Chapter Twelve #3
“As fascinating as this is,” Ian said, his usual easy manner returning, “I’ve got to get to work.” Pressing another temple kiss to his wife, he topped off his coffee, gave the rest of them a chin lift of farewell, and left the room, closing the door behind him with a click.
“Okay.” Fifi picked up the conversation as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “Are we assuming the lock is somewhere around Langston?”
“Probably Denver,” Charlie said. “Mom would’ve had to stash the necklace before getting arrested.”
“Unless she handed it off to Zach or another partner in crime,” Bennett suggested.
It was a good theory, but Charlie knew her mother too well to see that happening. “Jane wouldn’t trust anyone with the necklace, especially Zach.”
Fifi nodded. “Rightly so. The guy would’ve been gone like a shot, taking the prize and leaving Mom to face the consequences.”
“So we’re going to assume she locked up the necklace somewhere in Denver,” Lou said before her mouth pulled down in an exaggerated frown. “That’s a lot of possibilities.”
“Not necessarily,” Kieran chimed in. As pathetic as it was, Charlie was glad for the excuse to look at him. Her crush had officially entered ridiculousness territory. “Where was she picked up by police?”
“Just a mile northwest from the victim’s hotel.” Bennett had been investigating Jane when he’d met Fifi, so it made sense he knew a random detail like that.
Charlie grabbed her phone and opened a map app. “Do you know the exact address where the cops arrested her?” she asked without looking away from her screen.
“Sixth Avenue and Colorado.”
Of course he does. She grinned. “You’re proving once again how handy you are to have around.”
An almost inaudible protest from Kieran had her glancing his way. For some reason, his scowl was firmly back in place.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he grumbled. When she didn’t say anything or look away, the tips of his ears turned a bit pink. “Just…it was my idea.”
Charlie was forced to suck in her cheeks in order to hold back her laugh. It didn’t help that Lou had obviously heard his mumbled complaint and was snickering, but Charlie somehow managed to keep a straight face. “You’re very handy too.”
Although he huffed as if he hadn’t been fishing for praise, his scowl lightened.
Charlie waited until her head was tipped down at her phone again before she allowed the tiniest smile to escape.
Maybe it was strange of her, but she liked that he wanted her approval.
It made her feel important to him. Focusing on the map app with an effort, she zoomed in on the area between where her mom had been arrested and the hotel where she’d stolen the necklace and frowned.
“It’s so residential,” she said.
Lou stood and moved closer to Charlie so she could see. “Maybe she didn’t go far. Would the hotel have locked storage units people could use?”
“We’ll check.” Charlie made a mental note to call the hotel later. “If not, they might know the closest place that does.”
Kieran leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen, his body so close to her back that she could feel the heat radiating from him. “There’s a shipping place. Maybe the key is for a mailbox.”
Fifi came over to stand behind Charlie’s other side, resting her chin on Charlie’s shoulder.
“Hmm…that’s in the other direction. Would Mom have been able to make it all the way over here in time?
She’s not a fan of physical activity.” She pointed at the intersection where Jane had been picked up, getting her finger too close to the screen, making the map zoom in.
“Fifi, no touching,” Charlie complained mildly. The map now showed a sliver of the opposite side of Colorado Boulevard, where—according to the map icons—two restaurants, a laundromat, and a gym were located. She moved to return the map to its original position when Rory sat up straight.
“The militia widow is awake.”
Everyone’s attention turned from the map to the laptop, and they all crowded around the table.
Charlie dropped her phone into her pocket, shouldering her way between Fifi and Lou so she could see the video feed.
Gabrielle was indeed getting out of bed, shoving her mussed long hair over her shoulder before she stretched.
She dropped her arms as she looked toward the door, her lips moving.
“Turn it up,” Charlie said, reaching for the laptop even as she said the words.
Cranking it up to maximum volume, she leaned closer to the screen as Gabrielle’s bedroom door opened and a skinny, white man stepped inside.
He yanked off his baseball hat, leaving his hair mussed around his protruding ears.
“Sorry to bother you, Ms. Jones, but we were wondering if you’d talked to Clint about the break-in last night?”
Charlie turned her head so she could meet Kieran’s gaze. From his expression, he was wondering the same thing she was.
“Why would Jones’s widow be chatting with the new cult leader?” Fifi asked as if she could read Charlie’s mind.
“Shh!” Lou waved a hand at Fifi, her gaze locked on the screen. “We’ll miss what they’re saying.”
“It’s recording,” Fifi muttered under her breath, but Lou just shushed her again. Charlie gave an amused snort and received her own chorus of shhs from Lou, Bennett, and—annoyingly—Fifi.
“I have,” Gabrielle said. “He’s sure the visiting PIs are involved.”
“Bounty hunters,” Charlie and Fifi said at the same time.
“Shh!” the others hissed at them.
“That’s what Saul thought too,” the skinny man on the screen said. “What’s Clint thinking we should do?”
“Besides, I am a PI, so she’s not totally wrong,” Bennett said, and then dodged Fifi’s swatting hand.
“I’ll meet everyone upstairs in an hour and tell you what he said.” Gabrielle made a shooing motion toward the door. “No sense in having to repeat everything.”
“Oh, okay.” The skinny guy retreated quickly. “I’ll let the others know.”
“Thanks, Daryl.”
“Daryl,” Charlie repeated. “Isn’t he one of Clint’s friends from the informant’s list?”
“Yes,” Rory answered.
“Gabrielle’s lying,” Kieran said. “Unless we missed her having a phone conversation?”
“Nope,” Fifi said. “She’s definitely lying.
Someone’s been monitoring the feed since early this morning, and I even ran through all last night’s footage of her bedroom.
She’s been asleep until just a minute ago, and her phone is way over there.
” She pointed at the dresser on the screen where a phone sat, plugged into a charger.
“There’s no way she could reach it without getting out of bed. ”
“So…” Charlie said slowly as the wheels in her mind spun. “Maybe it’s not Clint giving orders from jail.”