by Rosett, Sara
“Not on the ground, they didn’t. It felt like you were hanging there forever.”
A discreet cough sounded. “You must come with me, please.”
Zoe recognized the speaker instantly. His thick-framed glasses and hooked nose were unmistakable, the man from the balcony. Jack had knocked this guy unconscious. Felix something. Had he tracked them down? Was he about to throw a punch at Jack’s unswollen eye? But that was absurd. Jack had been behind this guy when Jack smashed him on the head—he had never seen Jack. And he didn’t look as if he was bent on revenge. In fact, he looked slightly embarrassed at interrupting them.
They both hesitated, and the man said in his heavily German-accent English, “Please. It is,” he paused, working to find the words, “official business.”
Zoe could almost see Jack put on his all-business mode. “We’d like to speak with Colonel Alessi,” he said.
“We know he’s here. We saw him earlier,” Zoe added.
The man inclined his head. “Of course.”
“You can arrange that?” Zoe asked.
“Assuredly. He has worked closely with us on this matter.” The man’s gaze strayed to the scissor lift and the empty gondola overhead.
“Us?” Jack asked.
“The Criminal Intelligence Service of Austria. This way, please.”
He escorted Zoe and Jack to the offices of the ski area management company, which the police officials had obviously commandeered. Large maps of the ski area as well as a white board filled with incomprehensible lists in German hung on the walls around the long table. He said he would return shortly.
“Where do you think Harrington is?” Zoe asked.
“Probably in a room down the hall. They’ll want to keep us separate, see if our stories match up.”
Zoe swiveled in her chair nervously. After the heightened reality of the last few hours, she was returning to normal, noticing that her pinched toes pained her and that her lips were chapped, miniscule details that the dramatic events had blocked out but were now coming back into focus. “Do you think that door is locked?”
“Ready to make a run for it?” Jack asked.
“You know me well,” Zoe said lightly, but she was itching to get out of the room and down the mountain. “I’d rather get out of here, but I know we have to sort this out.” She sighed and forced herself to lean back in the chair. “So, Felix is with the Austrian police.”
Jack moved the cold pack one of the medics had given him to a different position on his eye. “Better not to mention I was the one who brained him, I think.”
“I agree, but I was thinking more about how it puts a new spin on everything.”
“It does indeed. Felix said Alessi was working with ‘us,’ the Austrian police.”
“And the tall policewoman with Alessi sounds American. So it looks like we have Italian, Austrian, and U.S. law enforcement…a cooperative investigation.”
“Appears so.” Jack tipped his head to nod in agreement, but checked the movement and winced. “Interpol, maybe.”
The door whipped open and the tall policewoman entered, her ski pants making a swishing sound as she came into the room. She had removed her white ski jacket, which revealed a white turtleneck and a shiny police badge. Zoe hadn’t seen her since the moment McKinley stepped off the scissor lift. She had grabbed his arm in her crushing grip and carted him away.
She tossed the fanny pack on the table, and the jewels partially spilled out, clattering against the table. Zoe knew diamonds were one of the hardest substances on earth, but the way the woman was handling them seemed especially cavalier. “I’m Detective Neely from Scotland Yard. Colonel Alessi you already know. Detective Felix Wenzel is from the Austrian police,” she said as the men took seats across the table. So, Zoe thought, no Americans were involved, but there was definitely some international cooperation going on.
“Mrs. Andrews and I have met,” Wenzel said, with a steady, almost warning gaze at Zoe. “Briefly.”
Zoe got it. He remembered her from the balcony and was reluctant to broadcast the fact that he’d been knocked unconscious. “Yes,” Zoe said. “Very briefly.”
Neely noticed the exchange but didn’t ask about it. Instead, she said, “My colleagues have asked me to lead this…” Zoe realized she was about to say interrogation, but changed her mind and finished with, “session because I speak English. They may have additional questions for you later. Now, I suggest you start talking.”
Zoe felt her palms go sweaty. This wasn’t the friendly chat she’d expected where she and Jack could explain what had happened. Alessi’s face mirrored Neely’s impassive expression. Only Wenzel’s face had a hint of approachability, but the language barrier would clearly be a factor.
Jack put the cold pack on the table. “This seems a little confrontational, considering that McKinley told you we weren’t involved.”
“McKinley said that under duress. He’s not talking now, so I suggest you take advantage of the opportunity and get on our good side.”
“We aren’t involved in this,” Zoe said. “Well, we’ve been dragged into it, but we didn’t steal anything. Amy committed the thefts and set up Harrington as well as us to take the blame. She said that to McKinley.” Zoe looked at Wenzel. “You were there. You had to have heard her say it, too.”
Behind his thick-framed glasses, Wenzel blinked rapidly, then glanced at the other investigators. Outside, Zoe had thought he was younger, but under the fluorescent lights, she could see the fine lines spraying out around his eyes and guessed he was older than she originally thought, probably in his thirties. “Yes, I can confirm,” he said, carefully selecting the correct English words.
Jack leaned forward sharply. “You were investigating him, weren’t you? You had McKinley under surveillance. Zoe saw you on the street earlier and—”
“Yes. That is correct.” This time Wenzel managed to get his words out quickly, cutting off Jack before he could say anything about the balcony. If the Austrian police were watching McKinley, the last thing they’d want would be Zoe lurking on the balcony. No wonder Wenzel had pulled her away from McKinley’s and Amy’s rooms.
“So if you’ve had him under surveillance, you can also confirm that we—Zoe, myself, and Harrington—have had no contact with him.” Jack obviously felt Wenzel was more likely to help them than the other investigators.
Wenzel touched the frame of his glasses, straightening them. “Yes, that is true…for three weeks.”
Detective Neely pushed up the sleeves of her turtleneck and crossed her arms. “But you could still have been in contact with him. Through an intermediary—Amy Beck.”
“We had never met her, never even seen her until the opening of the exhibit.” Zoe shot a quick look at Jack. “Neither of us ever talked to her, even when we made arrangements for the trip.”
“That’s right,” Jack said. “Harrington handled everything. I never went through his assistant. If you check, you’ll find we have had no contact with her…ever.”
Wenzel consulted a stack of papers he’d brought in with him. “But the five of you met at the top of the Zugspitze yesterday. Finalizing plans for the transfer?”
“No, Amy wasn’t there,” Zoe said. “We followed Harrington there. We were mistaken at first as well and thought Harrington had taken the Flawless Set. You see, we knew we hadn’t taken it, so we assumed it had to be Harrington. We were trying to find him, so we could turn him in to prove our innocence. But then we realized he’d been framed as well. McKinley was reselling the stolen goods to the insurance company—Harrington’s told you all this, right? How he’s suspected an inside job and was tracking the jewels himself?” Zoe realized she was getting sidetracked and went back to her first point. “Anyway, Amy wasn’t there on the Zugspitze.”
Wenzel thumbed through a folder then slid several photographs across the table. The first photos showed Harrington and McKinley seated across the table from each other, the next was a shot of Zoe and Jack, also seated
at one of the tables. The last photo was a wider shot of Zoe after she’d stood and moved around the open area to take pictures. Wenzel tapped a figure on the edge of the picture.
Zoe hunched over the pictures. “That is her—that’s Amy.” Zoe turned to Jack. “She was there. She saw Harrington. She’s the one who ran him off the road. It had to be her. McKinley had deviated from their plan—he said that to Amy that night—you must have heard that, too,” Zoe said, switching back to Wenzel. “Amy was checking up on McKinley. It wouldn’t be hard to find out where he was. McKinley was always sending tweets. He posted several about skiing on the Zugspitze that day. If she was here in Ischgl, it would only take her around two hours to get over to the Zugspitze. When she saw Harrington, she panicked. She assumed he’d be back in Rome in custody, not recovering stolen gems. Tell me, has she been driving a gray hatchback? Because that’s the car that forced Harrington off the road right after he left the meeting with McKinley.”
Wenzel blinked rapidly, shuffled more papers, and then lifted his head. “Yes. Gray Renault hatchback rented in Rome.” Zoe could tell from his face that he was beginning to believe them.
Neely and Alessi weren’t convinced. “If your…” Alessi waved a hand in the air like a magician preparing to conjure a rabbit from a hat, “…story is true, then where is the Flawless Set?”
“Right here.” Zoe pointed to the diamonds tumbling out of the unzipped fanny pack. “They fell out of McKinley’s pocket. Amy gave them to him on the terrace.”
“No,” Neely said. “Those are imitations.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Without pausing to think whether the investigators would like it or not, Zoe pulled the stones toward her. “That can’t be right. I saw her give them to him myself.”
The gems sparkled and glinted under the harsh fluorescent light as Zoe spread them out. At first glance, they looked like the Flawless Set to her. The stones were the right shape and size, and they certainly looked dazzling, their facets cutting the light into a rainbow of color.
As she untangled the last of the diamonds, she caught her breath. It was the bracelet. Jack reached out and took the strand of diamonds pooled in her palm. As he held it up in the air, he glanced from the bracelet to Zoe. She noticed the detail the same time he did, and it took everything she had to keep her expression from changing.
Jack touched the clasp on the dangling bracelet. “It’s not broken. That’s how you know they’re fake?”
“Yes, that and the fact that we had an expert look at them,” Neely said.
Jack raised his eyebrows. Neely shrugged one shoulder. “We have one on call to verify anything we found…”
Anything they found on Harrington, Zoe mentally added. They expected to take in Harrington and any gems he had with him.
Zoe watched as Jack lined up the bracelet, the necklace, and the earrings on the table, but her thoughts had shifted back to what she’d overheard on the balcony. “She switched them,” Zoe muttered to herself.
“What did you say,” Neely asked sharply.
Zoe looked from the jewelry to the three faces across the table. “Of course she switched the real jewels for fakes. I bet she decided to make the change after she saw McKinley meet with Harrington at the Zugspitze. She couldn’t have McKinley returning the jewels to Harrington. It was too risky for her. I’m sure McKinley thought he could keep Harrington from ever finding out his source for the jewels, but Amy would have been afraid he’d slip up and betray her.”
“So she did what? Ran out and had a copy made?” Neely asked.
“Yes,” Zoe said. “I’m sure she told the jeweler she wanted a replica. And she wouldn’t have had to go to a big city to get it done. Plenty of high-end jewelers in Ischgl.” Zoe scooted her chair closer to the table and leaned forward. “It’s no wonder she did it, especially after that conversation between her and McKinley. He wanted to cut out their third person in their group, some guy named Terrance. Amy was resistant. She said it went against their agreement, but McKinley tried to talk her into it, even suggested they could take the money from the Flawless Set and run away together. Now that I think about it, she seemed to be feeling him out, seeing how far he would go. She asked him if he’d do it, sell Terrance out. He said he wouldn’t, that he was only joking when he suggested it, but I remember the way she looked at him. Her gaze was assessing and…distant, like she was calculating the odds of him meaning what he’d said. She must have come to the conclusion that if McKinley would betray Terrance, then he could betray her, too. I bet she planned to feed McKinley the fake gems and disappear, figuring she would have at least a few days to drop out of sight before McKinley learned about the switch. She didn’t count on him knowing about the broken clasp, that it would tip him off immediately that they were fakes.”
Jack said, “McKinley probably read some of the news accounts of the exhibit opening. Unlucky and rather careless of Amy. So where was she going?” Jack asked in an abrupt topic change.
Zoe realized he was trying to confirm that their speculations were on the right track, but Neely frowned, and Alessi remained stone-faced.
Wenzel blinked, which Jack seemed to pick up on as some sort of tell. Jack zeroed in on him. “South Africa? The Caribbean? Come on, you can let us in on that little detail. You were watching McKinley, and he spoke to Amy last night, so I’m sure you’ve run down any travel plans she had.”
Wenzel retrieved the Zugspitze photographs and carefully returned them to a file folder, which he closed with an air of finality. “Belize.”
Neely threw her gaze up to the ceiling and pushed away from the table.
“Excuse me.” Wenzel stood, tucked the files under his arm, and turned to the investigators. “A word, please.” He escorted them out of the room. They left the door open a crack, and Zoe could see them huddled in the hall.
Jack leaned back. “Wenzel believes us, and he’s the important one.”
“What about Neely and Alessi?”
“This is Wenzel’s territory. Even if Interpol is involved, this is Austria. Wenzel makes the calls here.”
“Well, I’m glad he believes us, but we need the other two on our side, too. We can’t stay here forever, and I’d like the option of visiting Italy again someday.”
“I think we can work out something. An exchange—” Jack broke off as the three investigators returned to the room. Wenzel moved confidently, this time taking the center seat. The sour faces of Neely and Alessi bracketed him, but they sat down. Jack has it right, Zoe thought. They don’t like the way this is going, but Wenzel has the last word here.
“Amy Beck did have a flight booked,” Wenzel said, with the air of a man getting down to important business. “Tomorrow morning from Innsbruck. Everything you say…is okay. Checks out with our knowledge on McKinley. I believe you. My colleagues are suspicious, but I believe you could be a great asset to us.”
During Wenzel’s labored speech, which had been peppered with many pauses as he thought of the right word, Neely had pressed her lips together. Finally, it seemed, she couldn’t keep the words inside any longer. “Assets,” she said, frustration lacing her words. “Sure, let’s bring them in. Let’s trust them. They can help us find the real Flawless Set.”
Jack tilted his head, ignoring the sarcastic tone. “It wasn’t in Amy’s hotel room?”
“No,” Neely said reluctantly.
“She wouldn’t leave it there. Too vulnerable,” Zoe said. “If McKinley happened to realize that she’d made a switch, the first thing he’d do would be search her room.”
“No, the first thing he did was try to choke the truth out of her,” Jack said. “He was shouting, ‘Where is it? Where is it?’ when I got on the gondola. Never mind that he wasn’t giving her a chance to answer.”
“We are glad you were there to intervene,” Alessi said, his tone serious.
“Anyone would have done the same thing.”
A faint smile crossed Alessi’s face. “No, many would not have st
epped in.” Clearly he wasn’t sold on the idea that Jack and Zoe weren’t part of the gang of thieves, but he was giving Jack his due for trying to prevent Amy’s death.
“Unless we can get Amy Beck to talk, we’ll probably never find it,” Neely said. “It could be anywhere from Italy to here. She had ample time to hide it or hand it off to someone.”
“Did the medical people check her clothes?” Jack asked.
Neely laughed. “You think she kept it on her?”
Jack shrugged. “What was in Amy’s pockets?”
Wenzel consulted his phone. “Sunglasses, balm for the lips, lift ticket, key, thirty euros, and a passport.”
“Her own?” Jack asked.
“It does not say. I assume so. Otherwise, it would have been noted.”
“Did you say a card key? Like a key to a hotel room?” Zoe asked suddenly.
“No, a key. Metal.”
“Probably to her hotel room,” Jack said. “The smaller hotel and guesthouses don’t have key cards.”
“Right, but in those types of places you turn in your key at the front desk at the guesthouse. Like we did at our hotel in Rome, so it’s probably not a hotel key.” She grinned. “I know where it is. I know where the Flawless Set is.”
Jack sent her a warning look. “You mean you know where part of the Flawless Set is.”
Zoe shook her head slightly, trying to indicate that she wasn’t talking about the bracelet, the real bracelet that was back in Rome, which she knew Jack still considered their bargaining chip.
She sent him a reassuring smile. “No, I know where the whole thing is. We need that key.”
***
“It has to be here,” Zoe said to Harrington as they filed into the room lined with lockers. They were at the base of the ski lift, in one of the ski storage areas. Zoe had asked if Harrington could accompany them to see the locker, and Wenzel had agreed immediately.
“I would be absolutely thrilled to wrap this thing up, but why are you so sure?” Harrington asked. He looked as unflappable as ever, not a gray hair out of place and his trench coat neatly buttoned against the cold. His cheeks were ruddy, and he still had dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze sparkled with a new vitality that hadn’t been there this morning.