Ben simply nodded and followed Fletcher into a side room where the door closed behind them.
Delgado inclined his head to me and I followed him to the small room opposite, smiling when I saw Solomon waiting inside, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall. We weren't in a closet, but some kind of utility room or office. A table and a couple of chairs were against one wall, but otherwise, it was bare. Delgado shut the door and I leaned against the wall.
"Where were you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at Delgado. I figured I'd ask first, before I got twenty questions.
"Bathroom," he said, with a shrug.
"Peeing in the dark. Awkward." Delgado cracked a smile. "So what happens now?" I asked.
Solomon spoke quickly. "We're searching every guest as they leave so they don't return to the ball and inadvertently alert the thief. Claudia is giving a statement to the police. Fortunately, she has a paste replica of the jewels at her home so she'll be able to show exactly what they look like, and her insurance is paid up. She's not happy, or at least, she won't be when she sobers up."
I blinked. "She's got a paste set?"
"Yeah. Apparently, some women get replicas made for less fancy occasions." Solomon glanced to the door. "Helen Callery seems to be taking it well."
I shook my head. "She's freaking out."
"She's okay," insisted Delgado.
"No, she's not. She's doing that false 'everything's great—lalala' thing my mother does when she's worried that everything is falling apart. I can see it on her face," I told them. "Duh. Do you two not know women at all?" I asked when they both gave me skeptical expressions.
Solomon and Delgado eyed each other, then me. Both mumbled something about knowing women just fine before shutting up.
"Anyway, that's not it. I mean, she, Claudia, has a paste set!" I continued, ignoring them. Again, Solomon and Delgado exchanged glances before turning to stare at me. If I weren't used to it, I would have been uncomfortable. "Don't you see? That's how you can squash any rumors from this evening. If you can ask Claudia to get us the paste replicas, we can show the guests before they leave, and say it was all part of the evening. A staged robbery with Claudia as the amazing actress. She's an actress, darling," I mimicked.
"It could work, Boss," said Delgado, one side of his mouth lifting into a smile, like he couldn't decide if he were happy with the idea or not. "No one's left yet, 'cept these two."
"Who's going to act as the thief?" asked Solomon
"Tip one of the waiters a hundred bucks to pretend he was the thief. Oh, and get him to sign a nondisclosure too. There has to be an out-of-work actor among them. They're all too good looking not to be."
"You were checking out the waiters?" asked Solomon, his face returning to its stony setting.
"Hell, no. Me? No!"
Solomon rested his chin in the gap between thumb and forefinger and stroked his jaw. "Okay," he said, nodding. "It could work. You and Ben are the first to leave. If Helen agrees and Claudia complies, we'll encourage everyone else to stay with the promise of a big finale."
"Exactly," I added, excitement urging my mind and mouth to race. "Make the guests feel like they're part of it. Search them, conduct mini interviews, do everything you need to for a real investigation, but, at the end, tell them it's all show. A big charade for their benefit. Like one of those murder mystery evenings."
"Helen will like it," Solomon decided. "It'll appeal to her flair for the dramatic. Delgado, I'll find Helen and you get a waiter."
"But don't terrify him," I interrupted, mostly to Delgado, who looked like he might take a waiter to one side and knock him down. "Find out how many of them are out-of-work actors. Get the one who can put on the best show. And if Claudia doesn't seem interested, you might want to point out the Hollywood producer on the guest list."
Solomon checked his watch. "Time for you to go. You can only get frisked for so long," he said, his voice velvet smooth.
A blush rose on my face and I turned away before Solomon or Delgado could see it, not that it mattered because Solomon's cell phone beeped.
"Ben's clean," said Solomon. I glanced over and saw him studying the screen before slipping the cell phone into his pocket. "Let us know where you go. I have to stay here a while. I don't want to have to search Montgomery for you if you get out of range."
Something told me he would though. "Okay. Hey, Lord Justin was standing real close to Claudia before the lights went out. I think he was a little further away when the lights came back on; and you heard what happened with the women in the restroom. He's playing them, as well as me."
"I heard. We've been watching and he's been very busy with the ladies this evening. Delgado will frisk him," said Solomon. Delgado cracked his knuckles. Somehow, I didn't think Lord Justin would be enjoying the rest of the evening.
"Justin definitely needs to be searched thoroughly. My money is on him. I don't think he's the man he pretends he is. Something about his story doesn't sit right," I told them and they both nodded, but made no move to do otherwise. "Okay, so I'll check in soon," I told them, waiting for Solomon's nod before I slipped out, closing the door behind me.
Ben was waiting at the cloakroom. He clearly got there a minute or two before me because he already had his coat on, and mine folded over his arms. "Let me take those," he said, relieving me of my purse and phone before I had a chance to protest. He lay them on the counter and held my coat up. I spun around to slip my arms into the sleeves, adjusting the lapels as I turned. Ben picked up my purse and phone and handed them to me. I tucked my cell phone into my pocket and slid my arm through his, smiling up at him as we left the building, and a performance the likes of which Montgomery had never known.
~
Ben's idea of moving on somewhere else, turned out to be a bar across town, only a couple of blocks from where Lily's bar was. I felt a little over-dressed in my glamorous gown, but Ben didn't seem at all bothered by the sideways glances many women shot at him, and one or two guys too. All he did was settle us in a suddenly free booth — these things just seemed to happen for him – and order us drinks, as he loosened his bow tie, letting it hang limply about his neck. He also tweaked open the top button of his shirt. There was something devilishly handsome about him, more so in the low light of the bar.
"Champagne cocktails. Bar Raphael. Mr. Rafferty, you do know how to show a girl a good time," I told him, leaning in so I didn't have to yell. Really, yelling couldn't be any further from unsexy, and I was doing my best. Also, I had to throw in the bar name just to tell my sanctioned stalkers-slash-colleagues where I was, in the event they were roaming around looking for me. Honestly, it was like knowing my dad was waiting outside, ready to leap in the moment our kissing moved beyond the peck on the cheek stage. I tried to recall if that ever happened. Maybe two uncles, several cousins, my brother, Daniel, and one time, Grandma O'Shaughnessy, when she visited — shudder — but never my dad. He just wasn't fast enough to catch me.
"Yes, I do," Ben agreed, with a sexy wink.
"Do you think they caught the guy yet?" I asked, toying with the stem of my glass.
"The guy?"
"The thief?" I reminded him. How could he forget?
Ben shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it was Claudia all along." He smiled and raised his eyebrows with a suggestive flicker.
"Oh really? You think she masterminded the whole thing?" I was feigning interest. Not that it was hard; any perspective on how the thief could get away with a theft like that in a crowded room was intriguing.
"I wouldn't be surprised."
"I think we'll have to disagree. I think it was a criminal mastermind." I sipped my drink. Delicious. I would miss cocktails with Lily for the forthcoming months. Perhaps Ben would... no, I couldn't think like that. Even if Ben were off the hook, I still couldn't date him. Everything about me was a lie, designed to lure him. Once he knew the truth, it would be over. Besides, a third man in my confused mind? No.
"In Montgomery? Do criminal maste
rminds take the time to come out here?"
I thought about all the cases I worked so far, ever since the day I slipped in the blood of my dead boss's corpse. "You'd be surprised," I told him, "at what happens in Montgomery."
Ben leaned in, close enough that I could smell his shower gel. "Now you sound like a woman with secrets."
I pressed a finger to the center of my chest, coincidentally tapping the top of my cleavage. Ben's gaze drifted down and lingered. I bet that was a coincidence too. "Woman of mystery."
"Maybe I should be suspicious. Perhaps you are the great jewel thief of the night," Ben teased. He took a sip of his cocktail and placed his glass on the table. A bead of liquid lingered on his lower lip and I concentrated hard, restraining myself from leaning over to lick it off.
Then I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.
What? Willpower isn't my strong point. It's not even in my top five strong points.
Before I could pull away, Ben's palm rested against the back of my head and he pulled me closer. I slid further around the velvet banquet table until our thighs bumped together. His other arm encircled me. My hands brushed over his shoulders and around his neck and my tongue meshed with his. His hand stroked the back of my neck, grazing the clasp of my necklace, which, unfortunately, reminded me why I was here. This wasn't a date. This was all a ruse. Ben might be a millionaire, but I was not the heiress he thought I was. No matter how attractive and charming, he was still a suspect until someone said otherwise. No matter how good he kissed, or that he lit a fire in my belly, this was going nowhere.
I pulled away, gently. His hand remained on the back of my neck as his eyes burned into mine.
Maybe I should just have one more little kiss?
Just to make sure.
I blinked. No. I had to be professional. I had to... Oops! Was Ben kissing me again? Damn, no one could blame me for this one!
"Mmm," I murmured as we drifted apart one million fantastic minutes later. Ben's thumb stroked the nape of my neck, playing with the catch of my necklace...
My necklace.
Where was Ben when Claudia's necklace was stolen from her throat?
I was certain that he was standing next to me, but now when I thought about it... I just couldn't be sure. We weren't holding hands, or standing with linked arms. In the dark and distraction caused by the bubble of panic, he could easily have slipped away, and returned just as the lights came back on.
Yes, Ben had ample opportunity to steal Claudia's jewels. At least, he had as much opportunity as Lord Justin, or anyone else in the room who was near her.
What if I'd gotten it wrong? What if I sent Solomon and Delgado after the wrong guy while I played tongue tickle with the real thief?
Thing was, I couldn't possibly work out how Ben could’ve gotten the necklace out of the venue? He'd been searched, and I had to assume thoroughly by Fletcher, though he didn't appear to be violated in anyway. Eww, I didn't want to pursue that thought. Maybe if Ben was the culprit, he stashed the jewels somewhere, ready to retrieve later. But where? And how?
"Something on your mind?" asked Ben.
"Just my hair," I said, stroking a stray lock behind my ear. Ben laughed, but the tension I felt didn't disappear. Instead of feeling relaxed, I was on high alert; like on the verge of breaking the case. It felt like it was within fingertip's reach and I could grasp it at any moment.
"You seem tense."
"I guess I'm a little tense after the theft. The thief must have real temerity to snatch those jewels from amongst all those people." I shook my head as if to show my real dismay.
"Worried it could have been you?" Ben's finger moved from my clasp, under the slim chain and lifted the pendant. "Pretty little thing," he murmured, but I don't know if he was talking about the necklace or me.
"Isn't everyone worried?" I countered. "Aren't you?"
Ben dropped my pendant and lifted the edge of his sleeve, flashing a Rolex and a bright pair of gold cufflinks. "I'm good."
"I see that. Speaking of which, did you see anything that happened? Anything at all?"
Ben shook his head. "Nothing. It was too dark. Maybe I should eat more carrots," he joked.
"Maybe." I took a sip of my drink, taking my time, before adding casually, "I thought you were closer to Claudia than I." Ben arched his eyebrow and I backtracked, scrambling for the right words. "I mean, closer geographically, not closer physically. Not that I'm implying you got close to Claudia physically at all."
"She would eat me alive." Ben laughed, politely ignoring my fluster. "I really didn't see a thing. I was next to you the whole time the lights were out. Weren't we holding hands? And I think you were closer to Claudia, but I don't really remember."
"I don't think so..." Actually, I was almost certain we weren't holding hands. I'd just dropped my purse and Ben stooped to pick it up off the floor. I had my wine glass in my other hand.
"Huh. I wonder whose hand I was holding!" Ben laughed at his own joke and I stashed my concern away to address later. If I probed any further, Ben would think I was suspicious, and that would just spoil the evening.
I set my suspicions to one side by the time I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. The shape was too familiar for me to ignore, unlike the many other people who passed our table in the hour or so since we arrived. Casually tossing my hair, I looked around, pretending to be interested in the crowd, until I found him.
Solomon.
He sat a few tables away, side on to us, his back to the wall. I knew he would have surveyed the room already, and I knew he would be looking at us, even if his face pointed to his companion. Opposite him sat Delgado, looking a little uneasy at being in a bar, though a lot suaver since he lost his jacket and tie and simply wore an open necked shirt. Perhaps he wasn't the party type. Solomon, meanwhile, seemed to look at home wherever he was. He had that kind of presence.
With a hint of annoyance, I saw he hadn't gone unnoticed. A group of women at the next table were each checking him out. Not that he seemed at all interested, he didn't even seem to see them. He barely even noticed when one stupendously long-legged woman rose from her chair, sashayed towards him, and "accidentally" bumped his chair, pretending to be flustered and apologetic, probably saying that she wasn't watching where she was going or something equally inane. Solomon gave her a disinterested smile, said something, and turned away, dismissing her.
I watched the woman wrinkle her nose in surprise before turning to her friends, and giving them a little shrug. Insensitively, I wondered if she planned to literally throw herself over him on the way back from wherever she was going. The bathroom, I suspected, when she walked past the bar, slipping from view behind a boxy pillar.
I turned my attention back to Solomon, wondering what he said to Delgado, who nodded, turned his head, turned back, and nodded again. I searched the crowd to see their newest source of fascination and found... Oh... What? Maddox. Great. What was he doing here?
The pretty, but annoying, Detective Blake wasn't with him, so I thanked my sweet blessings that it was just the annoying men in my life who seemed to be following me, rather than waiting out in their cars somewhere for me to flip the safe word before charging in to rescue me. The only thing worse would be if my three brothers amazingly decided that tonight Bar Raphael was their new drinking joint. Somehow, I felt safe; between their respective wives, and Lily, and the MPD drinking hole of choice, O’Grady’s, I didn't think Bar Raphael stood a chance.
I started to rise. "Will you excuse me a moment? I have to powder my nose."
Ben got to his feet like the perfect gentleman. "Shall I order more drinks?"
"Please."
His eyes lingered on me for a moment before he turned to get the cocktail waitress's attention. He raised one finger, then slid back into the booth. I walked purposefully towards the bar, turning to look at Ben just as I passed Solomon. Ben's eyes were on me, and he flashed me a confident smile, as he turned to the approaching waitress. I took a right
at the bar and headed towards the small corridor leading to the restrooms. Instead of entering, I waited, and a moment later, Solomon was beside me.
"What are you doing in here?" I asked. "You'll blow my cover."
"Rafferty has never seen me, and I doubt he'll recognize Delgado. We're good."
"You don't know that for sure." Solomon gave me an offhand shrug that said he already weighed the situation and thought it was fine. I guess I had to bow to his superior judgment, though a knee in the nuts would have been more satisfying. "Okay, shoot. Why are you here?"
"Keeping an eye on my employee," Solomon told me without a trace of interest in my luscious female wiles. Instead, he made it sound difficult to keep his employee “property” safe from harm.
"You could do that outside," I told him.
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