Chapter Eighteen
Dan’s words took her breath away. He said it out loud, her very thoughts, the ones she didn’t dare speak. She turned her back on him and went to the refrigerator to give herself a second to regroup. “Oh, I can’t even think about kids at this point. My life is too splintered. Not sure how it happened. I have a magazine that runs itself now, enough money to live on and never work again, and still, I’m kind of empty. I sound like an unappreciative, spoiled brat, I know.”
“Not true. I know how hard you have worked, and all, well, a lot you’ve gone through. I expect you’re at one of those crossroads in life. I went through it, and it’s why I came back to America. I didn’t know what I wanted to do or exactly where I wanted to be. But I knew I wanted to reclaim my life, and I knew I wanted to find you. Now, we seem to be caught up in something that might get in our way. Let’s not let it.”
“Being a grown-up is not all it’s cracked up to be, is it?” Jenna asked before she bit into a strawberry. “Good grocery shopping job by the way. These are good.”
“Thanks, I can be an adult when I have to be. But no, being one is not what we thought it would be. One hard decision after another and combined with wrinkles and weight gain. No wonder people have midlife issues.”
Jenna sighed. “I wish my grandmother was still here to advise me. But I’m serious about this house, because I do feel at home here.”
“Would it have to be this particular house, or is it you just want to put down roots, in something like this here in Savannah—someplace you can call your real home?”
“I guess it’s what I need to decide, isn’t it?” Jenna reached for her coffee. “I do know one thing; I am ready to make some changes in my life. If we get out of this in one piece, I’m putting it tops on my list. Note to self: change entire life.”
Jenna was happy Dan didn’t follow her upstairs and try to change her mind or question her when she left the room to take a shower. He knew her well enough to leave her alone with her thoughts and give her the space she needed to clear her head. She had never been more grateful.
Once out of the shower, Jenna changed into her running clothes while Dan cleaned up the kitchen. She hoped answers would come as she ran. They often did. As she went out the front door, it occurred to her Dan didn’t say what he wanted. She did all the talking, and he said nothing about his plans for the future.
By the time Jenna returned from her run, she knew what she wanted to do next. After this current chaos in her life was put right, she was now ready to plan ahead. Whether Dan would be part of it or not would be up to him.
Jenna found Dan in the kitchen on his phone.
He was making notes and held up his hand, and mouthed Luc as he continued to make notes. He put the phone on the table and hit the speaker button.
Jenna listened as Luc read out dates and names she had heard before but couldn’t place at the moment. She pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat across from Dan trying to see his notes, but nothing made sense.
“Okay, thanks a million. I owe you big time.” Dan ended the call and glanced at Jenna. “I think we have the missing piece.”
“Good, I want to get this settled and out of my life. What is it?”
Dan looked down at his notes. “Harper Clavell was Diana Delmonte before, as we found out. What we didn’t know is her mother was married to Boris Roget! Yes, the one and only big-time fence, European criminal, and mafia connection for all high-value stolen property—and who we more or less put in prison.”
Jenna slammed her water bottle down on the table. “Yes! That is where I’ve seen her before—she was in a family photograph on Roget’s desk in his Paris home. Harper was his stepdaughter, of course. I knew I’d seen that face. But the put-on persona, voice, hair color, and slight accent were throwing me. She let her looks and behavior distract from anything else—on purpose. Cunning. She is a good actress, and it was a good plan, and it worked.”
Dan nodded. “Yes, so it is beginning to make more sense. She has tried to hook up with me on purpose for whatever the plan was or is. It has taken her years to get to this point. Talk about patience—and determination.”
“Revenge, the dish best served cold, as we know. She must have been about seventeen in the picture I saw. She was a striking girl even then, sitting atop her horse near their vineyard. Long blonde hair tied into a braid hanging down her back, and with the look on her face saying, look at me , even then.”
“From what Luc told me, it sounds as if Roget was more like a real father, and she was denied nothing.”
“That explains her attitude,” Jenna said.
“When did you see the picture?”
As she thought back to that day, Jenna smiled. “The picture was in my direct line of vision as I sat in front of Roget’s computer, trying to break his password. I didn’t remember it on purpose, but my subconscious clocked it .”
Dan laughed at clocked it and gave her a thumbs-up. “Got the detective talk down. So, we’re talking revenge. We took back the stolen jewels from him, a fortune, but worse, we’re responsible for Roget going to jail and then dying there.”
“Yeah, we pretty much destroyed her world, and I’m sure it impacted everything in her life, as well. Basically, we killed her dad, at least in her eyes,” Jenna said, shaking her head. “This makes her more dangerous than your ordinary jewel thief.”
Dan ran his hands through his hair. “She wants to ruin us, especially me, or maybe worse, and I’m thinking of Amato lurking around.”
“At least we know who she is now and can prepare for it. I still can’t figure out why she was buddying up to Gail, except maybe to put ideas into her head about me, or both of us, not as if she needed to encourage Gail to go for you,” Jenna said.
Again, Dan looked down at his notes. “Yeah, if she can get Gail on her side, as her eyes and ears, and one of her contacts, she will be ahead of the game. Gail can find out things Harper can’t without arousing a lot of suspicion. Not to sound the alarm bells any louder, but tonight is the night. In no way has she gone through all of this to slink away and give up the Blalock diamond.”
“But how does all of this come back to us? How does she plan to get us accused of the thefts? And who is the actual thief? Is she doing it herself, or is someone doing it for her? And what’s with the red hair she has left several places?”
Dan grinned. “All the right questions. Luc told me about a recent theft in Key West, Florida, and they have now attributed it to the Red Cat based on some other information that’s come in. He’s trying to find proof Harper-Diana was in Key West then. He can pass it on to the FBI here and to us, of course. It’s a certainty they are gearing up to take the Blalock Diamond from the senator’s wife and blame me now. I know it in my bones.”
Jenna stood and stretched. “She’s not stupid, or they-she, couldn’t have gotten this far without being caught. I doubt Harper-Diana left that kind of trail in Key West. I think we can now be sure she has a partner.”
Dan paced across the kitchen floor. “A partner, yes, it makes sense she might. But another question, who is calling the shots, is it her or her partner? Until we know who the partner is, we don’t really know what we are dealing with here.”
Dan’s text pinged. “It’s the senator.” He stopped to read the text. “Oh, this is insane! Why would he do this?”
“What? What?”
“They are having a cocktail hour at their private residence. He is determined to get every dollar he can out of these people. He doesn’t have a clue what he is risking,” Dan said, looking at Jenna. “He probably wants to get into everyone’s pocket before they start home. We’re invited.”
Jenna sighed. “Makes our job much harder. So, master mind, how are we playing this? Everyone will be clustered around Mrs. Roseland and the diamond necklace for at least part of the evening. And again, with the drinking and mingling, but at least the number of people will be far less this time.”
Dan nodded, tapping his notepad again. “I wonder if the thief or thieves have figured out Mrs. Roseland might be wearing a fake, and if so, what it will do to their plan.”
“It’s not like they won’t have other targets to pick from besides her necklace. Other jewelry will be there nearly as expensive and worth the risk anyway. And maybe everyone will be thinking it’s all over. The thief has struck, and now they are safe inside the senator’s private residence.”
Dan stopped pacing and looked at Jenna. “Exactly what I was thinking. If there are two of them, one can create a diversion while the other does the taking of the jewels. It’s what I’d do. I wouldn’t risk breaking into the guests’ room safes or the hotel safe. Too much security, and too many cameras and people. And it would take too long. Safes can be tricky. Big risks.”
Jenna took a final swig of water. “No more swiping a necklace from an elderly woman sitting on the toilet. This will be it…the big play. The other times were rehearsals with benefits. I feel it in my bones—as you would say. I wonder if…” She stood.
“What are you thinking?” Dan asked.
“Like you said, the diversion thing. I have a feeling you were right. They are going for the necklace, we know this. It’s all about when and how.”
“Unless—they know Marta will be wearing a fake and then what? Will they attempt to break into the senator’s safe while everyone is at the party a few rooms away? If somehow they know where the safe is and think the real necklace is there—that will be the move. I’m giving myself a headache. I don’t like going into these situations without all the facts.”
“They must realize the place will be covered, and loads of security will be present.” Jenna frowned.
“Security guards aren’t the end all, you know. Are you forgetting how we did it?”
“How could I ever forget? We did a trial run weeks before. We knew how to get into Roget’s house and his safe before we made the hit. Then I got him out of the house by calling him and saying his daughter was in a car accident. The big diversion.”
Dan smiled. “And so, what does it tell us? Let’s talk it all the way through.”
“They know about the fake or they have guessed. They’ve already checked out the senator’s security and can bypass any electronic surveillance equipment. The question we can’t answer is, they will divide and hope to conquer with a distraction. Will they concentrate solely on the necklace Mrs. Roseland is wearing as the big prize if they aren’t sure whether it’s a fake or not? If they go for the one she is wearing, it will be quick and without warning like the other robberies.” Jenna rubbed her temples.
Again, Dan started pacing. “There’s no way for them to know if she will be wearing the fake or the real thing unless they have inside information. Since this is a private affair and in the senator’s home. So, it’s reasonable to assume she would be comfortable enough to wear the real thing. I’d be thinking it but there’s no guarantee. Who all knows about the fake necklace, for sure?”
Jenna massaged her forehead and closed her eyes. “The senator and his wife, Kerri, his security team, the person who arranged the airport pickup for the fake necklace, maybe. At least one of Mrs. Roseland’s friends, for sure, and the person who made the fake, and yeah, so lots of people.”
Dan got another bottle of water from the refrigerator. “People don’t realize how much other people talk and how much can be given away in what they think is casual conversation.”
“I guess we’re back to yes, they could know Mrs. Roseland will be wearing a fake,” Jenna said, as she looked at her buzzing phone. “Should I call Kerri?”
“No, it doesn’t matter now. The game has started, and we have to show up and play this game Harper and Gail seems to have set up.”
“Okay then. I need to start thinking about the cocktail-robbery party, I guess. What does one wear for such a special occasion? Have you arranged our car? Do I have anything to wear?” Jenna mumbled and left Dan in the kitchen.
An hour later, Jenna was dressed and ready to go shop for a new dress and shoes, leaving Dan in the kitchen preparing something special for their lunch, he told her. She was curious where this new obsession with food and cooking came from. She wondered if this was something he picked up in France. She tried not to think about a woman, also in France, who might be the cause of this new interest.
By the time Jenna got back to the townhouse from her shopping trip, the house smelled wonderful. She was starving, having eaten a skimpy breakfast and after burning numerous calories shopping.
She put her packages in the hallway and followed the smells to the kitchen where she found Dan, still clad in his boxer shorts and wearing an apron with, Kiss The Cook, in red letters. He was humming something she didn’t recognize and stirring something in a large pot. “Well, you look right at home. What is this gourmet treat claiming all your attention?”
“Sorry, you must wait and see. I even made bread. Or it will be bread soon. It’s in the oven.” He pointed.
“You made bread, like with your hands rolling out dough, that kind of made?” Jenna grinned. “You look cute in the apron.”
“Yes, I made it with these very hands, and you will be properly impressed. Can’t you read my apron, woman? It says Kiss The Cook . A small price to pay for all my efforts to make this meal for you.”
Jenna walked over and kissed him full on the mouth. “There now, get back to work. I need to take care of a few things upstairs. My new dress is probably wrinkling as I speak. Then I will get into my comfortable yoga pants, and prepare to be impressed by your culinary skills.”
“Stay out of the kitchen until I call you. Maybe in an hour. Oh, and I ordered a cheesecake to be delivered. If you could answer the door for the delivery, I’d appreciate it. Though you think I’m cute in this apron and box shorts, I’m not sure the delivery person will.”
Jenna laughed. “Oh, I don’t know, whether it be male or female, I don’t think there is any room for argument, you look pretty cute.” She got only as far as the hallway before she stopped. Being as quiet as she could be, she pulled her phone from her bag and went back down the hallway and into the kitchen.
Dan looked up from the stove.
She snapped a picture of him before he could stop her and ran back out of the kitchen.
“I can erase that, you know,” Dan called after her.
“You don’t know my password, hotshot,” Jenna said, as she took her shopping bags up to the master bedroom. Jenna kept busy upstairs, setting out her outfit for the cocktail party, picking out her jewelry, and making sure she wore no jewelry she would mind losing if worse came to worse.
The cheesecake showed up, and she took it to the kitchen, but Dan wouldn’t let her peek at what he was preparing. She got a glimpse of chicken and saw evidence of onions, mushrooms, and garlic, so at least there was a clue.
He ushered her out of the kitchen, asking her to toss his sweats down.
She found his sweats and took those to him, but he rushed her out of the kitchen again. She then repaired chipped nail polish on her thumb, gave herself a mini-facial, and got into her most comfortable yoga pants and much-washed tee. Feeling a little wifey, which made her a bit uncomfortable, she looked at the clothes Dan brought to make sure he packed an appropriate suit and shoes. To her surprise, they were perfect. Then again, he was always full of surprises .