“Why don’t you sit down? Catch your breath,” he suggested.
“How can I do that? The police could come knocking on the door at any second. Everyone knows we left Barclay’s together. After my father’s house and my apartment, I’d say this is the next place they’ll look.”
“That’s why we’re not staying long. I just want to pick up a few things. Then I’ll drop you off somewhere safe while I go back to Barclay’s.”
“You can’t go back there,” she said with alarm. “They’ll ask you where I am.”
“Exactly, and I need to give them an answer. I’m going to tell them that you took off, ran away when I had my back turned. After all, I didn’t know you were under suspicion at the time we left, so I wasn’t watching you. I’ll tell them I don’t know where you are now. Otherwise, I won’t be able to get any information. And we need to know just what Evan planted on you.”
She stared at him in amazement. “You’re going to lie for me? Why would you do that? You could get in so much trouble.”
He was already in trouble, and it had as much to do with the way he was feeling about her as any rules he was about to break or had already broken. But he didn’t want to discuss that now, so he simply shrugged and began to throw his clothes into an overnight bag. “Let me worry about that. Where can I take you that you’ll be safe? Do you have any friends nearby?”
She thought for a moment, a frown marring her features. “Nobody I want to pull into the middle of this. I know,” she said abruptly. “I’ll go to the library. It’s perfect, and quiet, particularly in the historical stacks. No one will think to look for me there, and I can do some research on that diamond. My father’s note said he was going to put it back where it belonged. I have to figure out where that is.”
“How difficult will that be?”
“I have no idea, but at least I’ll be doing something productive, taking some action. I hate feeling so helpless, so out of control, at everyone else’s mercy. It’s the way I felt the last time, and I swore I’d never feel this way again. I really hate my father for doing this to me.”
“But you love him, too. That’s the worst part, isn’t it?” He saw her eyes blur with tears and fought back an impulse to reach for her. If he touched her again, he might not let her go.
“Yeah, that’s the worst part.” She turned her back on him, gazing out the window at the city below.
He opened drawers, grabbing his clothes and throwing them into his overnight bag along with his laptop computer. In only a few minutes he was ready to go. Opening the door, he took a quick look down the hall before motioning for Christina to follow. They made it down to the underground garage without incident. So far, so good.
A few minutes later he let Christina off in front of the San Francisco Main Library. He watched her enter the building and waited to make sure no one followed her inside. Hopefully this time he was one step ahead of Evan. Maybe Evan hadn’t yet discovered the diamond was a fake. In fact, he might never figure it out. He was a con artist, not a jewelry expert. But at some point, Evan would try to fence the diamond somewhere; that was when all hell would break loose.
* * *
Media trucks were parked in front of Barclay’s when J.T. arrived. Field reporters were setting up for their evening newscasts. It had been two hours since he’d hustled Christina out of the building, and now the auction house was noticeably empty. A lone receptionist sat at the front desk in the lobby, sipping a cup of coffee. He’d met her before. Her name was Elizabeth. She gave him a nod and a weary smile.
“It’s been quite a day,” she said. “Any news on our thief?”
He shook his head. “Not on my end. Are the local police still here?”
She shook her head. “I think everyone left a while ago, except the press. They keep knocking on the door, but no one wants to talk. Apparently the Kensingtons are going to host a press conference at five o’clock. I can’t imagine what they’ll say. Can you?”
He saw the inquisitive look in her eyes and shook his head. She probably knew more about the Kensingtons’ plans than he did. “Sorry. By the way, were you here at the desk when the word came to lock the doors?”
Elizabeth gave a vigorous nod. “I was. I couldn’t believe it. We’ve never had that much excitement at an auction before.”
“Did you happen to notice anyone leaving right before the doors were locked?”
“I didn’t notice. I already told the police that. There were a lot of people in the lobby at the time. It was standing room only in the showroom, and some people were watching the auction on the monitor,” she said, nodding toward the television monitor suspended from the ceiling in the far corner of the room.
“Thanks anyway. Where’s Mr. Kenner?”
“In the third-floor conference room with the Kensingtons. They said they didn’t want to be disturbed, but I’m sure they didn’t mean you.”
J.T. doubted he was high on their list, but he simply smiled and headed up the stairs.
As he approached the conference room, he saw a shell-shocked Alexis at one end of the table. Sylvia Davis sat next to her, jotting down notes on a pad of paper. Jeremy Kensington was seated at the opposite end. His face was as cold as ice and completely expressionless, but J.T. suspected that Jeremy was feeling the heat. In addition to the diamond theft, he had other problems, including David Padlinsky’s death and Alexis’s relationship with David. A lot had happened in the past fifteen or so hours since the Kensingtons had raised their champagne glasses to toast the success of the auction. This was supposed to be their biggest day. It was big, all right, but not the way they’d hoped.
The conversation ceased when J.T. entered the room, all eyes turning to him with one emotion -- anger.
“Where the fuck have you been? And where is Christina?” Kenner demanded.
“I’ve been trying to find her,” J.T. lied. “I didn’t realize there was a problem with Christina or her father until I got your messages on my cell phone. By then we had already parted company. Rather than come back here, I decided to check her apartment and also her father’s house.”
“Why did you help her leave in the first place?” Alexis asked. “You heard me tell Christina that I received a phone message from her father on my voice mail. Didn’t you wonder why she needed to leave the building so quickly after the theft?”
“No, I didn’t, because I was standing right next to her when the diamond disappeared. We were both in complete view of everyone else in that room. Christina did not steal that diamond. And I personally watched while she was searched by the security guard before leaving the building.”
“Where did you go?” Russell asked. “Why didn’t you stick around to help us figure out what happened?”
“I thought I saw the man I was looking for -- Evan Chadwick,” he replied. “I believed he might have slipped out before we did.”
“That’s impossible. We locked down almost immediately.”
“Almost being the key word. In those few moments of chaos, the real thief could have gotten out of the building.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Russell gave a definitive shake of his head. “The guards were on those doors right away.”
“Well, if you didn’t find the diamond, and everyone is gone but the four of you and the receptionist in the lobby, then someone got away with it.”
“There are other people still in the building,” Sylvia interjected, nervousness in her voice now.
“I hope you won’t let anyone leave without searching them and their belongings.” J.T. knew he was putting Russell’s back up, but he could use distraction as well as Evan could.
“I know what to do,” Russell snapped. “And I’m not worried about who’s still here. I’m concerned with who isn’t here -- Christina Alberti. Where did she go after you left the building?”
“We checked the parking lot together. I thought she might be able to tell me if she recognized Evan as anyone who had been working here at Barclay’s the past m
onth or so. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the man I saw.”
“Really? How surprising,” Kenner said sarcastically. “So you lose your lead and you disappear with our key suspect. Maybe you’re working with her, McIntyre.”
J.T. didn’t waver under Kenner’s accusatory stare. “Don’t look at me as a way to cover your ass. You’re the head of security, as you told me many times. It was your job to protect the diamond, not mine. I was just trying to help.”
“Or to hinder.”
J.T. shrugged. He didn’t much care what Kenner thought about him. “Do you have anything else on Christina’s father besides some anonymous phone message?”
“E-mails on her computer,” Alexis interjected. “And David told me that--” She stopped abruptly, darting a quick look at her husband.
“Why don’t you just shut up, Alexis?” Jeremy said, anger and weariness in his voice, in his posture, in the way he shoved back the chair and strode from the room without giving the rest of them another look.
“David told you what?” J.T. prodded as Alexis stared after her husband as if she were afraid he was never coming back.
Sylvia patted Alexis’s hand. “If this is too much for you...”
“No.” Alexis drew in a deep breath and then continued. “David told me that he thought Christina was acting oddly when she examined the diamond. He also said he took a call from her father one day and wondered if Marcus Alberti had his eyes on the diamond.”
J.T. was surprised by her latest revelation. “David had a conversation with Christina’s father?”
“Yes, and Mr. Alberti asked a lot of questions about the diamond.” Her gaze filled with worry. “Do you think the car accident had something to do with what David knew? Oh, my God!” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Do you think Christina is the one who ran him down?”
“She certainly didn’t like him much,” Sylvia interjected. “They were arguing at your dinner party last night, Alexis. You heard them, Mr. McIntyre.”
“I wouldn’t say they were arguing,” he denied, not liking the way the noose was being pulled even tighter around Christina’s neck. “As a matter of fact I saw the accident last night. I was just arriving when David was hit. It wasn’t Christina driving the car.”
“You said you didn’t see the car or the driver,” Russell reminded him.
“I didn’t. But I took Christina home. There was no time for her to get her car and beat me back here.” God help him for all the lies he was telling. “I know David called you right before the accident.” He turned back to Alexis. “I found his phone. Yours was the last number he’d dialed.”
“I just told you why he was calling. It was about Christina.”
J.T. studied Alexis’s face. She averted her gaze, as if she was afraid of what he would see. He didn’t completely buy her story. There was something else going on. Her husband hadn’t stormed off without good reason. “It seems odd to me that David was at your party last night. He was just a part-time assistant, a grad student, hardly in the league of your other guests.”
“David was very helpful yesterday in previewing the diamond while Christina was gone. Another strange disappearance, I might add,” Alexis said on a huffy note. “I thought David might be able to answer questions from the guests. And I am not the one on trial here. We need to find Christina. She has a lot of explaining to do.”
“The police are checking her house and her father’s house,” Kenner said. He shot J.T. a speculative look. “I hope we can count on your help.”
“Of course you can. But first I’d like to take a look at the security tapes from the workroom. Unlike you, I’m keeping an open mind about the identity of our diamond thief. I told you from the beginning that the man I’ve been following intended to steal it. I know he has been in the area. He’s left me notes to that effect. Now the diamond is gone. I’m not discounting the fact that he’s the one who took it and planted evidence on Christina’s computer to discredit her and her father.”
“You keep talking about this mysterious man,” Alexis said with a frown, “but none of us knows who you’re talking about.”
“Because he’s pretending to be someone you know, someone you trust.”
“I know everyone in my company,” Alexis said. “It’s not possible that he’s an employee.”
“Maybe not. I’d still like to see the tape.”
“We were just watching it,” Kenner said. He hit the remote control and the monitor in the corner of the room lit up.
They studied the tape for several moments in complete silence. The scene played out exactly as J.T. remembered. The four men surrounded the diamond, Russell, Luigi, Jeremy, and Stefano. Then Stefano took the necklace and placed it on the display. He set the display on the turntable and reached to push the button that would send the turntable into the other room.
His body blocked the camera, J.T. realized. All they could see was Stefano’s broad back. “Where is he?” he asked abruptly. “Where’s Benedetti?”
Russell blinked. “Uh. I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“I’m surprised he’s not here raising holy hell,” J.T. said. “In fact, where’s Murano? Where’s our Italian security contingent?”
“Mr. Murano was on the phone in the security office earlier,” Alexis said. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“Benedetti’s body blocks the camera,” J.T. said again.
“So what?” Kenner asked with a frustrated wave of his hand. “Mr. Benedetti is the owner of the diamond. He wouldn’t try to steal it.”
J.T. felt a rush of excitement as the puzzle pieces began to click into place. “Maybe he would. There must be insurance on the diamond.”
“Yes, but...” Alexis stopped, her jaw dropping, mixed emotions running through her eyes. “No, that is a crazy idea. Mr. Benedetti would not set us up like that. His family is very well respected in Italy. They have a reputation to maintain. They would make far more money selling the diamond than collecting the insurance.”
“Not if they got the insurance money and kept the diamond,” J.T. pointed out.
“They would never be able to sell it again. It would always be on the list of stolen jewels,” Alexis argued. “If it was discovered in their possession, they would be in very big trouble. You’re on the wrong track.”
“I don’t think so. Benedetti was the last one to have his hand on that diamond.”
“And he’s a far more respectable man than Marcus Alberti.” Alexis stood up. “I need to take care of some things before the press conference. Russell, call me when you find Christina. She and her father are the ones who stole that diamond. I’m sure of it.” She gave J.T. a pointed look, then swept from the room, Sylvia on her heels.
J.T. glanced at Russell Kenner. “Where is Benedetti staying?”
“The Crestmoor Hotel.” He scratched his jaw. “I have to admit I never considered that angle.”
“Maybe you should. What about Murano?”
“Best Western, two blocks down.”
“Thanks. We need to eliminate them from the list of suspects.”
“All right. I can do that, but frankly I think you’re just trying to turn the attention on someone else. Hell, maybe you’re in on the theft with Christina. She seems to have you wrapped around her little finger, or maybe it’s some other part of her body. I’m warning you, McIntyre, if you helped Christina escape with that diamond, I’ll make sure you lose your job.”
Kenner’s threat hung in the air long after he left the room. J.T. picked up the remote control and rewound the tape so he could play it again.
As the turntable moved, Benedetti stepped back with a satisfied smile. There was something about that smile that unsettled him. The answer hit him like a freight train.
Was it possible that Evan was Stefano? J.T.’s heart leaped into his throat. It couldn’t be. He’d spoken to Stefano Benedetti several times. He would have known if it was Evan in disguise, wouldn’t he? Stefano’s image flas
hed in his head, the long, curly dark hair, the olive skin, the deep brown eyes, the Italian accent. Jenny had said that Evan wore a ski cap on his head when he came to see her, so he’d obviously wanted to cover his hair. He could have accomplished the rest with makeup, contact lenses, even faked the accent.
Still, if Benedetti were Evan, wouldn’t the head of the Italian security team, Luigi Murano, have known he was an impostor? Wouldn’t they have spoken in Italian? It didn’t make sense.
But J.T.’s instincts were screaming at him to pay attention. Stefano Benedetti was the last person to touch the diamond. His back blocked the cameras. He could have taken the necklace before he stepped back with that smile on his face. The turntable was no longer in view. And everyone was watching the monitors to see the reaction of the crowd when they first saw the diamond.
When the necklace vanished, Kenner had called for a lockdown. Everyone had gone running in a dozen different directions. Where had Stefano gone?
J.T. let the tape run, but the camera had not captured Stefano’s exit from the workroom. The real question was whether Stefano could have left Barclay’s without being searched. He was the owner of the diamond -- the victim, not the perpetrator. Or at least, that was what everyone thought.
It was a great plan. Evan had once again played a perfect game.
Make that almost perfect.
Because Christina’s father had stolen the necklace two nights earlier, and Evan had stolen a fake. How ironic was that? The con man had been out-conned by the man he’d set up to take the fall. J.T. had to smile.
The bottom line, though, was that the diamond was missing and the heat was on Christina. No one at Barclay’s wanted to believe in a con man they’d never met. It was far easier to blame Marcus Alberti.
J.T. turned off the monitor, feeling a renewed sense of energy and purpose. He needed to track down Benedetti and Murano. Either Murano was in on it or Evan had conned him, too. And if Evan was playing a part, where the hell was the real Stefano Benedetti?
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