by Erica Orloff
Startled at her discovery, Becca turned the crown of the diamond toward the tabletop. By beaming the white light through the lower pavilion of the gem, it produced a kaleidoscopic dance of light on the pale gray Formica. Within the glow, small, dark spots littered the colors…in a pattern.
Letters?
“There’s something on the table of this diamond. An ion beam brand?” she spoke her suspicions out loud.
Dane leaned over the table. “There’s something inside the diamond?”
“I’m not sure.” Becca held up the diamond before him. “There is a method jewelers use to mark diamonds in a minute manner. It’s completely invisible to the naked eye, unlike the oft-used laser engraving burned into the girdle. This is the girdle.” She ran a finger around the edge of the diamond. “Ion beam branding deposits identification codes or matrices inside the diamond, which are only viewable with a high-powered microscope.”
“And where is yours?”
“Not here. The 200x microscope required is too large to lug about in my little case. But what makes the discovery strange is that I didn’t need it.”
She flashed the light over the crown of the diamond. Just one more check. Indeed, a faint pink glowed within the stone.
“Brilliant.”
“Yes, but check this out.” She flashed the white light across the stone. “Hell.”
“So that’s where diamonds come from, is it, Miss Whitmore? Hell?”
This time, Becca did not see anything. No letters or branded matrix. In fact, the marks she had seen were now completely gone.
“This isn’t right”
“Oh, blighted bollocks!” Dane dashed from the room.
Whatever had bit him in the ass?
Becca spun to the two-way window. She jumped up and rushed to it, slapping her palms to the glass. The suspect convulsed on his chair.
Dane appeared and grabbed the man by the throat. White spittle oozed over his tightly clamped lips. The agent pounded a fist against his chest then released the bound man with a thrust. Still strapped to the chair, the man fell backward, landing on the floor, his feet in the air. He didn’t move.
Dane shouted, “Sod me!”
He flung his arms out and turned to approach the two-way window. He gave the glass a good pound with his fist. Anger stretched his mouth to a tight sneer.
He kicked the chair leg, and exited the room.
Becca rushed to the open door and peeked out to find Agent Dane standing in the hallway, hands to hips and head shaking. He looked to her and fisted the air again. “Bastard killed himself.”
________________________
Erica Orloff
2005
1-55254-366-8
en
Harlequin
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Published by Silhouette Books
America’s Publisher of Contemporary Romance
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to
Erica Orloff for her contribution to
THE IT GIRLS series.
SILHOUETTE BOOKS
ISBN 1-55254-366-8
THE GOLDEN GIRL
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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ERICA ORLOFF
is a native New Yorker who relocated to sunny South Florida after vowing to never again dig her car out of the snow. She loves playing pokera Bombshell traitand likes her martinis dry. Visit her Web site at www.ericaorloff.com.
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