by Tina Michele
“What?” Tara asked.
At the same time Agent Gulker said, “Excuse me?”
“I failed. He asked me to do one thing and I let him down. I promised him that I would protect them.”
“Sweetheart, you didn’t fail. No one knew this was going to happen.” Kyle stroked Belle’s arm, and Tara put her arm around Belle and pulled her in.
“We should have. That’s our job, Kyle.”
“I know, sweetheart. But we have to be glad that you are okay.”
“Okay?” Belle stepped forward and turned her face. “Do you see this? These are bruises from the fingers that held my face so tight that I couldn’t breathe. He held me off the ground as I kicked and clawed at him. The harder I fought the tighter he squeezed until I couldn’t fight back anymore. When my body collapsed in his arms, he threw me to the ground like trash.” Belle’s body shook as she cried, and Tara’s heart shattered. She wrapped her arms around her and Belle buried her face into Tara’s chest and sobbed. Kyle wiped at the tears that fell on his cheeks.
“Belle. Please, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m so sorry.” He reached out for her. “I just meant that as priceless as these paintings are, you are the treasure and I am grateful to the universe that you are still alive.”
Tara had tried to imagine what Belle had gone through, and it tore at her soul to know that she had been right.
Belle pushed away from Tara and Kyle. “Is it okay if I go outside and get some air?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll come with you,” Tara said.
“No. Please, I just need to be alone right now.”
Tara didn’t care for Belle wandering off on her own. But she had to let her deal with the stress and reality of the situation in her own way. Tara watched as Belle walked out the front door and sat on the stoop just outside the entrance. Detective Campbell asked to proceed with the interview.
Tara led him through the night beginning in the lobby where she had come around the corner and saw the masked men wrestling with Xander. A quick shot of anger rushed through her and she couldn’t help but blame him for the events that had unfolded. “If I didn’t know that Xander was just an incompetent moron I’d probably suspect he was involved.”
A rumble of agreement went through the group of them. “Unfortunately, we looked into him. Other than his marijuana dependency, he’s clean.”
“Now it makes complete sense.” While it explained a lot of his personality it did nothing to assuage her opinion of him. If anything, it had the opposite effect, yet her mind was too exhausted to cast anymore anger or blame on him.
Tara spent the next hour going through the museum step by step, recalling the sounds and scents of the night. He asked questions that drew out minute details like the beating of her heart and the rasp in the suspect’s voice. When they returned to the lobby, she saw Belle standing near the entrance of the Impressionist gallery staring down at the shattered photograph of Giles. Tara, Kyle, and the detectives quietly approached her.
“Hey, sweetie,” Kyle said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Belle looked over at Agent Gulker and asked, “Can I please have that?” She pointed to the damaged picture laying on the floor amongst the shards of broken glass.
Detective Campbell called over one of the crime scene technicians and confirmed that that area had been processed and cleared of evidentiary materials. “Yes.”
Belle crouched down and picked it up. As she stood she stroked a gouge in the image and the tears welled up in her eyes. Kyle wrapped his arm around her and led her back away from the commotion of investigators. Belle clutched the shattered picture of Giles in her arms as the tears flowed down her face. “How did this happen? Why did they do this?” Belle mumbled to herself.
“I’m so sorry.” Tara moved in close and wiped the tears from Belle’s face.
“Shhh.” Kyle consoled Belle as she wept.
“Ma’am, I understand that this is a difficult time for you but if we could get you to come along and walk through the scene with us you can go home and get some rest.”
Tara wasn’t sure that it was such a great idea for her to relive the evening in her state, but Belle wiped her face and nodded. “I’m ready.” Tara should’ve known better than to think Belle was capable of any less.
An hour and a half later Belle had walked them through each and every moment of the night before in vivid detail. Tara was sickened by the pain she saw on Belle’s face and the imagery of what she had endured at the hands of those men. She wanted to hold her in her arms and never let her go. She never wanted to see such sadness or agony on her face again.
Tara saw her own sadness reflected in Belle’s eyes. Belle sobbed and threw her arms around Tara and tucked her head into her neck. Tara lightly caressed her back as her adrenaline high took a nosedive. Belle was exhausted and leaned into Tara’s tight embrace. Tara needed to take her home. “Are we done here?” It pained Tara to continue standing around forcing Belle to endure the constant mental and physical torment.
Agent Gulker and Detective Campbell agreed that they’d everything they needed from them and were free to go.
Belle turned to Kyle. “If you need me I’ll be at home, okay?”
“I think they have things under control here. I’ll be leaving as well. So don’t worry.” Kyle gave Belle a long hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, kiddo.”
“I love you, too.”
Tara was glad that Belle had someone who cared so deeply and unconditionally for her. She deserved nothing but that from anyone who knew her. “Ready?”
“Mhmm.”
Tara took Belle’s hand and led her out the way they came.
Chapter Twenty-four
Tara woke to the sound of Belle struggling to keep quiet as she clanked around in the kitchen. She listened as Belle cursed under her breath at the cabinet as it slammed closed. She laughed and sat up to look at Belle over the back of the couch. “Don’t worry, it’s almost eleven. I’m awake.”
Belle screeched and dropped the handful of silverware that she had in her hand. She bent to pick them up. “I’m so sorry. I was trying not to wake you up.”
“Well, you lost that battle when you kicked the couch on your way out to the kitchen.”
Belle crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t want to turn on the light and wake you. Had you just slept in my bed last night this wouldn’t even be a conversation.”
Tara had wanted to share Belle’s bed with her, but she knew if she did, there would’ve been little to no sleeping. Belle was in emotional overdrive and she needed rest, not sex. And for reasons she couldn’t explain, Tara opted for rest. “You needed to sleep. How do you feel?”
“Well, all things considered, I’m all right. Coffee?” Belle asked as she held up two mugs.
“Yes, please.” Tara crossed the room toward Belle and took a seat at the kitchen table. “Belle, they will find whoever did this.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Only about four to ten percent of stolen artwork is ever recovered. They still haven’t found any of the paintings taken from the Stewart Gardner in Boston, and that was over twenty years ago.”
Tara was surprised by Belle’s complete one eighty from the day before. She was calm, relaxed, and rational. Just like the Belle she knew. It was comforting but also unexpected. “Oh.”
Belle set the cups down on the table and slid the cream and sugar closer to Tara. “Many times the pieces are destroyed hours or days afterward. Sometimes they get paranoid and panic, or realize there’s no way they’ll ever be able to offload them without being caught.”
“Who would buy stolen art? By now, the entire world knows what happened. They’d have to be as dumb as the thieves.”
“You’d be surprised by the darkness of the black market in art. Shady dealings happen every day amongst even the most upstanding citizens.” Belle raised her eyebrow at Tara.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that sometimes genuine pieces are sold as reproductions or copies of the original work. For example, let’s say an original Rembrandt was stolen. It spends years traveling and traversing the art underworld, being bought, sold, and traded by criminals and billionaires alike.”
“So, you’re saying we bought a stolen Rembrandt?”
“I don’t know. But there are only two reasons your art dealer would say that it was a ‘student of Rembrandt’ work. One is because he is an idiot and doesn’t know the first thing about art, or two, because he knows everything about art including how to traffic stolen masterpieces.”
“What if it is real and stolen?”
“If it’s real, your family just became about thirty million dollars richer. If it is stolen, they will lose the four million they paid for it, plus the painting.”
“Why would someone do that?” Tara never knew there was such a dark and sinister side to the art world. It took the beauty and talent of the artist and turned it into a seedy product of greed and corruption.
“People do all sorts of things for money, Tara. And the art world is the perfect front for the worst kinds of crime.”
“I had no idea.”
“Most of us don’t. But it still surprises you even when you do. Even more so when you realize how connected it all is.” As she talked it out with Tara, a nagging thought swirled in her head.
“What do you mean?” It was an odd and heavily veiled comment that Tara didn’t quite understand. But she knew there was something more to it by the distant look in Belle’s eyes.
“I mean, what if this heist and Rosenberg’s shady dealing with the Rembrandt is related? What if he’s the one behind this?”
“Otto Rosenberg?”
“Yes. After that night with the Rembrandt I did some searching on the Internet and found several articles about a lawsuit involving Roz and Giles and their claims on the collection. It can’t be a coincidence that his name comes up in both of these situations.”
“Well, that certainly makes a lot of sense when you stop and think about it. If we picked up on the connection wouldn’t the FBI have as well?”
“I know, right? I would think so. Should we—” A knock at the door interrupted whatever Belle was about to say next.
Belle jumped up from her chair, and went to answer the door. Tara was relieved to see that Belle was dealing with the tragedy so well. And if she was acting or putting on a front, she was doing a damn fine job of it. Tara knew that everyone dealt with things in their own way, and if this was Belle’s she would do whatever she could to support it. But she was also concerned that Belle’s theory about Roz was about to open a very large and very dangerous can of worms. She would rather just let the FBI work it out than the two of them get involved at all.
Belle opened the door to Kyle and Andrew holding two plates of something that smelled like heaven. When they came in and set them onto the table, Tara came to the conclusion that her heaven smelled like cinnamon rolls. Her stomach growled so loudly that everyone in the room turned to stare at her belly. “It always does that,” she said as she patted her stomach.
“Good. Because we made your favorite,” Andrew said as he smiled at Tara.
Tara had no idea why he was looking at her that way. She smoothed down her shirt, ran her fingers through her hair, and smiled back at him.
“Hey. I’m gonna go change real quick. You guys get started.” Belle motioned between them and the plates on the table.
Tara and Andrew sat at the table while Kyle gathered the plates and utensils. When he set them down he looked at Andrew. “Why the hell are you staring at her like that?”
“Like what?” Andrew smiled wider.
“Like she’s a frickin’ unicorn!”
“I don’t know. Just look at her, here, with Belle.”
“Oh, good grief.” Kyle looked at Tara. “Ignore him. He gets a little dramatic sometimes.”
Tara laughed. “It’s okay.”
“So, how is she doing?” Kyle asked as he sat at the table.
“She’s all right. She seems to be handling things pretty well so far. It’s a huge shift from yesterday.”
“Hmmm, okay. That’s good.”
“Yeah. She seems to be dealing with it quite rationally.”
“Yep,” Andrew said.
“What?” Tara asked.
“Nothing. That’s our Belle. Always the rational one.”
“Not always, just when she needs to be,” Kyle added.
“Always,” Andrew said.
“I don’t know. She seems quite passionate and unguarded when it comes to art and such.”
“Ha! I knew it.”
Kyle shot him a look, and Andrew grinned. “She is, yes. But that doesn’t spill over into any other part of her life. Art is her job, but it’s also her escape, so she can be free and expressive about it. In everything else she is much more complicated and cautious. Belle doesn’t make decisions lightly even if she tries to. It’s how she keeps herself safe.”
“I see.” It seemed to Tara that Belle was anything but complicated. She knew what she wanted and she went for it, including the nights they’d spent together. Which seemed neither guarded nor cautious. And this Roz situation was going to be anything but safe.
“I’m so grateful that you are here to help her through this.” Kyle reached out and took Tara’s hand. “Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t want to be any place else.” Tara said it and meant it.
Belle came out and Kyle pulled his hand back. “We ate it all. You snooze you lose.”
“Whatever. What’s this then?” she asked as she dipped her finger into the frosting on his plate.
Belle sat in a chair across from Tara and pulled a plate toward her. Tara stared at her and was mesmerized by everything about her.
Kyle cleared his throat and broke through the silence. “So, Andrew and I were wondering if you two would like to come with us to lunch. Nothing special, just a nice casual thing.”
Tara was up for anything if Belle was, so she waited for her to answer.
“Sure,” Belle said with a smile.
“Great! We can all drive together. One o’clock good?”
“Works for me,” Tara said. Her stomach growled again, louder this time, and everyone laughed.
*
While Belle waited for Tara to return she spent the time scrolling through page after page of Web links. She searched for everything she could related to museum robberies and missing art looking for any similar link to Roz. But she found nothing that resembled this incident with any other. The longer she looked the more she thought she was trying to find a sinister connection that wasn’t there. A knock at the door startled Belle, and she slammed the cover closed on her laptop. “Come in!”
“Hi. Are you ready?” Tara said with a captivating smile.
“Hi. Yep. You saved me. I was trying to convince myself that I was overreacting about the whole Roz is a mastermind. I just have so many things going on in my head I can’t really separate fact from fiction anymore.”
“Maybe it’s worth telling Agent Gulker and Detective Campbell even if it’s a long shot. Wouldn’t hurt for them to check it out.”
“You’re right. But we’re gonna be late. One sec.”
“Let’s run it by Kyle and see what he thinks,” Tara hollered down the hall to Belle.
“Okay.” Although Belle couldn’t help but think she was on to something, she didn’t want to be the one to destroy someone’s career, no matter how incompetent he was at his job.
Belle freshened up and brushed out her hair again. From the darkness of her room, she looked back out into the living room and stared at the suave and delicious woman standing there. Even with her fading cuts and bruises, Tara was striking. Belle wished she could just blink her eyes and this whole frightening nightmare would be over and they could move on together.
Tara’s hands were slipped into the front pockets of her fitted jeans that hugged her solid thigh
s and ass, and her pitch-black button-down was tucked in loosely. Belle let her eyes skim over Tara’s entire body uninhibited. Since the moment their eyes met, she longed to feel her skin pressed against her own and taste her sweet kisses on her lips. Now that she had allowed herself to experience those things, she ached every moment for more.
She’d taken a risk when she opened herself up to taking whatever Tara could give her. She told herself to accept that she might only ever be able to give Belle fleeting moments of pleasure and nothing else. But still her heart hoped for more.
Belle dressed in jeans and a simple blouse in keeping with the declared casual theme of the afternoon. She was looking forward to a simple and enjoyable evening to allow her swirling mind a much needed break. She took one last brazen look at Tara before she strode out of her bedroom. “Ready?”
“For you? Always.” Belle giggled out loud. She felt her face blush just as Tara grinned and took her hand.
They met Kyle and Andrew at the car and they all loaded in. The drive to the restaurant was short, but Tara held on to Belle’s hand the entire way. She let go when Andrew opened the door and helped her out. They chose an outside table on the patio with a balmy Florida breeze.
Kyle and Andrew twitched and tossed peculiar glances back and forth as they all discussed random topics and interests. Finally, Belle couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay. What is going on with you two? First breakfast delivery, then a double date lunch invite, and now the two of you are being all squirrely over there.” Belle flicked her finger and gestured all around them. “You’re weirding me out.”
“We have something we’ve wanted to discuss with you, but with everything that’s happened, there hasn’t been a right time.”
Belle’s heart started to beat a little faster. “Uh. Okay. Please tell me it’s not anything bad.”
“It’s not bad,” Andrew said.
“Then what is it?” Belle was going to strangle someone if they pulled their usual dragging out routine.
“We…we’ve decided to…” Kyle stuttered.
“We’re going to have a baby!” Andrew burst out.