Shiny Things Read online

  “When we caught up with him, there were no diamonds and no bag. He swore himself black and blue you had hidden the diamonds. He said they were never in the car. We had the car brought up and we sent divers down and there was nothing about.”

  “He’s obviously lying. You didn’t need to send divers anywhere. He stashed the diamonds by the riverbank and since then he would’ve gone back to get them.” That’s what she would’ve done.

  “Possibly. I’ll need to trust you about that.”

  “Yes, good. Trust me, because I’m telling the truth. I mean, you must believe me, otherwise you wouldn’t have offered me the deal.” She quickly added, “Which I accepted.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Speaking of the deal, when will it become official? Will there be some kind of paperwork?”

  She saw him nearly grimace and his fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. “It’s underway. It’s not going to be that easy. We’ve got other countries involved and they want justice. The fact that you’re now helping us isn’t going to appease them.”

  “There’s no proof I did anything. They’re all jumping on the bandwagon.”

  He took his eyes off the road for a moment and stared at her. “You and I know exactly what you’ve done.”

  Did he know everything? Something told her he did. She didn’t see why she was working with him, helping him, when she had nothing in writing. Still, it was her only hope at this point. She turned her head and looked out the window. “Where are we going?”

  “A man by the name of Glen Welch was found murdered. He was found in his study in front of an empty safe. The safe had been full of jewelry. We don’t have an exact estimate but it’s in the millions.”

  “And you think I know something about it?”

  “Don’t worry, we don’t think you had any involvement.”

  “Well, that’s a good start. Where are we going?”

  “The Hamptons.”

  “That’s quite a distance away from your jurisdiction, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t have a jurisdiction. You could say it’s all over the country. State-to-state.” He drove to a drive-through hamburger place. “How does a burger sound for breakfast?”

  “Yes, please.” How would she find Ryan now? He’d be long gone by the time she got back to the city.

  He ordered burgers and more coffee for both of them before they drove on. Then he told her all that he knew about the case.

  “And why did they call you in?”

  “The value of the jewelry that was stolen, mainly. It’s attracting a lot of media attention. They’ve had three helicopters flying over this morning already. We’ve had to turn five news channels away. It’s a high-profile case with high profile people. Glen Welch was one of the city’s best-known lawyers.”

  “His name is familiar.”

  “We’ve got a long drive.” Jack turned the music on, drowning out any possible conversation.

  Gretel spent her time emailing her sister and some friends from her phone, so the time in the car wouldn’t be a complete waste.

  “It’s just up here at the end.”

  Gretel saw news vans lining the street and one cameraman was out of the car filming the Welch house from the street. As they got closer, Gretel slid down in the seat until they drove past them through the large gates flanked by two uniformed policemen.

  As they drove up the long driveway, Gretel admired the gardens and the perfectly trimmed hedges that divided them. “The gardens are breathtaking. They must have at least one full-time groundskeeper.”

  “The upkeep must be horrendous.” He parked in the circular driveway in front of the house in between two white vans and four police cars.

  As men in white evidence-collection suits came out of the house, Gretel stared up at the white mansion. “I know this place. I came here as a kid a few times. Who did you say died?”

  “Glen Welch. Josephine, his wife, first owned it with her original husband, Earl Butterworth.”

  “Oh, so the victim, Glen, was her second husband?”

  “Correct.”

  She stared at the grand double doors and the wide stairs that led up to them. It was the kind of place that would have servants. “I can see why she wouldn’t want to leave. It’s stunning, but I wouldn’t like the job of looking after it. I think I used to come here for events when I was a child. Whoever lived here donated heavily to my father’s ministry. It must’ve been Butterworth, the first husband, who did.”

  “Your father, the famous evangelist? Interesting connection.”

  “He’s not famous. He’s just on TV sometimes. That’s right, Glen Welch. That’s why that name sounded familiar. He’s the one who bought up all the iconic movie star jewelry.” Someone putting yellow and black crime scene tape around the building distracted her. “So, he was shot you said?”

  “Yes. They’ve taken the body, but everything else remains. It’s a wonder these people weren’t a target of yours.”

  She shook her head. He was right, she was considering it at one point, but then was distracted by bigger fish overseas. “Yes, they had pieces worthy of stealing, but I’d never steal someone’s private collection.” She looked up at the house. “And not from their home.”

  “A thief with a conscience.”

  It was refreshing that he believed her lies. “I like to call them standards. A personal code of ethics, if you will. Talking about ethics, what’s happening with Ryan Castle? Shouldn’t you be looking for him?” Her stomach churned. She felt like an athlete ready to run a race, and Jack was holding her back.

  “I’ve got people on it. Relax. Trust me. Today, we’re focusing on this.” He stared at her until she nodded in agreement. “Josephine Welch was on holiday in Bermuda with her adult daughter from her first marriage.”

  “Yes, that would be Gizelle. I know her. She’s a friend of one of my sisters.” Gretel made a face.

  “You knew Gizelle and didn’t make the connection regarding her stepfather just now?”

  “No. It took me a while. I’ve had a lot on my mind. Gizelle and I have never gotten along.”

  “No love lost there, eh?”

  “She’s not a very nice person. My sister and she have been friends for years. I’m not sure why.”

  “Mrs. Welch’s lawyer has given us a list of all that was stolen from the safe. They took everything, apart from Mrs. Welch’s engagement ring and whatever else she had with her at the time.”

  “I’ll soon know if they were professionals. Not too professional to have been detected when they were in the middle of the job.”

  “We don’t know for sure yet if he surprised the robbers or whether something else played out.” They walked toward the front door, and he said, “Now are you getting the idea why we need your criminal mind on the case? Your lack of empathy for the family of the man who was killed enables you to focus on the crime at hand.” He motioned her to move forward to the house.

  He had her all wrong. Just because she liked to take things that didn’t mean she was heartless. “Hey, I take offense to that. I’m a reformed woman. I did say it was too bad about him getting killed even though I didn’t know him at all.”

  He raised his eyebrows as though she was doing little to convince him.

  As she walked up the front steps, she added, “I was a kid last time I was here and it was most likely husband number one living here back then.”

  As they walked to the house, he whispered, “Don’t talk to anyone and if anyone asks, you’re my assistant.”

  Chapter 4

  The evidence technicians had left by the time they reached the upstairs study where the murder had taken place. As Gretel walked into the room behind Jack, she saw the white chalk marks on the floor just like in the movies. The stench of death and the peculiar smell of old books filled her nostrils. She looked around at the wall of antique leather-bound books. Death and musty paper weren’t a pleasant combination.

  Any other time she would’v
e looked through the old books, but the safe in the corner drew her attention.

  “You can touch things as long as you don’t move them,” Jack said.

  When she was in front of the safe she saw it was a Morton 800. Made by Morris Morton in the eighties. She knew her safes. It was certainly sturdy and worked well enough in a non-commercial setting. It wasn’t known by many that some of this model were made with hidden sections. The internal base unscrewed. Gretel had to wonder if it was one of those. A closer inspection would reveal the answer.

  She turned around to see Jack crouched down examining the patterns on the blood-stained carpet, so she turned back to get a better look at the base of the safe. Yes, there was a separate section for the base. It appeared undisturbed. If they’d killed someone, they wouldn’t hang around to screw the base back down, not so perfectly anyway.

  Now she was torn. If she told Jack about this, it could help with the investigation, but what if there were delightful untouched treasures hidden there? Treasures that perhaps no one would miss especially since they thought everything was taken.

  The family was obviously insured and who would look in her direction for jewelry that had already been stolen? With Mrs. Welch due back tomorrow what was stopping her coming back under the cover of darkness?

  It was like free candy waiting to be eaten, and the fact that the house would be empty tonight was way more than a temptation.

  It was a gift.

  She would’ve thought twice about it had the FBI given her official paperwork about her pardon, but what assurances did she have of her freedom at this point? Jack kept telling her to trust him, but she’d trusted one man before and where had that gotten her?

  “Why are you staring at an empty safe?”

  She faced Jack. “I wasn't even seeing it. I was zoned out, thinking about all the pieces they bought over the years. They certainly had a lot. Jewelry once owned by European royalty and some pieces that Elizabeth Taylor once owned. I remember one diamond they bought from India, nearly as big as an egg.” She looked back at the safe. Surely the best pieces would be in the hidden section.

  “I have the list of everything that was taken. Mrs. Welch’s lawyer was good enough to fax it to us.”

  “Yes, you said that. She must be dreadfully upset. They had pieces that can never be replaced.” Gretel walked to the other side of the room, still not sure why she was there or what she was supposed to conclude. She walked back to Jack. “You say Josephine, the wife, is coming back tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does Gizelle live here too?”

  “No. Only Mrs. Welch, and the servants.”

  “And, where are the servants?”

  “Mrs. Welch gave them the week off since she was going away. Her husband was happy to be on his own and look after himself. I believe the cleaning staff was given the week off as well. She often holidayed without him and he preferred to keep working.”

  “What lawyer sent in the list of stolen items?”

  “I can’t say off the top of my head. Glen Welch was a lawyer too. Did I mention that?”

  “You might have. Interesting that another lawyer had a list of what was in the safe to send you. What an organized woman Mrs. Welch is.”

  “I don’t know the name, but I know he was Mr. Welch’s business partner. People with this type of wealth are normally very well organized. She would’ve had them itemized with the insurance company as well.”

  No longer being able to take the pressure, she stared at him with her hands on her hips. “What am I supposed to tell you?”

  “Your thoughts, just like you’ve been doing just now.”

  “Well, I don’t understand this; why would they do it when he was home? Why not when he was at work?”

  “That’s also the very thing that has me puzzled. They might’ve needed him to give them the combination. There was no sign of a struggle but perhaps they had a gun pointed at him the whole time.”

  If that was right, that meant Mr. Welch wouldn’t have told them about the hidden section. If the Welches were smart, they would’ve had professional replicas made which they kept in the top section of the safe. That was her best scenario. She was getting more excited by the minute. “That is awful if that’s what happened.”

  “Unless they took a risk and did it at night hoping he’d be asleep. Access was gained through the conservatory door.” When they got to a window he pointed at a smaller house. “That’s where the servants live. A manservant and a maid, married to each other.”

  “Ah. Convenient. Maybe they had to break in when Mr. Welch was home because the security system would be turned off. Maybe they got someone to give him sleeping tablets, but they didn’t work, and he interrupted them.”

  “We’ll have to wait to see what the autopsy tells us and see what fingerprints the team has been able to lift. They have also taken all the food and alcohol out of the house for testing.”

  “Good move. Very thorough.”

  “Thank you. Feel free to keep having a look around, but I’ll have to follow you.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to slip any silverware into my pocket.”

  He smiled at her. “All the same…”

  “Tell me about the security system and their security measures.”

  As they walked, he talked, not knowing there was anything left in the house to steal.

  Now Gretel was focused on what might be hidden in the safe. With this new opportunity, she was no longer so concerned about Ryan Castle and his disappearance from the hospital.

  Chapter 5

  As soon as she got back to her apartment, she opened one of her disposable cell phones and lay down on her couch, propping her feet up on cushions.

  “Kent, it’s me.”

  “Hi there.”

  She gave him the address of the Welch mansion. “Have a look at the security system. I’ve been there today and I’m going back there tonight. Also, Jack Fletcher, my new boss tells me Ryan Castle has vanished from the hospital. He’s on the move—find him.”

  “You sure about this?”

  Kent rarely questioned her about anything. “Sure about which part?”

  “You’re going back there for what exactly?”

  She blew out a deep breath. She’d told him the previous day she was going straight, helping the FBI. “It’s the perfect crime, Kent. I can’t pass it up.” She filled him in about the murder, the absent wife and staff, and the hidden section in the safe. “You see, they won’t think I’ve stolen something if they’re convinced it’s already been stolen by someone else.” When he was silent, she asked, “Well, would they?”

  “I guess not. Hey, do whatever you want. Keeps me in a job.” She heard the keys on his computer clicking. He then gave her information on the security system at the Welch house.

  “Perfect. That’s what I figured.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Disable the security system, without it going to back-up power.”

  “While also making it look like everything’s working perfectly.”

  “Exactly,” Gretel agreed. “If you can.”

  “Ouch! What do you mean, 'If I can?' Of course I can. You need a driver?”

  “No. I’ll be in and out of there with no problem at all. I don’t need you for this.”

  “All the same, perhaps I should come with you?”

  “No.” She didn’t want to complicate something that was going to be simple. Kent’s time was better served finding Ryan.

  “Don’t take any risks and good luck. I’ll have it disabled between eight and eleven.”

  “That’s perfect.”

  “Please have a phone on you and I’ll be on standby all night just in case. Call me when it’s done.”

  “Sure. Don’t worry. This will be easy breezy.”

  “Haven’t you always said never to be over confident?”

  “I know, and that’s true. I’m not over confident. I just have a positive attitude
about it.”

  “Okay. Be sure to call me when you’re finished so I don’t stay awake all night worrying.”

  “Will do.”

  It would’ve been foolish to take her own car. She needed a rental car for the job and for that, she needed one of her fake IDs. A driver’s license should do the trick. She went to her study and pulled out a fake one from a secret compartment in her desk. Then she emailed Kent, gave him the fake name and got him to book her a rental car. He’d email her the details.

  When she’d been arrested, her apartment had been searched but they hadn’t found any of her goodies that she’d cleverly hidden throughout. She headed to the couch, flipped open her laptop computer and got into the dark web so her searches couldn’t be traced, and typed in the Welches' home address. Up came a map and after she’d studied it in relation to the streets and the houses nearby, she chose a point of entry—through the conservatory. The same way as the people who did the first robbery. That meant she’d have to scale that large fence she’d seen at the back of the property, entering and exiting through a neighbor’s backyard. She just hoped the neighbors didn’t have a vicious dog.

  Her email beeped. She clicked it open. Kent had booked the car.

  She slipped into black stretchy pants and a T-shirt and pulled on joggers. She swept her hair up into a ponytail, hoping that if anyone saw her, they’d think she was going to the gym. She took out a large bag and placed her tools of the trade inside it—her headband flashlight, knife kit, and implements to open locks—all rolled up in a towel to add to the gym illusion, along with two pairs of gloves tucked alongside and out of sight. Lastly, an untraceable and disposable phone for emergencies, and a black hooded pullover.

  She then left her main cell phone at home, slipped out of the apartment and changed taxis enough times to ensure she wasn’t followed before she arrived at the place Kent had booked the rental car.