Chapter 1 #2
I burst through the door to the stairs. “Eight.”
“Go up first.”
Sprinting, I took the stairs several at a time and slipped out onto the ninth floor. I doubted I’d evade my pursuers that easily, but I slowed to a walk as I made my way down the hallway past a pair of hotel guests bound for their room.
“Happy holidays!” the woman said, sounding a little tipsy.
I gave her a nod and hurried past, ducking down another hall. The woman greeted someone else—probably Delphine’s minions—and a second later, I heard footsteps and low voices.
Still after me.
I went farther down the hall, hoping for another set of stairs.
“Where are you?” Maple asked. “I have a layout of the hotel.”
“Passing room 9015.”
“Keep going. There’s a closet three doors down.”
I reached the closet and tried the door.
“Locked.”
“Stairs coming up on the right.”
I was already running for the door, holding the figurine against my chest. My pursuers must have taken a different turn, but their voices grew closer again. I slipped through the door into the stairwell and started down.
“I’m going down.”
The door above me opened, and heavy footsteps rang out. One of them said, “Lobby.”
Someone would be waiting for me downstairs. Possibly several someones.
“Can’t go to the lobby,” I told Maple as I kept racing downward.
Making a snap decision, I exited the stairwell on the third floor. The door opened onto a wide-open space with a large, brightly lit Christmas tree. Well-dressed people milled around, many with drinks in their hands.
“Third floor. People everywhere.”
“There are ballrooms on the third floor,” Maple said.
“Looks like a party.”
I slowed so I wouldn’t attract too much attention and made my way toward the ballrooms. The stairwell door opened, and a few people exclaimed in surprise as the two men rushed out.
Outside the first ballroom, I glanced down a side hallway. A man dressed in red with a thick white beard was emerging from a room a few doors down.
I ran to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back inside.
“What the…?”
“Apologies,” I said quickly and blinked when I realized what he was wearing. A Santa Claus costume. The beard was fake. “I’ll give you a thousand dollars cash for your costume.”
“I’m supposed to play Santa out there.” He gestured toward the ballroom.
“Does it pay a thousand dollars?”
“No. I get a hundred bucks.”
“I’d say my offer is considerably more generous.” Careful of the figurine beneath my jacket, I pulled out my wallet and showed him the cash.
His eyes widened, and he shrugged. “All right.”
He took off the costume, including the beard. Moving fast, I handed him the money, then put everything on over my suit, including the beard and hat. It was too loose, so I grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and stuffed it under the coat.
Without a word, I turned to leave.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, his voice a little bewildered as the door snicked shut behind me.
Dressed as Jolly Old St. Nick, I walked down the hallway toward the ballroom, waving at the partygoers. One of Delphine’s men was standing among the guests, talking to someone on his phone.
“She probably brought him up to her room to get laid,” he said.
I couldn’t help but smile. That she had.
Revelers exclaimed that Santa had arrived as I waved at them and walked by, heading for the elevators.
“Santa has a stop to make to deliver gifts,” I said in an American accent. I pointed at a rather attractive woman in a sleek green dress. “I’ll be back, and you can sit on my lap.”
She laughed. The man with her did not.
Delphine’s man didn’t even look at me.
I sauntered to the elevator and got in. “I’m in the elevator. Next stop, lobby.”
“How?” Maple asked.
“I’m dressed as Santa Claus.”
“I wondered what you meant about a costume. God, I wish I could see that.”
When the doors opened to the lobby, the people waiting to go up smiled at me.
“Ho, ho, ho,” I called out in character as I walked out.
Another man in a dark suit stood nearby, watching the elevators while he spoke to someone on his phone.
He hardly glanced at me as I strolled right by.
Waving to a few more people who shouted, “Santa,” I made my way through the lobby and out the front door.
“I’m out.”
“I have a car for you one block north.”
“Might want to let him know how I’m dressed.”
“He’s aware.”
Holding the pillow in place, I walked up the street and found my ride—a black SUV. I got in and nodded to my driver. He had Christmas music playing on the radio.
“Santa,” he said with a hint of amusement.
I tugged off the hat and beard as the car pulled into traffic and started to drive away.
“That’s better,” I said to Maple. “The beard was awful.”
She laughed. “Good work, Mr. Lakes.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Exton.”
“The car will take you to the rendezvous point. You’re meeting Mr. Darrin to transfer the item.”
“Understood.”
I took off the rest of the costume and set the pillow aside. Then I drew out the figurine and carefully unwrapped it, ensuring it hadn’t sustained any damage. It was aged and worn, but my rescue hadn’t hurt it.
Another job in the books.
“Do I have a flight back to Seattle?” I asked.
“You do.”
“Good. I’m quite looking forward to a holiday after this little adventure. I owe my sister and her family a visit.”
“It is almost Christmas,” Maple said. “But I have an alternative.”
“What’s that?”
“A new job has come in.”
“I just finished one moments ago, and you want to put me to work again?”
Maple laughed. “I know. But it makes sense to send you. It’s not far from Seattle.”
“Well, that’s something. What’s the job?”
“Client is the Beaufort family. They have an old estate outside London. Their line goes way back in the aristocracy.”
“They sound stuffy.”
She ignored my comment. “Someone stole one of their family heirlooms. It’s a jeweled necklace known as the Emerald Crown.
The Beaufort family puts it on display for the Christmas season each year, hence the urgency to recover it.
We’ve tracked the culprit, and we think he’s hiding in or around Tilikum, a small town in the mountains a couple hours’ drive from Seattle. ”
“Odd location. Is the thief someone we know?”
“No. But it appears to have been a solo job.”
I paused, pondering. I’d been looking forward to some time off, but it made sense to accept. I was already headed for Seattle. Spending a week or so in the mountains wouldn’t be a hardship. And another payday was never a bad thing.
“All right, I’m in. Send me the details.”
“Already on it. I’ll make the necessary local arrangements.”
“You’re such a gem, Maple. Whatever would I do without you?”
“Find yourself in endless amounts of trouble, no doubt.”
I grinned. “Indeed. Although I do like trouble.”
“I’m well aware.”
I leaned back and watched the city go by as the driver took me to the rendezvous point. It was close to Christmas, and I did owe my sister a visit. But I wasn’t concerned. I’d be in and out before then.
How hard could finding a jewelry thief in a small mountain town be?