the elevator button for Gideon’s lab. There was something strange about this ruby heist … things weren’t adding up. She hoped Gideon could help shed some light on things, which was why she was bringing him pizza for supper.
The smell of tomato, basil and baked dough made her stomach grumble as Kate jabbed the button repeatedly trying to make the elevator go faster. She’d forgotten to eat lunch and had spent the whole afternoon searching Caleb Summers’ place and then trying to track him down at the Actors Studio.
Finally, the elevator dumped her out in the basement and she keyed in the code for the lab door, which whooshed open to reveal Gideon bent over his lab table as usual.
“Soups on!” Kate said as she laid the pizza box down on the table and ripped the lid open. Thankfully, Gideon had the foresight to put some paper plates and napkins on the table. Kate liberated a slice of pizza from the box and bit in.
“Thanks for picking this up.” Gideon joined her at the table, picking out his own slice of pizza.
Kate simply nodded and wiped a string of cheese from her chin, her mouth too full of pizza to speak.
“Did you talk to Caleb Summers?” Gideon asked.
Kate plucked a napkin from the table and wiped the grease from her mouth. “No. I couldn’t find him. He seems to have disappeared.”
Gideon nodded as he swallowed a bite. “Not surprising … if he stole the ruby then he’d want to lay low.”
“Oh, he stole it all right.” Kate leaned over the box and picked out another piece—one with lots of pepperoni. “I found the disguise in his apartment.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, that solves one mystery,” Gideon said.
“But brings up a few more.” Kate slid into one of the lab chairs and folded her pizza in half, then shoved a big section in her mouth.
“Like what?”
“Like where he is. Why he stole the ruby … and what he did with it,” Kate said. “I searched his entire apartment and it wasn’t there.”
Gideon shrugged. “He probably already handed it over to whoever he was stealing it for.”
“Yeah … probably Uncle Roger.”
“Uncle Roger?”
“At the Actors Studio, they said that Caleb’s Uncle Roger had come last week and Caleb seemed nervous about him.” Kate put her pizza crust down on the plate and wiped her hands. “I wonder if that’s who he stole it for.”
“Maybe, but how do we find out who Uncle Roger is?” Gideon asked.
Daisy had come over and was whimpering at Kate’s feet for a handout. She broke a tiny piece off the pizza crust and fed it to the dog while she thought about that.
“Do they have traffic cameras on Tremont Street?” she asked.
Gideon shrugged as he chewed.
“If they do, we might be able to see this Uncle Roger on the video … if we can tap into it.” Kate raised her brows at Gideon.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He finished off his piece of pizza. “In the meantime, I found out what was in the darts they were shooting at you.”
“Oh really? What was it, some sort of exotic poison that makes you die in agony?” Kate shivered just thinking about it.
“No. It was just a simple tranquilizer. Not even enough to kill you.”
Kate’s brows mashed together. “Really? That seems strange because they sure seemed like they were out to stop us.”
“Stop you … but not kill you,” Gideon said.
The computer on the next table blared forth with an old-fashioned telephone sound.
“Someone’s calling on Skype.” Gideon got up and ran over to it. “It’s Max.”
Kate’s eyes widened and she ran over to stand beside Gideon. She really wanted to see Max in person, but catching a glimpse of him on the computer screen was better than nothing.
“Hi Max,” Gideon said.
“Hello Gideon … and Kate, I’m glad to see you there, too.” Max’s voice flowed out of the computer smooth as a river of chocolate. But where was the video? Kate stared at the screen but all she could see was ceiling tiles.
“Max, I think something’s wrong with your camera, all I see is the ceiling,” Kate said.
“Yeah, this stupid thing … I can never aim it right,” Max said and Kate watched the camera move in dizzying arcs as Max tried to adjust it. “Anyway, I have some important information about the Millennia Ruby case that I wanted to tell both of you.”
That had Kate’s full attention.
“Yes?” she prompted.
“According to my sources, Crowder wasn’t in on the ruby switch. And he was quite surprised when he found his guard passed out the next morning.” Max laughed. “Geez Kate, what did you give that guy? I heard he was pretty big. You must have dosed him up with something pretty hard.”
Kate glanced at Gideon. “I did give him a double dose of Gideon’s knock out serum. I hope he’s okay …”
“He’s fine. Well, except he fell on his hand, which was exposed to the snow for a long time and he lost his pinkie to frostbite,” Max said. “I hear he’s pretty mad at Chyna Hunt … or her impostor.”
“So they know that wasn’t really Chyna, then?” Kate asked.
“Yep,” Max said as his camera focused on a yellow post it note on his desk. “Is the camera angle better?”
“I hope there’s no way for them to find out it was Kate.” Gideon’s brows dipped together. “I wouldn’t want her to be in danger. And the camera looks like it's pointing at your desk.”
“Oh don’t worry,” Max said. “They won’t find out it was Kate … but she still might be in danger.” The camera jerked back up to the ceiling again. “Better?”
“It’s pointing to the ceiling again. What do you mean I might still be in danger?” Kate glanced uneasily at Gideon.
“Crowder didn’t know the ruby was stolen until the next morning, which means he’s not the one who was chasing you,” Max said.
Kate felt a tingle of unease in her stomach. “So then, who was chasing me?”
“I don’t know who … or why.” Max’s voice turned grim. “There’s a lot here that doesn’t make sense. Why is someone going to so much trouble over the ruby crystal? I smell trouble and I’m thinking it might be best if we just left recovering the ruby to the FBI.”
Kate felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “You mean you want me to stop investigating?”
“It’s not that you’re not doing a good job, Kate,” Max said. “You’ve done great, but I don’t want to put you in danger. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt.”
Kate’s heart melted a little at Max’s concern but she couldn’t give up the hunt for the Millennia Ruby. For one thing, Kate Diamond wasn’t a quitter, and for another she had to prove to everyone—even herself—that she could get the job done.
“I appreciate your concern, but once I start a job, I like to finish it. So I’ll have to refuse your invitation to drop the investigation,” Kate said stiffly.
Max sighed. “I figured you’d say that. I guess your persistence is one of the reasons I hired you so I won’t force the issue. But I do want you to be extra careful, and if things get too dangerous, please back off.”
“Okay,” Kate agreed.
“And Gideon,” Max said. “Make sure you give Kate whatever she needs.”
The camera swiveled zooming in on Max’s tie.
“Of course,” Gideon answered. “The camera’s on your tie … move it up just a hair.”
“All right then,” Max said. “Let’s keep each other informed.”
“Right,” Kate and Gideon said at the same time. Kate held her breath as the camera panned up from Max’s tie. She saw his neck, a square-jawed chin with a bit of sexy stubble … and then the screen went blank as he signed off.
“Dammit!” Kate banged her fist on her thigh.
“I know, I hate to think you might be in trouble.” Gideon turned concerned eyes on her. “You should just give up on the ruby.”
“What? Oh, that. That’s not what I was upset about. I thought I was finally going to get to see what Max looked like.” Kate touched Gideon’s arm. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to get hurt. Don’t forget I was a trained FBI agent. And I am not giving up on finding the ruby.”
Kate smiled at Gideon, ignoring the niggling of doubt that was spreading in her chest. Max was right, there were some oddities about the case that were disconcerting, but she could handle it. Besides, finding the ruby before the FBI did would be worth any danger she would put herself in and she couldn’t wait to see the look on Ace Mason’s face when she was the one to bring the ruby back.
Chapter Sixteen
Kate didn’t have to wait long to see the look on Ace Mason’s face. Unfortunately, she wasn’t holding the ruby under his nose when she next saw him. In fact, she was at a distinct disadvantage—disheveled, un-showered and with no makeup—since the FBI had practically broken down her door first thing the next morning and demanded her presence downtown.
They were even kind enough to insist on following her car there, just to make sure she didn’t get lost.
Kate simmered with anger as she sat in the interrogation room. A dull beige room, it held only a plain metal table and four uncomfortable metal chairs. She’d sat at that table many times—except all the other times she’d been on the opposite side. Somehow, the room didn’t have the same appeal when she was the one about to be interrogated.
She glanced at the two-way mirror that made up the entire east wall and wondered who was on the other side. Probably someone she knew. She smiled and waved as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Which she didn’t, since she wasn’t guilty of anything.
The door swung open and Kate looked over, her heart twisting when she saw none other than Ace Mason step through. He was dre
ssed casually. A gray thermal shirt with three buttons down the front clung to his muscular chest in a way that should have been against FBI dress code. His muscular thighs filled out the faded jeans as he walked on thick steel-toed work boots to the opposite side of the table from Kate.
He pulled out a chair and turned it around, then straddled it leaning his forearms on the back of the chair as he faced her.
“Kate, you look … good.” His voice was tinged with sarcasm and his gray eyes sparkled with mischief as he took in her appearance. Kate felt her cheeks grow warm. She silently cursed the FBI for pulling her in first thing in the morning without even letting her brush her hair.
“Just what is this about?” she asked in the haughtiest tone she could muster.
“What do you know about Caleb Summers?” Ace’s gray eyes drilled into hers and she fought to keep from looking away.
“Who? I don’t think I recognize the name.”
“Come on, Kate. We know you know him.” Ace kept staring and Kate squirmed in her seat, determined to hold his gaze so as not to end up the loser in the strange staring contest they were having.
“I swear … I’ve never met him.” It wasn’t exactly a lie since she’d never met him … at least not as Caleb Summers.
Ace sighed and stood. Kate felt a moment of triumph when his eyes left hers but that was short-lived. He was standing now, forcing her to look up at him, which, Kate realized, gave him a psychological advantage.
“Okay, I can see you’re going to make me do this the hard way.” Ace rubbed his hand through his short-cropped dark hair as he paced around on the other side of the table. Did Kate see tinges of gray at the temples? She certainly hoped so—the thought of Ace Mason going gray with stress and worry was somehow satisfying to her … even if the gray did make him look even more appealing.
Suddenly he stopped and pivoted to look at her. “I’ll give you one more chance, Kate. Tell me what you know or I’ll have to hold you as our prime suspect in his murder.”
Murder? Kate struggled to remain calm. Was he saying Caleb Summers was dead? Kate felt deflated—Summers was her only lead in the theft of the ruby.
Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) Page 9