Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
N either of them stood as Agent Finibar and another FBI agent entered the room.
“What have you got to show us?” the agent beside Agent Finibar demanded.
Stewart ignored the other agent’s question. “Agent Finibar, it’s good to see you again. Won’t you and your friend sit down?”
“Aurora, Stewart, this is Agent Moore,” Finibar said as he took off his coat and then sat down.
Agent Moore hesitated before he did the same. He opened his mouth but was interrupted when Flora bustled into the room.
“The FBI. How nice to see you, boys,” Flora greeted. She busied herself pouring coffee and offering slices of pie.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Moore said, raising his voice.
Despite her fear, Aurora wanted to laugh. Being louder didn’t necessitate being forceful. Agent Moore wouldn’t be on her Christmas list.
“I found these in my suitcase.” She slid the velvet pouch to Finibar.
Agent Moore looked less than thrilled. Maybe someone had ruined his daily bran flakes.
Finbar lifted the bag briefly, seeming to assess its contents by its weight. With care, he emptied a few diamonds and whistled. “These are beauties.”
With a swift motion, Moore dumped the bag’s contents onto the table. A single one fell, and while he was bending to retrieve it, he knocked over a few more.
Finibar looked fit to be tied.
“We don’t need all of them on the table,” Finibar remarked. “You’re going to compromise the evidence.”
“I—”
“Aurora, you said these were in a suitcase?” Finibar asked, ignoring the other agent.
“Yes—”
“We need that suitcase and any others you have,” Moore told her.
“Yes, my parents had purchased me new luggage right before all— this happened. At the time I knew them to be very expensive, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Just like the car,” Aurora explained, glancing solely at Finibar, “but like I said to the other agents, I was unaware of the price.”
“You didn’t notice it before?” Finibar asked.
Flora came in with the suitcase in question and set it down next to Finibar before she left.
Finibar cleared the table in front of him to make room for the suitcase. He opened it but didn’t touch the inside. He pulled on a plastic glove.
“Would you show me where it was?”
Standing, she walked over to the suitcase. She pointed to the slit she’d cut in the lining.
“It was lying flat. I noticed there was a slight lump.”
“This many diamonds would make no slight lump,” Moore accused.
“I cut the lining with scissors. I didn’t want to ruin the suitcase. I put my fingers in the hole and felt the pouch. It was hard to pull out.”
“Why not make a big hole and take a look?” Moore asked.
Sighing, she glanced at him. “Like I said, I didn’t want to ruin the lining. I have very limited funds, and I always thought if I had to, I’d sell the suitcases. I pulled it out and to my dismay I found this small pouch, and I knew it would lead to trouble.” She sat back down and then clasped the coffee cup with both hands to steady them.
“How many did you set aside before you called us?” Moore asked.
Stewart stood. “How dare you accuse Aurora of stealing! Your behavior since entering my home has been nothing but hostile!” He sat back down.
Moore arched his left brow before he looked away from Stewart.
“There looks to be duct tape in here,” Finibar said. “Did you notice it?”
“No, maybe that’s why it was hard to pull out. The moment I felt the velvet, I was scared.”
Finibar nodded. “Would it be possible to see the rest of the set of luggage?”
“Why ask? A search warrant would be the most effective course of action.”
Finibar stared at Moore. “They’re cooperating. There’s no reason to treat Ms. O’Halloran or Mr. McKeegan as if they were criminals.”
“You don’t grasp the significance of this case,” Moore snapped.
“I’ll get the rest of the luggage,” Flora said as she flew by them to the stairs.
“I would like the diamonds counted before you take them,” Stewart said. “And we’ll be getting a receipt, I assume?”
“Good idea.” Finibar carefully and slowly poured the diamonds onto the table. Then, with a pen, he counted and moved the diamonds from one side to the other. “I think we can agree there are 100 cut diamonds, varying sizes.”
“Yes,” Aurora agreed.
Flora brought the rest of the luggage down, and Finibar, still wearing a glove, he smoothed over all parts of each piece. He smiled.
“I will need to take the piece that had the diamonds inside. And…I will ask you not to leave town.”
“She’s staying with me,” Stewart informed them.
After Finibar placed all the diamonds back in the pouch, he took a sip of his coffee. “Now, what happened to you yesterday?”
Stewart filled him in.
Finibar shook his head. “What is wrong with people? I’m glad you’re okay Ms. O’Halloran.”
“Let’s get back to the office,” Moore stated, rising to his feet.
His behavior made it hard to tell if he was new to the job or simply a jerk.
Finibar signed a receipt for the gems and slid it across the table to Stewart. Then he stood and shook their hands. “Give Miss Flora my thanks, and tell her, her pie is the best!”
Stewart grinned. “I’m sure she already knows.”
“She does have great hearing, doesn’t she? I will call you when we find out where the diamonds came from.”
Aurora’s face was pale, and she looked shaken. So young and forlorn.
“What did you think of Agent Moore?” His lips twitched.
She stared at him for a moment before she laughed. “Where did they find him? I’m certain he wanted to take me away in handcuffs. Tell me about Reilly.”
Stewart led her to the sitting area in front of the huge stone fireplace. He made sure not to sit too close to her. His impulse was to take her into his arms to put her fears to rest.
“Reilly is the oldest. He’s a high-powered lawyer in Billings.”
“He didn’t want to work the ranch?”
“He can out ride, out work the lot of us, but his heart wasn’t in it. At first, my father didn’t approve. He thought Reilly would be the one to carry us forward.” He chuckled. “There were many loud fights, but somehow Reilly convinced him. I thought Reilly had to be crazy to leave. But I understood. The problem started when somehow the rest of the families on the ranch believed Reilly thought he was better than them.”
He sighed. “I don’t know how that all began, but they distanced themselves from him. I told you I always invited him to family gatherings, but he never came. I don’t blame him. He’s a great lawyer. Ranching isn’t for everyone. Plenty of people have left. It would be too crowded if everyone always stayed. The ranch is owned as a whole property, but there are six parcels. One for each son of Eion McKeegan. Some built more houses. There’s plenty of land that belongs to the ranch for raising cattle and horses.”
“There are only three houses on this parcel?”
“Actually, there are four. One relative must have wanted complete privacy. The house is hidden on one of the mountain ridges. I’ll take you up there one of these days. It’s a nice house, just private. Also, it’s not easy to get to, so none of the descendants chose that one.”
Aurora smiled. “Reilly sounds like a man I’d like to meet. And that house… I’d love to take a peek at it.”
“I see, you want to meet Reilly. Are you pushing me over?” he teased.
Her face flushed. “I just meant he sounds interesting. Going against your father and making a life he wanted is all.”
“It’s not always easy to go from a small town to a big city. Anyway, he usually stays here on the rare occasion I see him.”
“I hope the diamonds are enough to pay people back. I have no idea how much my stepfather stole.” As if chilled, she ran her hands up and down her arms. “Thank you for bringing me to your house. I’m wound so tight. I keep going over every conversation I had with Glen. It was bits of conversation between serving customers, and there were always enough customers to keep me busy. I’m clueless when it comes to flirting. I’ve seen it done and get the gist of it, but that’s not me. I didn’t lead him on, I swear.”
“I know honey, I know.”