Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) (2 page)

Kate pulled a tiny perfume vial from her bag and pulled out an old fashioned dauber, using it to dab a little perfume on the hollow of her throat.
 

“A little for me, and a little for you,” she bent over and brought the perfume dauber to his neck. Crowder grunted, his eyes drawn to her cleavage—he didn’t suspect a thing.

Kate pushed the end of the dauber and a tiny needle slid out. She pierced the skin on Crowder’s neck and pushed the bulb on the end injecting him with the liquid hidden inside the vial.

He jerked his eyes from her cleavage to her face, his brows forming in an angry V. “Hey what the—”

But Crowder didn’t finish the sentence. He was fast asleep.

***

Forty-five minutes later, Kate pulled one of the pillowcases off the king size pillow on the bed. She reached down and yanked at the bottom half of her gown, which pulled away to reveal black spandex pants she wore underneath.
 

Contorting her arms around to her back, she unzipped the top of the gown and slid it off. She flipped it inside out to reveal the black lining. Two pieces that had been tucked into her bra fell out—they were sewn on to the front of the bodice, then draped over her shoulders and attached to the back with eyehooks to form sleeves. She zipped the zipper on the front, transforming the top into a black vest.

Looking in the mirror, she grabbed the top of her hairdo and yanked. The platinum wig flew off and copper curls tumbled down around her face. She shoved the wig into the pillowcase along with the bottom of her dress and headed into the bathroom.
 

Squinting into the mirror, she jabbed her finger into her right eye and pulled out the lavender contact, then repeated the process for her left, blinking twice at her own amber eyes that stared back at her. She threw the contacts into the toilet and flushed.

A loud snore from the bed sent a jolt of adrenaline through her. Pivoting on her heels, she raced back into the bedroom.

Was Crowder waking up?

Kate checked the hotel room clock. No, it was too soon. Gideon said the dose in the vial would knock him out for at least five hours. She looked at the bed. Crowder was curled up, his face buried in one of the pillows. Fast asleep.

Even so, Kate didn’t want to linger. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off her shoe, snapping the temporary stiletto heel off to reveal a much lower kitten heel underneath. She did the same with her other shoe, then threw the heels into the pillowcase before turning her small purse inside out and pulling out straps that transformed it into a black fanny pack that secured around her waist. She slipped the perfume vial inside and took one last glance around the room to make sure everything was exactly as it had been when she arrived.

Everything was in place, right down to the computer she’d been on for the last forty-five minutes copying data. She cast one last glance at Crowder asleep on the bed. If what Gideon said about the serum she injected him with were true, he’d wake up sometime in the early morning with a whopping headache and no memory of what happened during the hours before he fell asleep. If they were lucky, he wouldn’t remember meeting her, much less taking her to his room. But even if he did, he’d never be able to connect the silver gowned platinum blonde to Kate.
 

Grabbing her USB drive from the computer table, she slipped it into her bra, blew Crowder a kiss, then peeked out into the hallway to make sure it was empty before slipping out the door with the full pillowcase in hand.

She hurried toward the north end of the hallway, where she knew from previous research that she’d find the trash chute. Pulling the metal lid open, she shoved the pillowcase down, then peeled off the long gloves and tossed them in after it. She closed the door using her elbow—she’d removed the gloves last for a reason, and it wouldn’t do to screw up and leave a fingerprint now.

She turned and walked back toward the elevator, tapping the button with her knuckle. Basking in the glow of self-satisfaction she always felt after a successfully completed job, she tugged on her platinum and cubic zirconia earring and whispered, “Mission accomplished … I have the data.”

A voice crackled in her ear. “Excellent. Bring it to home base.”

“Home base” was the twelfth floor of the Meridian building that housed the famous
Ritzholdt Museum
. Kate worked for the Ritzholdt … well, for the business that owned the Ritzholdt, along with dozens of other famous museums. She reported directly to the head honcho, Maximilian Forbes, whose office she was now making a beeline for.
 

As she raced down the corridor, hope swelled in her chest. Hope that the elusive CEO would actually be in his office. Surely, he would want to be here to see this important information in person. After all, what else would he be doing at one-thirty in the morning?

She skidded to a halt just inside his outer office, her eyes narrowing at the obstacle in her way—Mercedes LaChance, Forbes’ assistant.

“Is he in?” Kate peered around the petite brunette trying to get a glimpse into Forbes’ inner office.
 

“Mr. Forbes is busy.” Mercedes stood, hands on hips, blocking the thick oak doors that led to his office. “You can wait here,” she said gesturing to a contemporary white leather and chrome sofa that sat facing her desk.

Kate glared at the antagonistic assistant, cursing her bad luck that she would be here at this time of night.
 

Didn’t the girl have anything better to do?

“I have important information he’s expecting,” Kate said in her haughtiest tone.

Mercedes looked down her perfectly shaped nose at Kate, which was a feat in itself since Kate was a good foot taller.
 

“Yes, I know all about it,” Mercedes said. “Gideon is in there now … you will be shown in when Mr. Forbes is ready.” She gestured to the couch again.

Kate let out a sigh and flopped on the sofa, the leather creaking grudgingly as she sat. Despite working for Maximilian Forbes for almost a year, Kate had never actually
seen
the man. Not that she hadn’t tried. In fact, it had become kind of an obsession with her—she was dying to know if the man was as gorgeous as his voice sounded.
 

Kate had gotten most of her communication from Max over the phone, through email, text messages, Skype text chats and one time even by carrier pigeon. Just thinking about the deep, masculine timbre of his voice made her feel all tingly. And it didn’t hurt that he had a touch of an Irish accent … or was it English? Either way, the sound of his voice made Kate melt. She wondered if he’d have that effect on her in person. But something always came up whenever they were supposed to meet. Kate was beginning to wonder if Maximilian Forbes even existed.

The big oak door opened and Kate’s heart jumped—tonight might finally be the night. She leaped up from her seat, feeling slightly disappointed that the figure in the door was Gideon Crenshaw and not Max Forbes.
 

“Is he ready to see me?” Kate started toward the door.

“What?” Gideon glanced back into the office and Kate followed his gaze. Except for the large mahogany desk, matching filing cabinets and a Monet painting on the wall, the office was empty.

Kate’s hopes deflated. “Where is he?”

“Oh, Max?” Gideon took her elbow, steering her away from the office. “He had to run out but I told him about the great job you did and he said to tell you he’s very pleased.”

Kate stared at Gideon who was not only a co-worker but also a good friend. To say he was a geek was to put it mildly. He even looked the part with curly brown hair that often stuck out at odd angles from running his hands through it when figuring out complex calculations for some gadget or formula.
 

Kate glanced down at his sweater vest. Hadn’t she advised him not to wear those anymore? Then back up at round black-rimmed eyeglasses with such thick layers of glass his light green eyes appeared enormous. Gideon was responsible for all the cool gadgets Kate used on her “assignments” including the serum she’d given to Crowder as well as the perfume vial hypodermic she used to inject it. She loved the guy to pieces and didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but right now she wanted to catch a glimpse of Max.

“But he
was
in there with you,” she said peering back over her shoulder.
 

“Yeah. He took his private elevator down to the garage.” Gideon gave Kate a sympathetic look—he knew she’d been trying to catch a glimpse of Forbes since she came to work there. “You’ll never catch up with him. Besides you might not want him to see you in that outfit …”

Kate looked down at the skimpy black vest and tight spandex pants she’d forgotten she was wearing. As the head insurance investigator for the Ritzholdt, she usually wore something more business-like in the office. Tonight, she hadn’t had much choice. The pants were the only things that would fit undetected under the gown and Gideon had designed the top of the gown to turn into the vest. She’d been too excited about getting the information from Crowder’s computer to change before coming here. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Max had to run off.

Kate puffed out her cheeks and turned back around. “Right. Well, I guess there’s plenty of time for me to talk to him later,” she said glancing sideways at Mercedes who was now sitting behind her desk with a smug look on her face.

She fished the USB drive out of her bra as she followed Gideon out into the hall.

“I was able to get all the data from the computer,” she said holding out the tiny device.

“Great.” Gideon snatched the drive from her hand and hit the button for the elevator. “So, the serum and hypodermic worked, then?”

“Like a champ.” Kate followed Gideon into the elevator and watched him press the button for the basement. “He’s probably still sleeping.”

“Excellent.” Gideon held the USB drive up to his eye. “Now let’s see if this baby can tell us just what Julian Crowder plans to do with the world’s largest ruby.”

***

The world’s largest ruby crystal, otherwise known as “The Millennia Ruby”, had been stolen from the
Ritzholdt Museum
several weeks earlier. Which was no easy task considering it weighed almost nine pounds and was the size of Kate’s hand.
 

The crystal was reputed to be the largest raw ruby crystal ever dug out of a mine and had been donated to the museum by the mine owner, Xavier Badeau. In its raw form it was worth millions, but cut into individual stones it might be worth even more.
 

“Do you think Crowder will sell the ruby whole or have it cut?” Kate asked Gideon, who was huddled over his computer tapping furiously at the keys.

“I don’t know.” Gideon paused his tapping and squinted up at her, adjusting his glasses on his nose. “For a collector, I think the unique value would be in getting it whole. There’s not another one as large, even though it’s a raw unpolished crystal. Once it’s cut up, it loses a lot of the appeal, I think—I mean—anyone can buy a big ruby.”

“Sure, but the Millennia might yield a very large stone, or several, that could be more valuable cut and polished than the raw crystal,” Kate pointed out.

“Yeah, but these are collectors we’re talking about. They already have lots of money. What floats their boat is getting their hands on something that no one else has,” Gideon said turning back to the computer.

“Even if it means they have to keep it hidden away.” Kate sank down into a chair and slid it next to Gideon’s pet dachshund, Daisy, who was curled up in another chair. She absently stroked the dog’s silky fur. Gideon was the best at what he did and Max did whatever it would take to keep him happy—including letting him keep his dog in the lab. Of course, it worked in Max’s favor too; since Gideon didn’t have to leave the lab to tend to the dog, he could work more hours.
 

While Gideon focused his attention on the computer, Kate looked around the room. Hidden deep in the basement Gideon’s lab was gigantic, encompassing most of the entire floor. In the middle were long stainless steel tables, like the one Gideon’s computer sat on. Around the perimeter were glass windowed rooms—each one contained some strange tool or contraption that Gideon was developing. Some had the window shades open so you could see in, others were closed tight and Kate knew that’s where his top-secret developments were.

Kate stifled a yawn and sank further into her chair wondering how Gideon managed to stay so alert at this ungodly hour. She guessed it had something to do with the pile of Red Bull cans on the table beside him.

She contemplated going home to bed, but she
had
to know what Gideon found on the computer since the information would dictate her next move. Kate thought about what she might have to do to get the ruby back. Although she held the mundane title of “Insurance Investigator”, the actual mechanics of her job were much more exciting. She did what the police were often unable to do—got back items stolen from the museum by whatever means possible.
 

Sure, the police always
tried
to catch the thieves, but the truth was, one often had to react quickly and use unorthodox methods to catch thieves at their own game and the police weren’t known for doing either of these. Kate should know—she used to be in law enforcement.
 

But now, Kate loved working for the museum. She had an amazing amount of resources, the latest technology and, thanks to Gideon, innovative contraptions to help her do her job—things she never had when she worked for the FBI. Plus, Max trusted her and gave her free reign to do whatever it took to retrieve the items. Not only that, but her job often took her to exotic locations … and the generous expense account didn’t hurt either.

Of course, there
was
the little problem of operating outside the law at times. But Max’s money and resources had been able to get her out of any of the scrapes she’d gotten into and, since she was usually just retrieving items stolen from them in the first place, she wasn’t really doing anything
too
illegal—most of the time.