Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) (21 page)
Read Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) Online
Authors: Leighann Dobbs
“I hear you went above and beyond the call of duty to get that,” Max’s voice said. “Gideon tells me that crazy killer, Darkstone, did all this to lure you to him.”
“Yep, but I took care of him
and
got the ruby,” Kate said. “Have a seat and I’ll hold it up closer so you can see it’s the real deal.”
Kate felt her cheeks turn red as she watched the crotch on the computer screen move. Max’s crotch. It was nice and all, but she really wanted to see the rest of him. She held her breath, waiting for his face to come on the screen.
Instead, she saw a tanned arm lightly dotted with dark hair and wearing a Rolex watch.
“I wish I could stay and talk, but I have a meeting.” Max moved away from the computer and Kate saw a view of the lab again. “I just came down to keep Gideon company as he was frantic with worry. But now that you’re okay, I must tend to business. We’ll catch up when you get back.”
“Right, of course,” Kate said hiding her disappointment.
Ka Boom!
The explosion, even as far away as it was, rocked the boat and Kate had to hold on to the table to keep from falling over.
“What the devil was that?” Max’s voice again, laced with concern.
Kate looked behind her. In the distance, she could see Blue Crow Island … or what was left of it. The top of the volcano had been blown clear off and there was a cloud of debris above it. Glowing red lava poured down the sides toward the island below. Kate shuddered—even if Darkstone had somehow survived the fall, he certainly couldn’t have survived
that
.
“That,” she said, “was the end of Blue Crow Island … and Damien Darkstone.”
“Let’s see.” Gideon’s eager face filled the screen and Kate turned her computer so that the camera could capture the island.
“I must commend you on a job well done,” Max said. “You killed a violent criminal, captured his henchmen and escaped an exploding island, all to bring the Millennia Ruby back home to the museum.”
Kate’s heart surged as she basked in the glow of Max’s praise.
“Thanks,” she said. Then, so as not to appear too full of herself, she shrugged and added. “It’s all in a day’s work.”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” Max replied. “I was afraid you might ask for a raise.”
Two days later, Kate stood on the steps of the FBI building after a grueling six-hour interview where she’d told the same story about what happened in the volcano with Darkstone over and over again to several different agents.
“I guess you guys really want to make sure Darkstone’s dead, huh?” Kate said to Ace, who had escorted her out of the building and was now standing on the steps beside her.
Ace shrugged. “We never recovered a body.”
“You expected a body? The man was incinerated.”
Ace laughed. “I know, but you know how the bureau likes to cross its t’s and dot its i’s.”
“There’s just one thing,” Kate said. “How did you know so much about the ruby theft?”
Ace smiled. “We’re the FBI. We have our ways.”
Kate’s thoughts drifted to the man she’d thought looked familiar at the hotel—Westlake. “You had someone inside the ice hotel, didn’t you?”
Ace shrugged.
“Wait a minute.” Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you planning on stealing the ruby from there too?”
Ace shook his head. “No. Of course not. It was never about the ruby anyway, Kate. It was always about keeping you safe.”
Kate stared into his eyes. He seemed sincere, but she didn’t know if she believed him.
Finally, she broke eye contact and glanced down the street. Max had said he was going to pick her up in his Ferrari Testerosa and take her to
Clio,
one of the best French restaurants in Boston, to celebrate the return of the Millennia Ruby.
“So anyway, I was hoping we could bury the hatchet and you’d let me buy you a burger and a beer,” Ace said.
Kate whipped her head back in his direction. She had to admit he looked kind of cute standing there with his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet on the ground. He seemed nervous about her answer and for some reason that tugged at her heart.
Did he really want to be friends again … or was this just a ruse to get close to her so he could get information on the next case?
“Well, I …” Kate stammered. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She was finally going to get to see what Max looked like.
And
he was going to pick her up in a Ferrari and take her to a fancy restaurant. Surely, that was more appealing than a burger and beer with Ace Mason.
She glanced back down the street, then back at Ace. He had a boyish, hopeful look on his face that made him very appealing. She bit her bottom lip and saw something flash in the depths of his gray eyes.
Her stomach flip-flopped like a teenager, but her heart didn’t follow. She wasn’t ready to forgive Ace Mason yet. She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready.
Looking down the street again, she saw the red Ferrari turn the corner.
“Sorry, Ace. Max is coming to pick me up.” She nodded toward the car that was pulling to the curb, its dark windows making it impossible to see inside. She ran around to the passenger side.
“Oh.” Ace’s face hardened. “Well, maybe some other time then.”
“Sure.” Kate smiled over the hood of the car at him as she opened the passenger door. “Some other time.”
The smell of “new car” and leather tickled Kate’s nose as she slid into the buttery black leather seat. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation. She slowly turned her head and looked straight into the deep, brown eyes of … Mercedes LaChance.
“You?” What are you doing here?”
“Max had some business but he let us take the car,” Gideon said as he stuck his head in-between the two seats. Kate craned her neck to look behind her and noticed Gideon’s body uncomfortably wedged on the luggage shelf behind the front seats.
“And use the expense account.” Mercedes waved a credit card in Kate’s face as she pulled out into traffic.
“He said we could buy ourselves a great meal and maybe see a show,” Gideon added, “as a reward for our fine work in getting the ruby back.”
Kate cut her eyes over to Mercedes. “Well, I know what Gideon did and what I did, but what did
you
do?”
“Come on Kate, you know I keep everything running like a greased wheel,” Mercedes said.
Kate made a face. As far as she was concerned, Mercedes was more of a hindrance than a help.
“Yeah like getting these photos of Blue Crow Island.” Gideon shoved some photos between the seats. They showed an ash covered island with a big volcano sticking out of the middle.
“That’s what it looks like now?” Kate’s brow creased. All the lush vegetation was gone—covered with ash and rock.
“Yes.” Gideon pushed the glasses up on his nose. “It’s all rock now. Not one single Blue Crow survived—It’s such a shame the whole species is extinct.”
“You know this case was kind of weird,” Kate said. “It started with Crowder, ‘The Crow”, and ended with a bunch of weird crows on an island.”
“At least you got two good things out of it—you got rid of Darkstone, and you got the ruby back,” Gideon said.
“Yeah, all in all it came out pretty good,” Kate replied. She relaxed into her seat as Mercedes zigzagged through the traffic. It had worked out pretty good. Kate felt satisfied that she’d proven herself to Max and redeemed herself in the eyes of the FBI.
And
the fact that she’d never have to worry about Darkstone again was an added bonus.
Plop.
“Eww, what’s that?” Mercedes fumbled around on the steering wheel for the knob that worked the wipers.
Kate stared at the large white blob that had appeared on the windshield, her stomach growing uneasy as she realized it was bird poop. Something in the middle of the white blob caught her eye and she bolted up in her seat.
“Hey is that a bl—”
Mercedes found the wipers and they squeegeed across the window obliterating the bird poop and the bright blue downy feather that Kate
thought
she’d seen right smack in the middle of it.
“What?” Gideon asked.
“Nothing,” Kate said as she sank back into the seat pushing the image of the feather from her mind. Plenty of birds had bright blue feathers, didn’t they?
She’d been hoping for a night out with Max, but now it looked like she was going to get Mercedes, Gideon and bird poop. With a sigh, she glanced out at the shops and restaurants whizzing by. She’d make the best of it, relax and enjoy a night filled with fun and free of trouble.
That’s why Kate didn’t want to think about the feather or where it might have come from. She knew that would be inviting trouble to find her and, from her experience, trouble didn’t need an invitation—it always had a way of knowing exactly where she was.
The End.
Leighann Dobbs discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. When she’s not reading, gardening or selling antiques, she likes to write romance and cozy mystery novels and novelettes which are perfect for the busy person on the go.
Find out about her latest books and how to get discounts on them by signing up at:
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***
More Books By This Author:
Blackmoore Sisters
Paranormal Mystery Series
* * *
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Lexy Baker
Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
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Contemporary
Romance
* * *
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Dobbs “Fancytales”
Regency Romance Fairytales Series
* * *
I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
This is the first book in the Kate Diamond Adventure series and I have a whole bunch more planned!
If you like this adventure, you might like my Blackmoore Sister’s series. I have an excerpt from book One “
Dead Wrong
” at the end of this book.
This book has been through many edits with several people and even some software programs, but since nothing is infallible (even the software programs) you might catch a spelling error or mistake and, if you do, I sure would appreciate it if you let me know - you can contact me at
Oh, and I love to connect with my readers so please do visit me on facebook at
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Go to:
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Excerpt From Dead Wrong:
Morgan Blackmoore tapped her finger lightly on the counter, her mind barely registering the low buzz of voices behind her in the crowded coffee shop as she mentally prioritized the tasks that awaited her back at her own store.
“Here you go, one yerba mate tea and a vanilla latte.” Felicity rang up the purchase, as Morgan dug in the front pocket of her faded denim jeans for some cash which she traded for the two paper cups.
Inhaling the spicy aroma of the tea, she turned to leave, her long, silky black hair swinging behind her. Elbowing her way through the crowd, she headed toward the door. At this time of morning, the coffee shop was filled with locals and Morgan knew almost all of them well enough to exchange a quick greeting or nod.