Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) (12 page)

“Did you talk to Caleb Summers?” Gideon asked.

Kate plucked a napkin from the table and wiped the grease from her mouth. “No. I couldn’t find him. He seems to have disappeared.”

Gideon nodded as he swallowed a bite. “Not surprising … if he stole the ruby then he’d want to lay low.”

“Oh, he stole it all right.” Kate leaned over the box and picked out another piece—one with lots of pepperoni. “I found the disguise in his apartment.”

“You did?”
 

“Uh huh.”

“Well, that solves one mystery,” Gideon said.

“But brings up a few more.” Kate slid into one of the lab chairs and folded her pizza in half, then shoved a big section in her mouth.

“Like what?”

“Like where he is. Why he stole the ruby … and what he did with it,” Kate said. “I searched his entire apartment and it wasn’t there.”

Gideon shrugged. “He probably already handed it over to whoever he was stealing it for.”

“Yeah … probably Uncle Roger.”

“Uncle Roger?”

“At the Actors Studio, they said that Caleb’s Uncle Roger had come last week and Caleb seemed nervous about him.” Kate put her pizza crust down on the plate and wiped her hands. “I wonder if that’s who he stole it for.”

“Maybe, but how do we find out who Uncle Roger is?” Gideon asked.

Daisy had come over and was whimpering at Kate’s feet for a handout. She broke a tiny piece off the pizza crust and fed it to the dog while she thought about that.

“Do they have traffic cameras on Tremont Street?” she asked.

Gideon shrugged as he chewed.

“If they do, we might be able to see this Uncle Roger on the video … if we can tap into it.” Kate raised her brows at Gideon.

“I’ll see what I can do.” He finished off his piece of pizza. “In the meantime, I found out what was in the darts they were shooting at you.”

“Oh really? What was it, some sort of exotic poison that makes you die in agony?” Kate shivered just thinking about it.

“No. It was just a simple tranquilizer. Not even enough to kill you.”

Kate’s brows mashed together. “Really? That seems strange because they sure seemed like they were out to stop us.”

“Stop you … but not kill you,” Gideon said.

The computer on the next table blared forth with an old-fashioned telephone sound.
 

“Someone’s calling on Skype.” Gideon got up and ran over to it. “It’s Max.”

Kate’s eyes widened and she ran over to stand beside Gideon. She really wanted to see Max in person, but catching a glimpse of him on the computer screen was better than nothing.

“Hi Max,” Gideon said.

“Hello Gideon … and Kate, I’m glad to see you there, too.” Max’s voice flowed out of the computer smooth as a river of chocolate. But where was the video? Kate stared at the screen but all she could see was ceiling tiles.
 

“Max, I think something’s wrong with your camera, all I see is the ceiling,” Kate said.

“Yeah, this stupid thing … I can never aim it right,” Max said and Kate watched the camera move in dizzying arcs as Max tried to adjust it. “Anyway, I have some important information about the Millennia Ruby case that I wanted to tell both of you.”

That had Kate’s full attention.
 

“Yes?” she prompted.
 

“According to my sources, Crowder wasn’t in on the ruby switch. And he was quite surprised when he found his guard passed out the next morning.” Max laughed. “Geez Kate, what did you give that guy? I heard he was pretty big. You must have dosed him up with something pretty hard.”

Kate glanced at Gideon. “I did give him a double dose of Gideon’s knock out serum. I hope he’s okay …”

“He’s fine. Well, except he fell on his hand, which was exposed to the snow for a long time and he lost his pinkie to frostbite,” Max said. “I hear he’s pretty mad at Chyna Hunt … or her impostor.”

“So they know that wasn’t really Chyna, then?” Kate asked.

“Yep,” Max said as his camera focused on a yellow post it note on his desk. “Is the camera angle better?”

“I hope there’s no way for them to find out it was Kate.” Gideon’s brows dipped together. “I wouldn’t want her to be in danger. And the camera looks like it's pointing at your desk.”

“Oh don’t worry,” Max said. “They won’t find out it was Kate … but she still might be in danger.” The camera jerked back up to the ceiling again. “Better?”

“It’s pointing to the ceiling again. What do you mean I might still be in danger?” Kate glanced uneasily at Gideon.

“Crowder didn’t know the ruby was stolen until the next morning, which means he’s not the one who was chasing you,” Max said.

Kate felt a tingle of unease in her stomach. “So then, who
was
chasing me?”

“I don’t know who … or why.” Max’s voice turned grim. “There’s a lot here that doesn’t make sense. Why is someone going to so much trouble over the ruby crystal? I smell trouble and I’m thinking it might be best if we just left recovering the ruby to the FBI.”

Kate felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “You mean you want me to stop investigating?”
 

“It’s not that you’re not doing a good job, Kate,” Max said. “You’ve done great, but I don’t want to put you in danger. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt.”
 

Kate’s heart melted a little at Max’s concern but she
couldn’t
give up the hunt for the Millennia Ruby. For one thing, Kate Diamond wasn’t a quitter, and for another she had to prove to everyone—even herself—that she could get the job done.

“I appreciate your concern, but once I start a job, I like to finish it. So I’ll have to refuse your invitation to drop the investigation,” Kate said stiffly.
 

Max sighed. “I figured you’d say that. I guess your persistence is one of the reasons I hired you so I won’t force the issue. But I
do
want you to be extra careful, and if things get too dangerous, please back off.”

“Okay,” Kate agreed.

“And Gideon,” Max said. “Make sure you give Kate whatever she needs.”

The camera swiveled zooming in on Max’s tie.

“Of course,” Gideon answered. “The camera’s on your tie … move it up just a hair.”

“All right then,” Max said. “Let’s keep each other informed.”

“Right,” Kate and Gideon said at the same time. Kate held her breath as the camera panned up from Max’s tie. She saw his neck, a square-jawed chin with a bit of sexy stubble … and then the screen went blank as he signed off.

“Dammit!” Kate banged her fist on her thigh.

“I know, I hate to think you might be in trouble.” Gideon turned concerned eyes on her. “You should just give up on the ruby.”

“What? Oh, that. That’s not what I was upset about. I thought I was finally going to get to see what Max looked like.” Kate touched Gideon’s arm. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to get hurt. Don’t forget I was a trained FBI agent. And I am
not
giving up on finding the ruby.”

Kate smiled at Gideon, ignoring the niggling of doubt that was spreading in her chest. Max was right, there were some oddities about the case that were disconcerting, but she could handle it. Besides, finding the ruby
before
the FBI did would be worth any danger she would put herself in and she couldn’t wait to see the look on Ace Mason’s face when
she
was the one to bring the ruby back.

Kate didn’t have to wait long to see the look on Ace Mason’s face. Unfortunately, she wasn’t holding the ruby under his nose when she next saw him. In fact, she was at a distinct disadvantage—disheveled, un-showered and with no makeup—since the FBI had practically broken down her door first thing the next morning and demanded her presence downtown.
 

They were even kind enough to insist on following her car there, just to make sure she didn’t get lost.

Kate simmered with anger as she sat in the interrogation room. A dull beige room, it held only a plain metal table and four uncomfortable metal chairs. She’d sat at that table many times—except all the other times she’d been on the opposite side. Somehow, the room didn’t have the same appeal when
she
was the one about to be interrogated.

She glanced at the two-way mirror that made up the entire east wall and wondered who was on the other side. Probably someone she knew. She smiled and waved as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Which she didn’t, since she wasn’t guilty of anything.

The door swung open and Kate looked over, her heart twisting when she saw none other than Ace Mason step through. He was dressed casually. A gray thermal shirt with three buttons down the front clung to his muscular chest in a way that should have been against FBI dress code. His muscular thighs filled out the faded jeans as he walked on thick steel-toed work boots to the opposite side of the table from Kate.

He pulled out a chair and turned it around, then straddled it leaning his forearms on the back of the chair as he faced her.

“Kate, you look … good.” His voice was tinged with sarcasm and his gray eyes sparkled with mischief as he took in her appearance. Kate felt her cheeks grow warm. She silently cursed the FBI for pulling her in first thing in the morning without even letting her brush her hair.

“Just what is this about?” she asked in the haughtiest tone she could muster.

“What do you know about Caleb Summers?” Ace’s gray eyes drilled into hers and she fought to keep from looking away.

“Who? I don’t think I recognize the name.”

“Come on, Kate. We know you know him.” Ace kept staring and Kate squirmed in her seat, determined to hold his gaze so as not to end up the loser in the strange staring contest they were having.

“I swear … I’ve never met him.” It wasn’t exactly a lie since she’d never met him … at least not as Caleb Summers.

Ace sighed and stood. Kate felt a moment of triumph when his eyes left hers but that was short-lived. He was standing now, forcing her to look up at him, which, Kate realized, gave him a psychological advantage.

“Okay, I can see you’re going to make me do this the hard way.” Ace rubbed his hand through his short-cropped dark hair as he paced around on the other side of the table. Did Kate see tinges of gray at the temples? She certainly hoped so—the thought of Ace Mason going gray with stress and worry was somehow satisfying to her … even if the gray did make him look even more appealing.

Suddenly he stopped and pivoted to look at her. “I’ll give you one more chance, Kate. Tell me what you know or I’ll have to hold you as our prime suspect in his murder.”

Murder?
Kate struggled to remain calm.
Was he saying Caleb Summers was dead?
Kate felt deflated—Summers was her only lead in the theft of the ruby.

“Oh come on, Ace. You know I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Do I?” Ace asked. “We know very little about what you’re involved in since you left the bureau.”

“And anyway, you certainly can’t have any evidence because I didn’t do it,” Kate said realizing he must have been bluffing.

“Oh no?” Ace planted his palms on the table and leaned across it, his face heart-thumpingly close to Kate’s. “We have witnesses that say you were asking around about him. The pamphlet to his Actors Studio was found in your purse … and if
that’s
not enough, we lifted one of your fingerprints from his doorknob.”

Kate’s breath caught in her throat.
Dammit!

Ace smiled triumphantly at her reaction and straightened. “So, you
do
know him.”

Kate shook her head. “I never met him. His name came up as a lead in the Millennia Ruby case.”

Kate hated to give away any of her leads that might give the FBI an advantage on finding the ruby even though she was supposed to be working together with them. But they obviously already knew about Summers, which Kate found suspicious.

Ace’s left eyebrow lifted. “What were you doing at his apartment, then?”

“I went to talk to him, but he wasn’t home.” Kate’s mind raced—how had they found a fingerprint, she was sure she’d worn her gloves. Then she remembered the neighbor interrupting her as she picked the lock. She’d probably forgotten to wipe the doorknob. But the fingerprint on the outside of the knob wouldn’t place her inside the apartment.

“And you broke in,” Ace persisted.

Kate shifted uncomfortably in her chair under his unwavering gaze. She wasn’t very good at lying.
 

“I didn’t find anything,” she said in a small voice.

Ace came around to Kate’s side of the table and leaned his well-formed butt on the edge. “Tell me why you are so interested in Summers.”

Kate narrowed her eyes at Ace. “Why are
you
so interested?”

Kate saw Ace’s eyes grow soft and her heart crunched. He leaned toward her, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear and causing her pulse to take off like a horse in the Kentucky Derby. “Kate, there’s more going on here than I think you are aware of. Messing in this could be dangerous.”

Kate frowned at him.
 

What was he talking about?
 

“How did he die?” Kate asked.

“He was found floating in the Charles River.”
 

“Murdered?”

Ace shrugged. But of course they thought it was murder, why else would the FBI be interested? And since they seemed to know so much about it, Kate decided it was probably in her best interest to tell him what she knew—he’d find out soon enough from Mercedes since they were supposed to be sharing their information.

“We have reason to believe that he used a disguise to steal the Millennia Ruby from the person who stole it from the museum,” she said.

“And …” Ace prompted.

“That’s it. That’s all I know,” Kate said “Okay, well, I’m pretty sure it
was
him because I found the disguise in his apartment.”

“Why do you think he would do that?”

“I guess someone paid him … we found a large deposit in his bank account.”

Ace nodded. “We did too. But don’t you think that’s a little excessive for the ruby?”

“Well, now that you mention it, I do.” Kate studied Ace. “You know something more about the case, don’t you?”