Chapter 15
Maybe it was the champagne, or the music, or the relief that neither of us had been shot in the private room of Wilson’s club.
Maybe it was some latent adrenaline from screaming at a man who absolutely could have killed me and would have gladly seen me sink to the bottom of the Hudson before the sun came up.
Or maybe, and most simply, it was my crush on Alice that had been building for days.
I wouldn’t rationalize it. All I knew was that when she leaned in to kiss me, with the club’s lights twirling around us and Sabrina Carpenter blasting in our ears, I leaned in too and pressed our lips together.
My whole body felt like champagne bubbles exploding inside of me, while my brain turned to static, and my mouth grew hot.
I put my arm round her waist to keep her close and Alice tipped her head to the side, letting me slide our mouths together and get lost in the kiss.
My nose bumped against hers and she laughed, then kissed me again, rising up on her toes and sliding her fingers into my hair.
It was a good thing that we were surrounded by hundreds of other clubgoers because I felt wild, out of control, like I had no idea where this kiss would lead us next.
I forced myself to step back before I totally lost control, taking Alice’s hand and spinning her round so she knew I wasn’t upset. She twirled dizzily, laughing, and even though I was standing still I knew exactly how she felt.
It was late – or maybe very early – when we stumbled out of Hackney and hailed a cab to take us back to the apartment.
The champagne, the dancing and the kisses had made me sweaty and lightheaded, and I wasn’t mad about it.
Not at all. For a precious few hours I’d been able to forget about the jewelry and Wilson and all my mom had sacrificed to keep this precious cargo out of his hands.
All of that would be real again in the morning.
Alice was giggly drunk, and she laid her head on my shoulder in the cab and was dozing lightly by the time the driver dropped us off.
I wrapped my arm round her as we walked up the steps, not wanting her to slip or fall.
She seemed to sober up a little in the bright entranceway lights, but I kept her close to me – partly for my own benefit.
When we reached the apartment I made sure to lock the door, then bolt it, and I made a mental note to sleep with my Glock next to the bed tonight. After our run-in with Wilson, I wasn’t taking any chances.
I turned round and Alice was stood right behind me. I could tell from the look on her face and the fact that she leaned in to kiss me deeply that she wanted something I wouldn’t give her. Not tonight.
‘You’re drunk,’ I said gently. ‘So am I.’
‘Not that drunk.’
I still wouldn’t. Couldn’t.
‘Come on,’ I said, taking her through to her bathroom.
Underneath the enormous mirror was an even more enormous vanity unit, and I picked up Alice and sat her on it like a little girl. She gripped the edge of the counter and watched me as I smoothed makeup remover lotion onto a washcloth and stepped up close.
‘Close your eyes,’ I murmured.
She blinked them closed and let me carefully wipe away her makeup. There was nothing worse than waking up to mascara crusted around your eyes. Alice clearly wasn’t going to do it herself and I wanted her to know I could take care of her, despite the events of earlier this evening.
The washcloth came away streaked with black and beige and pink, and it took two more attempts to get her face clean of all her layers of makeup. When I was done, I leaned in and kissed her lightly, feeling her heavy sigh under my lips.
‘Thank you,’ Alice mumbled sleepily, and held out her arms so I could help her down off the vanity again.
‘I’ll be out in a minute,’ I said.
She nodded and stumbled out of the bathroom, and I closed the door behind me, needing a second to regain my composure.
It took a few minutes to wash my own face and tie my hair back, and when I left the bathroom I wasn’t immediately sure where Alice had gone, making my heart trip for just a second.
I found her in her bedroom, face down and asleep already, still fully dressed. I couldn’t help but snort with laughter as I went to pull off her shoes and pull up a blanket over her.
The apartment felt very still and silent as I took the long route back to the library bedroom to avoid the snakes. My head was fuzzy from the champagne, but I had enough brainpower left to take a couple of Tylenol and chug some water before I changed out of my borrowed dress and into pajamas.
My ears were still ringing from the loud music, and the feeling of dread had started to creep back into my mind, threatening to take over. Despite all my attempts to stay in control of the situation, it felt like I was only just keeping my head above water.
If it wasn’t for the alcohol in my system, I was sure I’d have spent hours lying awake, staring at the ceiling.
The next morning, I worried things would be awkward, since that was the best word to describe all my romantic encounters so far. Except when I went into the kitchen to make coffee, Alice smiled at me, like she had every morning since I’d been staying with her, and my stomach started fluttering.
‘How’s your head?’ I asked her, filling a cup.
Alice had clearly showered this morning because her hair was still damp, but she hadn’t put makeup on yet and I thought she looked unbelievably beautiful. Even just wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt, she managed to pull off simple elegance in a way I was sure I never could.
‘Surprisingly okay. The coffee helped.’
I sipped mine too, then hummed with pleasure as it chased away any suggestion of a hangover of my own.
‘Thank you for looking after me last night,’ Alice said, and even though my heart was aching for her I forced myself to look at her, to accept her gentle smile.
‘Any time,’ I said, smiling back.
We fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the coffee and the sun streaming in through the windows.
While I appreciated the moment of peace, I knew I had work to do.
Not just because of Wilson’s threats and the deadline.
I’d committed to finding this jewelry and getting justice for my mom.
Fifty thousand dollars of reward money felt almost slimy now that I knew the true cultural and historical value of the jewelry.
Alice’s family deserved it back, if and when I could find it.
But that didn’t mean I’d be able to keep it out of Wilson’s hands forever.
‘I need to work on solving the riddle today,’ I said, breaking the peace.
Alice nodded. ‘Do you want help?’
I hesitated. ‘I think I’m going to have to go back to the shop.’
‘I can come,’ she insisted.
‘The shop isn’t exactly neutral territory,’ I said gently. ‘After last night … I can’t risk it, Alice. This place is secure – they don’t know you’re here. You’re safe. I don’t want that to change.’
‘Okay, well, what can I do to help from here?’ Alice said, setting her coffee mug down to play with her hair. ‘I can’t just sit around and wait for you.’
I took another sip of coffee. ‘We need to make a plan for what we’re going to do with the jewelry when we find it,’ I said. ‘You want it back, and Wilson wants it back, and my opinion – not that anyone has asked for it – is that it should probably be in a museum somewhere.’
Alice nodded slowly. ‘Now we’ve found out the value of the whole case, my family are going to be even more determined to recover it.’
‘So we need to come up with a way that keeps everyone happy.’
‘We don’t have time to make copies,’ she said, and I shook my head.
‘Wilson would be able to spot a forgery a mile off. And he’s seen the real thing before, remember?’
‘In an ideal world,’ Alice said, staring out of the window with a dreamy expression, ‘he’d be arrested for something before we found it. And then charged and sent to prison for a really long time.’
I huffed a laugh. ‘Yeah, that would be ideal.’ I paused for a second, because the world I lived in was very much less than ideal. ‘I’m going to get dressed.’
Alice nodded but her expression remained thoughtful.
Shortly after, I left the apartment and walked quicker than I usually would back to the shop, having already decided this was the easiest way to get between the two places.
I let myself into the apartment first, wanting to make sure it hadn’t been broken into again but not sure what I would do if it had.
Looking at the devastation from the last break-in just made me mad, and sad, and I promised myself I’d find time to clean and straighten everything up as soon as I could.
Once reassured, I let myself into the shop through our back staircase. The air in the shop smelled musty after it had been shut up for a few days, and I decided to open the windows and shutters to let some fresh air in.
After a second of hesitation, I made my way into my mom’s office.
I’d spent so much time in here over the years, using her desk as my homeschooling space when she was working on the shop floor, then learning our family trade as she told me all her secrets.
The space was small, stuffed with antique furniture, and kind of a mess.
I ran my finger over the edge of a bookshelf.
It came away coated in dust. My stomach squirmed.
I felt bad for letting this space get dirty.
This, too, would get cleaned up as soon as I got the chance.
The filing cabinet in the office wasn’t utilitarian metal, like out in the shop.
It was another beautiful antique – dark-stained oak with brass fixtures, the ornate key nestled in the lock.
I stared at it for a second, not sure what connection my brain was trying to make.
I didn’t think the next clue would be kept in there – it was for paperwork – but paperwork kept proving important on this particular scavenger hunt.