Chapter 8 Shocking Photograph #3
As they headed out the door together, she reminded, “Once we’re inside the office, I’ll be jabbering a mile a minute with meaningless small talk for all the obvious reasons.”
“Understood.”
For all they knew, the place would be wired from the baseboards to the ceiling rafters with spy cameras and listening devices. “If anyone is watching, all they’re going to see is Diamondback’s lead security analyst catching up on a little work while she’s in town.”
A.J. stepped into the hallway ahead of her and looked both ways. Then he beckoned her to follow him.
The warmth of his hand pressing against the small of her back as they walked to the parking lot was the most wonderful feeling in the world. It made all the dark things swirling around them seem further away.
Since there was so little information about Diamondback online, A.J.
had been blown away to discover it was located on Wall Street, of all places.
Aurora had waited to drop that bomb on him until after their flight was en route.
He could tell she wasn’t comfortable divulging those kinds of details, not even to him.
He understood why. Being able to hold his own in a conversation without divulging any personal information about himself had become second nature to him, as well. It was simply part of the job. It was what kept people like the two of them alive.
They parked two blocks away and walked the rest of the way there on the crowded sidewalk.
A.J. paused with Aurora in front of the building, thoroughly impressed by the old world elegance of the high-rise that housed Diamondback’s home office.
It wasn’t one of those newfangled glass and chrome monstrosities.
It was four stories of stone carvings and arched accoutrements—the kind most builders didn’t build anymore.
He’d known Diamondback ran a highly profitable firm, but this felt like overkill. Why Wall Street? Why not pocket the money and work out of an unmarked storage unit somewhere? Nothing about the address impressed him as low-key. It was lavish and exclusive.
“I know,” Aurora murmured at his side. “It makes me uncomfortable, too.”
Her comment surprised him. “You mean the location?”
“That, and everything else about it.” She bit her lower lip. “Given the opportunity, it’s not what I would choose.”
It was an interesting statement coming from someone who’d grown up in the lap of luxury—nannies, private schools, the whole enchilada.
There was nothing low-profile about the street they were standing on.
Then again, they were surrounded by so much luxury that none of the buildings really stood out.
It was a bit of a stretch, but one might actually consider it the pinkies-up version of keeping a low profile.
Aurora continued speaking in a low voice. “As soon as we’re inside, I’ll log into the mainframe and start the download. I’m not sure how long it’ll take. While it’s running, you’ll get the pretend tour.” During which he would sweep the place for bugs.
“No pretending necessary,” he assured, adopting a snaky hiss on the S words.
“I can’t wait to see Diamondback’s inner sanctum.
” Unbeknownst to her and her brother, he was still investigating a number of firms on behalf of the JSA, including Diamondback, so getting eyeballs on the inside was like killing two birds with one stone.
“Cute!” She flicked her tongue at him like a serpent.
“I aim to please.” He reached for her shoulders and twirled her in his direction for a quick, hard kiss.
“Mmm,” she murmured dreamily against his lips. “If anyone is watching, they’ll assume we’re two tourists necking on the street.”
He grinned. “We are necking on the street.” It had nothing to do with keeping up appearances. He found the woman in his arms irresistible all hours of the day and night and honestly didn’t care who knew it.
“Time to get this over with,” she finally sighed, reluctantly towing him toward the entrance. They passed through security and rode the elevator to the top floor. She had to type in a code on the wall panel to access the penthouse suite.
“What a view!” He didn’t have to feign his admiration as they stepped into the office.
Though it was only a four-story building, ornate windows offered a bird’s-eye view of the hustle and bustle of Wall Street below them.
While Aurora moved to the nearest desk to plug in her zip drive, he used the scanning device he’d brought along to sweep everything he got close to—desks, bookshelves, lamps, and artwork.
Since Diamondback kept its address a secret, they weren’t accustomed to entertaining guests. Every stick of furniture and decor appeared to be designed for either utility or security.
The L-shaped desk Aurora was seated at had to be where Elise Hathaway worked.
The black-and-white checkered figurines dotting it, along with a heavily be-gemmed lamp, felt like they were her style.
Her workspace was separated by a glass wall from the executive desk where Cary Cannon worked.
His nameplate rested on the edge of it, which felt noteworthy.
For a guy who claimed he didn’t want the job and didn’t plan on being there for long, he’d sure moved in.
His framed MBA certificate was mounted on the wall, alongside plaques boasting his various memberships in various elite organizations.
Also worth noting, Mr. Cannon’s desk faced Elise’s desk, while her desk faced away from his.
Due to the glass wall between them, Elise’s computer screen was visible to him at all times, where his was visible only to himself.
It was an interesting setup, one that made A.J.
wonder if Cary Cannon trusted his personal assistant.
A.J. discovered only two hidden cameras in the room, one of which was aimed at the entrance to the office. The other was aimed at Cary Cannon’s desk. Quite by accident, Aurora had chosen the ideal spot in the room for downloading company files.
Now that his task was completed, he launched into a list of innocuous-sounding questions about how long the Cannons had been working on Wall Street and how she’d enjoyed growing up in the bustling business district of such a large and famous city.
Aurora held up her end of the conversation, complaining a little about what it was like to be a poor little rich girl.
“It’s true what they say about it being lonely at the top,” she declared in a long-suffering voice, “but nobody pities the girl who lives in a mansion.” She went on to reveal how her parents had sold her childhood home shortly after she’d moved out.
“They always joked about retiring to a French villa overlooking a vineyard.” Her voice grew sad.
He studied her expression for a moment and decided that she sounded authentic because she was being authentic. “I bet it was culture shock working in so many small towns over the years.”
“At first, yes, but it was a welcome one.” The smile she gave him over the top of her uncle’s computer screen made his heart pound. “Otherwise, I would’ve never met you.”
“Hey!” He pretended to scowl at her. “Army officers have been known to get invited to some pretty big shindigs, big enough for hot-shot princesses like yourself to be in attendance.”
“Just stop,” she grumbled good-naturedly.
Watching her work, he imagined her breaching firewalls and picking her way through encrypted files like a female ninja. Because he was watching her so closely, he didn’t miss it when her face grew white.
“Are you getting thirsty?” he asked quickly. It was the question they’d come up with ahead of time that meant he was asking if she was okay.
“A little,” she confessed in a breathy voice, which meant something was wrong.
He tensed and inched his fingers toward his holster. “I could run to the nearest cafe and grab you something to drink,” he offered.
“No, that’s alright.” She looked like she was about to break into a sweat. “I’m almost finished checking my email.” Moments later, she ejected the zip drive and dropped it into her pocket.
“All done,” she announced in a more cheerful voice. “If your offer of a drink still stands, I’m ready.”
“Let’s roll.” He stayed close to her as they returned to the elevator.
Just for kicks, he backed her up against the elevator wall and gave her a very thorough, very satisfying kiss during the short ride to the main level.
“I’ve always wanted to do that.” He ran a finger down her nose and over her lips.
Her eyes widened. “You’ve never kissed in an elevator before?”
“Nope. You?”
“I have now.” She tugged his head down for another kiss that lasted until the elevator doors swung open.
They received a look of disdain from an elderly man in a business suit waiting for them to exit.
His demeanor was so starchy that it was difficult to hold back a snicker as A.J.
nodded a greeting at him. The man stared right through him, assuring him that his and Aurora’s inadvertent public display of affection would be remembered if anyone questioned the guy later.
Only after they were buckled inside the rental car did Aurora let out a gusty sigh. “Oh, A.J.!” She shuddered like she was freezing, prompting him to turn up the heater. “It’s going to take me hours to go through everything I downloaded, but I’m telling you right now…it’s bad.”
“How bad?” It required so much concentration to weave through the busy city streets that he only partially listened to her answer.
Yellow cabs zipped around them as if they were standing still.
Horns honked. Sirens wailed. Though the car windows were rolled up tight, the drone of big-city sounds polluted his ears, making his brain weary.
His army career had taken him all over the world, but he’d remained a country boy at heart.
“Maybe I’m wrong.” Aurora spoke in a faraway voice. “I want to be wrong about this.” When he didn’t answer, she murmured, “Maybe we should wait until we get back to the hotel.”
He could practically taste her stress level rising during the thirty minutes it took him to drive a little over three miles. They sat through multiple cycles at each stoplight behind endless bottlenecks of traffic.
“I don’t miss this,” she declared more than once. “I don’t miss it at all.”
They finally reached the hotel, and she trudged at his side to the elevators leading to the second floor. Since both of their laptops remained in his room, he escorted her there and bolted them inside.
“Start talking, darling.” From the way she was acting, whatever she’d discovered couldn’t be good.
Instead of booting up her laptop, she sank into the desk chair. “Have you ever heard of the Collector?”
“I have.” His shoulders tensed at her reference to a key detail of the case he was investigating for the JSA.
“Then you also know about all the gems he stole, mostly diamonds, that have never been recovered.”
“I do.” Conservative estimates valued the total cache at ten million dollars, but the stolen gems were likely worth a lot more. To the dismay of treasure hunters all around the globe, the Collector had died without leaving so much as a clue as to where he’d hidden the gems.
“I think someone found his stash.” She scooted the desk chair over to the desk and opened her laptop.
Plugging in her zip drive, she pulled up a series of photographs.
“These are from an encrypted folder, buried deep in the bowels of Diamondback’s system.
They detail the contents of a mysterious storage unit, line item by line item. ”
She scrolled through the photographs, shaking her head.
“While treasure hunters have been tearing apart every known place the Collector visited while he was alive, someone has been secretly tracking down the real locations of the gems.” Not places, but things—old, tacky-looking vases, figurines, and other baubles.
The dusty kinds of things that most people would putter right past at a yard sale or estate sale.
There were a total of forty-eight items pictured. Her scrolling slowed as she came to an atrocious-looking olive-green frog. “Bingo!” Also pictured were a pair of smoke-stained kerosene lamps and a lopsided blue candlestick holder that didn’t stand up straight.
In the bottom right-hand corner of each photograph were handwritten notations. A.J. leaned closer to read them.
Twelve-karat diamond ring.
Eight uncut yellow diamonds. Forty karats.
Ruby necklace. Eight karats.
He recognized several of the gems from photographs he’d seen in cold case files provided by the JSA. It was further proof that someone had hijacked the resources at Diamondback to track them down. Not only did it make Cary Cannon look guilty, it didn’t look good for Aaron and Aurora, either.
Another thought nagged at him—that it had almost been too easy for him and Aurora to walk into Diamondback and retrieve this information. Maybe he’d watched too many Indiana Jones movies while growing up, but shouldn’t there have been more safeguards in place? Or booby traps?
“We have to tell the police.” Tears dripped down her cheeks.
His heart ached for her. He hadn’t wanted this any more than she had. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, however, it was impossible to continue defending her uncle. He was guilty and would soon be on his way to jail.