Chapter 10
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she used a Close Range Limited Frequency Disabling Device—CRLFD device, in ops-speak—to prevent you and me from communicating at the party. She had it in her bag. I checked.”
Shana’s mouth was open but it took her moment to speak.
“So that’s why—when were you going to tell me about the earpiece problem?”
“And ruin the surprise?”
“You should have—”
“Ditched her to talk to you and prevent the robbery? Like you said. We needed to catch them red-handed. More important, we need to figure out what her agenda is.” He thought of Tavares and reached out to touch Shana’s hair. “You are not at your best when you have an ax to grind.”
She shut up. He could tell she knew he was right. He could feel her anger rising, could see the perspiration glisten on her bronze skin and the dawn light gleam off her blond-streaked hair.
“I do not have an ax to grind. I don’t like her. She’s a thief and a liar. That’s it.”
“Jean Luc is a thief and a liar.”
He let the words hang in the air. She didn’t respond.
She scowled at him, stared him down, telling him without words that their discussion was over.
He started the car and headed for the small Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
It took up only one square mile but it had grown to accommodate four airlines and seven charter companies—a far cry from when Dane had first landed here on vacation a dozen years earlier.
It had been a vacation with his late love Elena. He’d once thought of her as the love of his life, but he wasn’t sure anymore. Not about anything to do with love. He quickly pushed aside the melancholy memory and took a gallon-sized breath of the sultry night sea air.
*****
At the airport they talked to security and called Cap to get them access to surveillance films. Shana had insisted on confirming that Angelique hadn’t left the island, so she talked to the tower people to find out that no charters or private jets or helicopters or small planes had taken off in the last two hours.
There had been no commercial flights for the past four hours.
“Unless she left out of a private airport, Angelique hasn’t flown out of town—does that make you feel better?”
Shana ignored his question. “Let’s get on with it—check the car rentals.”
She marched off in the direction of the counter with the three rental companies lined up.
They walked toward the big bright “Hertz” sign.
It was the only one still manned at this hour.
He knew from past experience that the companies shared late night staff.
When he caught up to her, Dane didn’t mind Shana looping her arm through his, but he felt like he was walking into a trap.
He knew the woman at the car rental counter.
He smiled and hoped the woman didn’t hold anything against him.
“Well, well. Dane. It’s been a while. What’re you doing here at this hour? Taking a trip?” She darted her eyes toward Shana and took a quick measurement. Apparently she decided not to compete. She said, “What can I do for you?”
“Leslie.” He nodded. “You look as innocent and tempting as the devil. As always. I need some information.”
She laughed—it was the same sultry sound he remembered. But he felt none of the temptation this time. “Name it. Least I can do for old times’ sake.”
He squirmed on the inside and felt Shana shift closer. He didn’t look, but he’d bet she adopted her smug smile as she usually did on these occasions. The possessive girlfriend pose wasn’t generally Shana’s most attractive, but it was fairly amusing. And this time around, he appreciated it.
Dane showed Leslie the picture of Angelique he had on his phone and said, “Name is Angelique Dubois but she might have an alias. French accent. I need to know if she got a car.”
“Sure she did—but not in that name. She claimed her name was Angelique Blaise. In from France to meet her new husband and maybe I knew him. I told her everyone on the island knew him. She liked that.” Leslie took on that smug look now and darted another more pointed glance at Shana.
“Don’t worry—I didn’t believe her story.
Except for the part about being in from France. ”
Dane kept his cool. He knew to expect the flaunting behavior from Angelique by now. He didn’t even crack a smile at Shana’s eye roll.
“Give me the license plate number, make, model and color.”
“You know it’s against the rules—”
Dane slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. Leslie’s face went angry, but she took the money and punched something into her keyboard. “Aren’t you the generous one. White Toyota Camry. N6485T.”
Dane nodded, smiled his thanks, and turned to go.
“It’s still in the lot.”
He turned back.
“She never drove it off. I noticed it when I got off work and every day since.”
“You’re a lot sweeter than you look, Leslie.” Dane winked and Leslie laughed and Shana tugged at the arm she held. They headed for the rental car lot.
Shana said, “Maybe she rented the car for storage.”
“Like a giant jewelry box. Let’s find out.”
They found nothing in the car except a business card—Bellarine’s.
White with tiny black font giving his name and business—Fine Art Collector.
And a phone number. Dane tried the number and got a voicemail message.
He’d bet anything it was a shadow number and Bellarine was monitoring calls. Dane didn’t leave a message.
“If she left the island, she did it by private boat,” Shana said as they walked back to the Jag where they’d parked it in the airport’s short term lot.
“She’s still on the island,” he said. “She’s not finished playing games with us.”
“You sound cocksure,” Shana said. He heard the unspoken ‘as usual’ in the disdainful tone. “And she’s not playing games with ‘us,’ she’s playing games with you. Where is she staying?”
“I don’t know.” He thought through his conversations with Angelique and felt the strike to his ego with the realization that he should have found out. And didn’t. “Somewhere in Edgartown.” That’s all he’d got from her.
Shana scowled. He sighed. He hadn’t done his job. He hadn’t taken the job seriously enough.
“Who was seducing whom last night?” she said, but there was no heat in her words.
“Let’s go.”
They drove back to downtown Edgartown and Dane called Cap again to see if he knew where Angelique was staying. He didn’t.
“What now, Sherlock?” Shana raised a brow. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or happy to be gloating at his rare screw-up.
“I have an idea.”
They stopped at the exclusive dress shop where they’d run into Angelique the day before.
It was early, but he saw Emma inside and rapped on the glass door.
Emma saw them out front and didn’t hesitate.
She came to the door and let them in. If she was surprised to see them out early in their party duds, she didn’t let on. Dane was growing to like this woman.
“We have a favor to ask, Emma.” Shana took the lead.
“I am not surprised. What can I do for you?” She looked back and forth between them like it was perfectly normal for her to be involved in a conspiracy with them.
Then Dane realized she’d probably seen the Lucky Parrot video too.
There was probably no one left on the island who didn’t think he and Shana were a duo out of Mission Impossible.
“Do you remember the young French woman we met in your shop yesterday?”
Emma nodded.
“We need her address,” Dane said. Emma nodded again and went to the glass checkout counter and consulted the computer there. In less than fifteen seconds of tapping keys, she looked up and said, “She’s staying at the Admiral’s Inn. Suite 12.”
*****
Dane rapped on Angelique’s door at the Admiral’s Inn while Shana stood by, back a step. She wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, but she didn’t have any better alternatives. Angelique answered the door all sleepy and in a white filmy robe.
“Sorry to wake you, Angelique, but there’s been a theft,” Dane said. “And naturally I thought of you first.”
“What? What are you saying?”
“May we come in?”
Angelique looked past Dane, saw Shana there and frowned, but she stepped back and waved them inside anyway. Shana kept her cool on the outside, but she could feel herself heating up ahead of the day’s temperature.
Shana watched Dane stride deep into her room and glance at the bureau drawers left half open, empty luggage, and the closet door wide open showing a full wardrobe hung carelessly, with shoes, mostly skimpy sexy heels, strewn about the floor.
It was obvious to her that Angelique hadn’t planned to flee, that damn Dane had been right.
The devil flicked her a glance. Shana kept her face blank and said nothing. This was his show.
“What are you doing here, Dane?” Angelique looked pointedly in Shana’s direction and the unspoken “with her” was as transparent as air.
“Where are they?”
“What are you talking about?” Angelique chuckled with true amusement and stepped close to Dane.
“You are a puzzling man—but that’s what makes you appealing.
Very, very appealing.” When Angelique gave him one of those looks that even a blind man could decipher as an invitation, Shana didn’t even think about stopping herself from intervening.
“You stole the jewels from the Gables’ house during the party last night,” Shana said with unforced icy calmness.
She felt the calm—and the ice—all the way down to her bones.
She knew this woman was playing games and she knew they would catch her.
“We don’t know what you did with the jewels, but we’ll figure it out.
We’ll find the jewels and we’ll catch you cold. ”
“Impossible. I don’t have any jewels. I know nothing about what you—”
“Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?” Dane said. That calmed Angelique and won him some points. Shana didn’t usually mind playing the bad cop, but this didn’t feel right. Felt too much like she was playing the jealous girlfriend. Felt too real, if she were being honest.