Chapter Six
Once outside, Dan pulled Jenna into the alley and kissed her hard, taking her breath away. She tried to pull away, but he held her, kissing her more deeply.
He moaned and let her go. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you on that bench.”
Jenna felt her face flush and could still feel the pressure of his lips on her own as she fought for control. She put her hands on her hips and stepped back. “Well, I see you still have not totally conquered your low impulse-control situation. We are in public, you know.”
He grabbed for her hand and kissed it. “Not much control where you’re concerned. Holding on to her hand, he looked around. “Well, I think it’s safe to go back into the hotel now. You go first, then I’ll check out and try to find another place to stay. I can always go out to Tybee and stay in Rex’s house, if I need to be even more out of sight. He’s in Scotland for another three or four weeks. I know where he hides the keys.”
Jenna handed him her phone. “Here, put your number in. I’ll call you later, and you can tell me where you are, and we can go from there. If we’re right, this Red Cat person is here to do what he or she does and put the blame on you or us. Stopping them sooner rather than later will be the thing we need to focus on.”
“We need to find out who this is, but I’m not sure how we do that without exposing ourselves to a lot of scrutiny. So be prepared for the risk.”
Jenna held up one hand. “Oh, wait, I just remembered, the senator’s wife—he gave her the Blalock diamond for their anniversary. I heard it was reset for a new necklace. That diamond, worth about a million or more alone, is now surrounded by black pearls in that necklace—at least doubling the value. I’ll bet she will wear it the night of the Black-and- White Masked Ball to show it off. I recall reading about it and the hints she might be wearing it. I’ll bet that is the main attraction for our thief. No doubt, there has been press about it in many outlets. If I heard the rumor, many others have heard it, too.”
Dan nodded. “Yeah, what a prize that would be for some collector. It would bring a fortune. And what a way to end a three-day event.”
“No wonder your insurance investigator is here, Dan. I’ll bet she is thinking the same thing. Maybe her company has it insured, and that would explain her being here. Maybe it’s not to try to catch you, but to be around in case someone shows up to steal the Blalock necklace.”
“Maybe, but she might be thinking, hoping even, that I’m the one here for it. She’ll be watching me like a hawk, Jenna. I can’t hide so I might as well get it over with.”
“But maybe not me—looking for me, I mean, or at least not as much. She can’t watch us both at the same time. I can take advantage of the fact I won’t be as high on her radar. Well, here I go, wish me luck.”
Dan pulled her close again, and this time, he buried his face in her hair. “Be careful, just be careful,” he whispered. He kissed her again and let go of her hand.
His breath puffed hot on her neck. Jenna, her lips and body now practically vibrating from his touch, went back around the corner and turned up the side street that led to the hotel. Her heart was thumping in her chest but from Dan’s kisses or the excitement of what was ahead, or both, she wasn’t sure. Just like the old days, she thought, as she looked for any sign of Gail Wells as she entered the hotel. Not that she got that great a look at her earlier, but at least, she was sure it couldn’t be the old lady with the poodle at the front desk now. Dan said she was tall and brunette and with a sour expression. Though Jenna wrote that last part off due to Dan’s intense dislike of Ms. Wells.
Jenna went to her room and felt a little guilty she was happy Brock would be occupied most of the time. Though she was fond of him in some ways, things would never have gone on to something more serious. Before her talk with Dan, she could not continue the relationship with Brock.
Dan’s kiss awakened something in her beyond passion. It pulled her back from the shadow life she had been leading since he left her. The problem was she didn’t yet trust him not to leave her again. She wouldn’t risk that kind of pain again. She couldn’t bear it, but she didn’t know what to do about him and admitted she never did know.
Back in her room and alone, Jenna was forced to come to grips with her feelings. She felt the real Jenna wake up—the one who had been part of the ‘black cat’ jewelry heists for two years, helping Dan take back his father’s jewelry the Milano family had stolen. Dan made it a point to take some of the Milano families’ personal treasures, as payback for what they did. It was revenge for his father’s death, Jenna knew, and she couldn’t blame him. She thought about how she struggled to rebuild her life the past five years without Dan and what she might now lose. She looked at herself in the mirror and, as if making a promise to herself and to the universe, whispered, “This time, I’ll be smarter about giving away my heart.” She ran a brush through her hair and looked again. “Ah, who am I kidding?”
Now that Jenna had things straight in her head, more or less, she knew Brock must go and soon. Whether things worked out with Dan or not, it was unkind to string him along. She needed some time by herself to regroup.
As it turned out, she didn’t have to tell Brock anything. He was called home due to a death in his family. His favorite uncle had a heart attack and died, ironically, on the golf course. Brock packed his bags and left for the airport with a promise to call her the next day. Though she felt bad about the reason, she was glad at least one distraction was out of their way for a while.
Jenna sat in the middle of her bed, waiting on Dan’s call. It took her back to the days of their tracking, plotting, and planning as they made their way across two countries taking back the stolen gems and artwork from Boris Roget, Tony Milano’s cousin and fence, while being dogged by the dirty FBI agent, Sal Amato. She wondered why those in the FBI who knew Agent Sal Amato were not more concerned about his friendship with international thieves. Was it possible they didn’t know? Was Sal playing both sides? Or was he an undercover guy? Those were all questions for Dan later.
Their mission had been dangerous and difficult at times, but Jenna never felt more alive than when she and Dan were planning their revenge. Roget had run the biggest jewel and art theft ring in Europe for decades, buying his way out of trouble across Europe. When they decided to take treasures from him, they weren’t being greedy; it was all justified in their minds. She felt the tingle in her hands and butterflies in her stomach now thinking about it.
The ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. “Hey, Dan, where are you?”
“Not too far from you. I called an old friend of mine, and he is on his way back to New York, so he loaned me his townhouse for as long as I need it. It’s in downtown Savannah, not that far from the hotel. As a backup, we will also have access to Rex’s house on Tybee. I’ll text you the address for both.”
“That’s great, but now, what do we do?”
“The party tonight back on Tybee Island should help us get a better idea of what is at stake. This is the second of three advertised parties, so the thief will have one more shot. I would bet he or she will be doing a practice run tonight. Also, there are some priceless jewels at stake, even without the Blalock necklace. So, it would be a win-win for the thief.”
Jenna frowned, still not feeling comfortable about everything. “What about your insurance inspector-tracker-lady, Ms. Wells? How can you, we, operate with her on your trail? She will be tracking everyone you talk to and trying to determine why you are really there. Lots of scrutiny.”
“She will be watching me, for sure. You will be free to scout things out. I have an idea; if I confront her and ask for a breakfast meeting tomorrow at nine o’clock, can you get into her room while I’m with her to see what you can find?”
Jenna could feel her adrenaline kicking in already. “I can try, I suppose. I’m a bit rusty, but maybe I can manage it. Do you know her room number?”
“I’ll know her room number by the end of tonight and will text it. I’ll see you on Tybee at eight o’clock tonight. I’m going over early to scout around before the party starts. Remember, Jenna, don’t approach me at the party. We can’t risk Ms. Wells putting us together so soon. You barely missed her scrutiny in Europe five years ago. She will eventually put it together, us together, but we might have some time before she does. The only thing she could prove is we knew each other —nothing more. But if she sees us here together, she will assume we have rekindled our relationship and maybe our old ways. So, as difficult as it might be, don’t look as though you are lusting after me.”
Jenna laughed. “I’ll try to keep my gaze off you at the party, but it will be so very difficult. You look so good in a tux, Dan.”
“Yes, that is true, and that makes it even harder for Ms. Wells to stop watching me, too, so that’s a plus.”
“Your ego knows no limits.”
“Seriously, Jenna, you can’t get caught in her room tomorrow, so, be careful. If you think you can’t handle it…”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it. How do you know she will meet with you for breakfast, and what on earth do you plan to say after all this time? Relying on that charm and good looks thing, are you?”
“I don’t think Gail Wells found me that charming, all things considered. I’m going to play the victim and assure her I am here by invitation and remind her I’m living in New York with a clean record. Of course, she will know this, but at least, this will let her know I’m aware she is here. I can keep her occupied so you can do your thing. We need to know what she knows, and what she is up to now. If you can find out, maybe hack her computer and read her emails, it would give us the upper hand.”
“Okay, Dan, I trust you to know what you’re doing. Or should I say what I will be doing. Got to go exercise my breaking and entering skills now; see you later.” Jenna ended the call and realized she was smiling. She was happy, which was totally nuts.
Since there was time to kill before getting dressed, Jenna distracted herself by looking at a picture of Tybee and the building where the next two parties were to be held. Each party had a different theme and focus, and a different guest list, with the final party, the Black-and-White Masked Ball, being the grand finale. Looking at the layout of the facility on Tybee Island, Jenna knew the thief would have a plan to get away fast, and there were few options back to Savannah. She was betting the thief was not a local. This meant he or she would have to do some scouting around, but she’d bet it was already done, and maybe weeks ago.
Jenna hoped a shower would quiet her nerves, but it didn’t help much. She gathered the clothes she planned to wear, made sure everything was okay, and sat to do her makeup.
Tonight’s party was a smaller affair for the major corporate financial donors to the senator’s campaign and his pet projects. The dinner party would be much more intimate than the last and final one, the big event, the Black-and-White Masked Ball. That one would again be open to some celebrities, and families of some of the guests, mostly big money donors and local politicians. The dinner was by special invitation only and was limited to about one hundred, but the after-dinner party invitations were from a separate list and would increase the crowd. Lots of wealthy people with lots of jewelry on display. An art auction would be the wrap-up event. She took a deep breath and a last look in the mirror and headed downstairs to see if her limo was waiting.
While waiting on her car, Jenna tried to find a photo of Gail Wells but had no luck. She was not on her company’s website, but Jenna could see the logic. They would not want an investigator’s face to become too well-known. She felt she would know her when she saw her.
Jenna got into the limo for her trip over to Tybee Island for the second party, and she was surprised but happy she didn’t have to share the car. The senator’s staff provided several cars for the guests, but there was no guarantee others wouldn’t be sharing the limo from the hotel to Tybee.
To combat a case of nerves, Jenna made herself focus on the most important things to cover in detail for her magazine readers. But the old excitement of her days with Dan kept interfering. Dan taught her to think strategically and to put herself in the place of their enemy. She learned more about the world of thieves and cons in the art and jewelry trade than she ever wanted to know. Though it served her well for the time, she walked away from it all more than a little jaded. People and their secrets—you just never knew.
She forced her thoughts back to the present and considered how she might use her phone to better capture highlights and make notes to use for her article. Her text alert pinged as her car pulled out of city traffic and into traffic headed across to Tybee Island.
A text from Dan read:
— Room 212. Luck. Careful—
Somehow, he already knew her room was 212 and she agreed to have breakfast with him. Nothing Dan did could surprise her now. Dan promised he’d try to keep her occupied for an hour. That was the plan, if he could keep her there, and she was certain he could. She hoped her computer hacking skills weren’t too rusty.
The trip to Tybee, though not fast this evening due to traffic, was still pleasant, and she was reminded again of the beauty of the area and how much she had missed it. She missed the river, the smell of it, the ocean nearby, and the soft evening breezes. She also missed hearing that special Southern accent, unique to the area, and so much a part of the city. She watched a loaded ferry off to the side glide by full of what she assumed were partygoers off to Tybee. She chose the limo because she was all too familiar with the heat and humidity on the ferry.
As the view often did, it brought back all of the old childhood memories of her many summers here. Jenna looked at the ferry again, and as always, remembered her grandmother.
They would go over to Tybee early on Saturday mornings during her summer visits. Her grandmother with her sketch pad, and Jenna with a bucket to collect shells. They ended the outing with a picnic lunch before it got too hot, and then would ferry back into town.
How she wished she could talk all of this over with her grandmother.