Diamonds (Den of Thieves Book 1)

by Cosgrove, A. M.

  She laughed.

  "Don’t laugh Daria, this is not a laughing matter."

  "I know Father but I mean I only just met the man two days ago. How could I possibly know if I love him or not?"

  "I knew with your mother the moment I met her that she was the woman that I wanted to marry more than anyone else in the world. She was to be the woman that I spent the rest of my life with."

  "But that’s different thought."

  "How so?"

  "People don’t just fall in love like that anymore." The words sounded hollow as they rolled off her tongue.

  "They don’t? Well then that is a very boring way to go through life. Never knowing if you are in love or not."

  She laughed again, a nervous laugh, her father’s words were echoing in her ears.

  Silence fell over them again as she pondered the answer to her father question. Was it possible? Was she falling in love with Peter?

  "You will tell me right?"

  "Hmm?" She pulled herself back out of her thoughts.

  "If you fall in love with this man. You will let me know right?"

  "Of course! Why would I ever keep that from you?" She laughed. Her father could be so strange sometimes.

  "You never know with you young folks now a days," he said finishing his coffee and standing up, "After all you lot cant even tell when you’re in love, right?"

  She watched him walk away and she wondered if he had been able to see what she was too afraid to admit.

  She was falling in love with Peter.

  No one moved or said anything until they had heard the car tires screech as the Blakemans pulled out of the parking lot.

  "Well that was certainly something else. You weren't kidding Jake, when you said the woman was a complete nut job," Paul said shaking his head in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.

  "I know; I almost can’t believe it myself. She is certainly a piece of work."

  "Did you see how she treated her man? Seriously what the fuck? Who dammed well does that to the man they are supposed to love and cherish?" Cat piped up walking back to her desk and flopping down tired.

  They all looked like they had gone three rounds in a ring.

  "Now do you understand what we are up against here Sebastian? She’s a huge client and we can’t afford not to take her case. We haven’t had one from the FBI in a month and last time I checked we all have bills to pay."

  "I get it, really I do. But you also have to understand that I think there is something hinky about the whole situation. The more I learn about this completely dysfunctional family the more I know there is something we haven’t uncovered yet."

  "Sebastian, I know that you are emotionally invested in this situation and that for whatever reason you have decided that you are right and that there is something hidden that we aren’t seeing you also have to understand that the rest of us are not blinded by love or whatever has gotten a hold of you." Paul shook his head. "And even if there is something that we haven’t found yet it really isn’t our business. Our business is finding a way to return the necklace to this woman so she will go back to the hole she crawled out of and leave us alone."

  "As much as I would like to see this woman gone never to return, I think that Sebastian might be onto something here," Jake speculated looking over his notes.

  "Really? Now you too?" Paul was getting frustrated now, "Can no one here see our paychecks walking out the dammed door on this one?"

  "Look Paul, none of us want to get into any shit. We just want to do our jobs and stay on this side of the law. I have no use for getting myself in to hot water with the PD for the sake of some rich bitch and her crappy necklace," Cat snapped.

  "Easy guys. No one’s going to get into any trouble with the police," Bo said putting his hands up.

  "I know I’m not. I am not getting involved in this anymore." Cat threw up her hands and went to grab her bag when Paul stopped her.

  "It’s not like you were to begin with but you can’t sit there and whine when you don’t get a paycheck when this is all over either. I mean after all no work, no money."

  Cat glared at him and put her bag back down on her desk.

  "So what do we do now? None of us can risk any trouble from the PD. I mean half of us are ex-criminals to start with and most have done jail time--" Rudy spoke up from behind his bank of computers and everyone turned to look at him.

  "Speak for yourself four-eyes," Cat hissed. "I just wasn’t stupid enough to get caught."

  "Umm I hate to bring it up Cat, but if I do remember correctly it was me who caught you trying to take out that mob boss five years ago and I gave you a choice to come and work for me or I'd see to it that you served jail time."

  "Yeah and how did that work out for you Mister I Got Caught With My Hand In The Cookie Jar?"

  "Guys! Come on! Can you please stop fighting?" No one had seen or heard Gracie come in but she had been there long enough to see the fight starting to erupt in front of her.

  "Gracie’s right you guys. We don’t have time to be fighting amongst ourselves. We have better things to do," Bo chimed in. Sebastian could see the relief in his face that at least one of the group was remaining level headed about the whole situation.

  "Alright from what I have gathered in the five minutes I’ve been standing here, we have had another wonderful visit from the lovely Mrs. Blakeman. Am I correct?" Gracie looked back and forth between them through her cat-eye frames "Right. So she’s clearly set us on edge just being in our space, but it would also seem that there might have been some information given that we didn’t have when we started this whole thing and that its something that might shed light on a reason why we shouldn’t be involved in this assignment at all. Now can anybody here tell me what you lot really should be doing?"

  "Trying to validate or disprove the information we have been given?" Jake spoke hesitantly.

  "Good idea. I thought Rudy was the only brainiac of the group but you are proving you are more than just a pretty face Jakey boy."

  Jake smiled.

  "Alright then. Jake are you still good enough with the LCPD that you could talk to that old friend of yours on the inside and see what you can dig up?" Paul asked his temper diminished greatly.

  There was something about Gracie that no one mucked around with. She was a tiny waif of a woman, in her mid forties, but she had in the couple of years she had been with them, quickly become the glue that held them all together.

  "I can certainly try. I can’t make any promises, as I haven’t spoken to Stan in years. Not even sure if he is still on the force or not but it wont hurt to give him a try. Worst case scenario, it’s a good reason to go and have a beer with an old friend."

  "Good. Take Sebastian with you. He will be helpful as he has spent some time with Daria Sotir and he knows the family history from their perspective. So if something clicks he can let you know."

  "Makes sense to me," he nodded. "Jake, do you mind if we stop at my house on the way out so I can shower and change?"

  "Yeah I’d really appreciate it if we could. You stink man. I’m surprised that the witch didn’t have something to say about that when she was here." Jake clapped him on the shoulder as they headed for the door.

  "Thanks - you really are saint you, know that?"

  “Are you bloody well ready to go yet?”

  Sebastian stepped out of his room and into the living room.

  “What on earth was taking you so dammed long? You didn’t even shave for Christ’s sake!” Jake rolled his eyes.

  “Sorry, looking this good is hard work,” Sebastian grinned, he felt a lot closer to being human now that he had taken a hot shower.

  “Well I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that shit.” Jake shook his head and headed for the door.

  Sebastian grabbed his keys and followed him out.

  “So I talked to my friend before I left. Turns out the guy is still kicking around LCPD and he’s got a bit of a break so he can meet with us at some fi
fties diner thing in the west end of town.”

  “Sounds good to me. As long as they have cold beer.”

  “Don’t count on it. Sounds to me like my old buddy is back on the wagon.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah back in the day when I knew him he was a bit of a drunk. If he hadn’t had such an amazing career up to that point they would have turfed his ass long before I met him.”

  “Guess he got his shit together just like we did.”

  “Yeah sounds like it.”

  The diner was busy when they got there.

  From what Sebastian could tell it was right out of the fifties and your typical mom and pop diner with black and white tile, red leather booths, and a working jukebox in the one corner. Even the waitresses and busboys wore uniforms keeping in theme with the diner.

  Teenagers took over the entire corner around the old pinball machine. A sign on the wall beside the machine showed there was a monthly leaderboard for the best score. They were quiet except for the hoots and catcalls at the person playing. Families were scattered throughout the rest of the diner.

  They found Stan, a dark haired older detective who was slightly overweight and a thin red headed woman with short, cropped hair sitting in a corner booth next to the jukebox, the tables around which were mercifully unoccupied. It was clear they picked that spot for a reason. It was so loud no one would be able hear their conversation unless they were sitting at the same table.

  Sebastian sat down in the booth and slid over to sit across from the woman and make room for Jake.

  “Jake, good to see you.” Stan reached out a hand to Jake. “This is my partner, Jane Trinity. Anything you say to me you can say to her.”

  The woman smiled but Sebastian could see that she was irritated with having to be party to a social visit. She looked like a woman who liked to be in control.

  “Good to see you as well. This is my associate, Sebastian.”

  Stan nodded at Sebastian.

  “So what on God’s green earth brought you to me?” the older man asked.

  “I need some help. For an assignment we are working on,” Jake started

  “First before we go any further you have to understand I want no part in anything that may be considered illegal.”

  “I know Stan, I don’t either, believe me. My associates and I have had enough run ins with the wrong side of the law for a lifetime. It’s actually for that reason that we are coming to you in the first place. I need you to do some digging in the police archives for me.”

  They were interrupted by a young girl in a red and white poodle skirt with a high ponytail that bounced when she walked. She brought two coffees and set them down in front of Stan and Jane.

  “You guys must come here often to get service like that,” Sebastian remarked once the waitress had left with his and Jakes drink order.

  “We might come here once in awhile.” Stan laughed. “So what is it you’re looking for exactly?”

  “We need you to look up an assault that might have happened about 27 years ago.”

  Jake filled the detectives in on the whole story with the Sotirs and the diamond necklace as the waitress returned to deliver the missing drinks and take their food orders.

  “Well you guys don’t make things easy.” Stan finished the rest of his mug of coffee.

  “I don’t even know if we can find this stuff,” Jane piped up. “Let alone if we are able to pass along what we find to you.”

  “I just need to confirm or disprove our client’s story. I don’t need details but I do need to know. I don’t want to get any of us into hot water.”

  “Why don’t you just walk away from this?” Stan asked.

  “Because I won’t,” The words were out of Sebastian’s mouth before he realized he had spoken.

  Jake looked at him surprised and Stan gave his partner a look that could not be mistaken for anything but, ‘what have we gotten involved in now’.

  “Any particular reason why you would not be willing to walk away?” Stan raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You have to see this bitch. If we don’t figure out what’s going on the woman isn’t going to stop just because we do. She is going to just keep going. And she is not the type of person who would play nicely.” Sebastian was suddenly worried that Stan and his partner were not going to be willing to help

  “Don’t mind him Stan, the boy’s got a bee in his bonnet for the daughter.”

  Sebastian said nothing. It wouldn’t do him any good to deny it but at the same time he didn’t want Jake pointing it out like it was all some big joke.

  Their food came then and they ate in silence. Sebastian’s mind raced with thoughts of the future. There were so many variables to what could happen. Most of the thoughts Sebastian did not want to entertain; the idea of Daria getting hurt because he didn’t do everything in his power to stop her mother from getting near to her horrified him.

  He knew in his heart that the woman wouldn’t rest until she got what she wanted and that was why he wouldn’t stop until he either got the necklace and handed it over to the woman or stopped her.

  “Look I need to know if Daria is in trouble. Clearly her mother is going to stop at nothing until she has the necklace. If this woman is as nasty as I have a bad feeling she is then we need to warn Daria and her father.” Sebastian voiced the thoughts running through his head.

  Stan looked up from his plate of fries.

  “And then what smart guy?” Jake asked suddenly turning on him.

  “Look guys. I don’t care what you do with the information. Because I believe that there is a chance a young lady and her father might be in trouble I will dig into it for you. After that all I can say is if you get in over your head and need back up call me.”

  Chapter 8

  They left the diner shortly after with Stan and Jane promising to be in touch as soon as they could.

  “Just what the hell did you think you were doing back there?” Jake demanded as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  “What was I doing?”

  “Yeah what the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking about doing the right thing Jake. Look, whether you like it or not we are in over our heads on this one. Something isn’t right. Even your friend Stan admitted that he found something to be off with the situation.”

  “And?”

  “You can’t possibly sit there and think that we are still going to go through with this. Weren’t you the one who said that you thought it was worth looking in to when we left the office?”

  “I know what I said Sebastian, but I also think this is a wild goose chase. There isn’t anything but speculation until Stan comes back with something we can move on.”

  “So we just keep going as is. We don’t hold off and wait to see if this is even legitimate?”

  “You said yourself, if it isn’t us that crazy woman will just keep on it. At least if it is us then you get to protect your damsel in distress if anything does come of it.“ Jake shook his head. “But just remember if we don’t at the very least keep up appearances then she may go elsewhere with her business and then we are completely screwed.”

  Sebastian nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. Like it or not Jake had a decent point. He didn’t like it but he wasn’t foolish enough to allow his heart to blind him.

  Jake was right. She would destroy the team and everything they had worked for if they didn’t keep her in check no matter what the detective found out for them.

  Whatever happened he was not about to let it blow back onto Daria.

  Sitting at her dressing table in her housecoat, Daria looked at her reflection. Her reflection belied the feelings breaking over her like waves crashing into a seashore. She knew that she shouldn’t be thinking the things that she was. She barely knew the man but at the same time there was something about him that she found absolutely intriguing. Something she just couldn’t walk away from.

  And the sex had been impressive. The man was good i
n the bedroom. She smiled to herself.

  Her sex life had ground to a halt when her father started setting her up with older men. There was absolutely nothing appealing to them aside from their bank accounts and connections in important circles.

  Neither of which interested her. Picking up her brush she started getting ready for her date.

  Peter however. He didn’t run in any important circles that she could find and he didn’t appear to be overly wealthy. Although if he was, he was certainly down to earth with his money and wasn’t one to use flash and awe to woo her and win her heart. The man enjoyed the simpler things in life it seemed. Much like she did.