janet maple 05 - it doesnt pay to be bad (13 page)

“Was impossible to get to,” Janet corrected. “Everything has a price. These are tough economic times, even for the Saudis. The sheik sold the Eternal Light to Daniel Garrett and it is now on the United States’ soil.”

“The Daniel Garrett?” Bassand asked.

“The famously reclusive self-made billionaire is one of the few in this world who could afford the price tag,” Janet replied. “The Eternal Light is now part of Garrett’s collection. He is going to unveil his latest trophy with much pomp and circumstance at a gala in his mansion.”

“I’m listening.” Bassand’s face might have been a mask of calmness, but his hands betrayed a twitch of excitement.

“I can get us an invitation to the gala and I can arrange for a private viewing of the Eternal Light before the reception.” As she spoke, Janet noticed Bassand’s cold expression melt into one of admiration. Securing a private invitation to Garrett’s mansion was no small feat. “Garrett is quite the art connoisseur and your reputation precedes you, so he’d be very excited to meet you face to face. If you’re interested, we’ll need to act quickly. The reception is two weeks away.” Janet paused and waited for Bassand’s answer.

Bassand’s glance shifted briefly to Leonard who was cowering in his seat, looking ready to merge with the armchair he was sitting on. “I believe I’ve misjudged you after all, Leonard—there might still be hope for you yet,” he said magnanimously. Then Bassand’s eyes zeroed in on Janet. “You have my undivided attention.”

***

“How did you swing that one?” Leonard was gasping with excitement as he climbed into the car with Janet and Dennis.

Dennis quickly gave the driver the directions and the car took off. He then pressed the button to raise the glass partition between the driver and passenger seats.

“I thought Bassand was going to have us skinned alive, and here you’ve gone and turned him into a partner. That takes balls, my friends. I give you that,” Leonard prattled on.

“It takes research and preparation, Lenny. And last time I checked, we’re not your friends,” Dennis said sharply. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider people who break into my apartment to be my friends, ever.”

“Oh, excuse me for trying to lighten the mood a bit,” Leonard shot back. “For someone who hardly said a word in there, you sure have a lot to say. Janet was the one who did all the talking in there, so I’d like to hear it from her. How’d you find out about the diamond, Janet? And how did you know Bassand would be interested?”

“The bureau told us about the diamond,” Janet said simply. “It was Bassand’s first big job, more than twenty years ago. He crashed and burned badly. He almost got caught, but managed to get away. His crew, however, did go to jail for a long time. Based on Bassand’s psychological profile, Agent Norris believed that he’d take the bait and they were right—he’s got an ego the size of the Empire State Building. Then it was just the matter of feeding him the information correctly to seal the deal.”

“So you knew about it ahead of time?” Leonard sounded taken aback. “I thought you were improvising on the go.”

“Lenny, this is a federal investigation,” Dennis pointed out. “There’s no room for improvisation.”

“Dennis is right,” Janet confirmed. “The bureau supplied us with the necessary information to get Bassand to take the bait. We had a prepared script and we needed to execute it precisely.”

“But why was I left in the dark?” Leonard demanded. “I nearly had a heart attack in there! You could’ve given me a hint or something. I’d just aged ten years in there.”

“Information given to you is on the need-to-know basis,” Dennis said sharply. “And you didn’t need to know.”

“Says who?” Leonard demanded.

“Says the FBI,” Dennis slammed him down. “Perhaps you’d like to take it up with them. That and the conditions of your promised immunity from prosecution.”

“Says Mr. Authority who nearly blew the deal,” Leonard muttered, crossing his arms on his chest.

“What are you blabbering about?” Dennis demanded.

“You, my friend, need to work on your delivery. Bassand wasn’t buying it. I’m pretty sure he hates your guts.”

“Who asked your opinion?” Dennis bristled.

“It’s not my opinion—it’s a statement of the fact. Bassand doesn’t like you—you rub him the wrong way,” Leonard said testily. “I suggest you work on your attitude if you want this whole thing to work.”

“Gentlemen!” Janet raised her hands in a referee gesture. “Enough of this. Bassand tried to play us—to see if I’d chuck Dennis and go solo with him. It’s an old trick. We need to stay focused and we need to stick together. We’ve got a big job to pull off.”

“Yeah, that brings me to my next question,” Leonard pressed on. “What the heck are we going to do now that you got Bassand to take the bait? Can you really get access to the Eternal Light?”

“The bureau will instruct us on what to do next,” Janet said matter-of-factly. “They have a plan and we are helping them execute it.”

“Let me guess, it’s on the need-to-know basis?” Leonard sulked.

Dennis chuckled. “Exactly right, Lenny. You’re a quick study.”

Chapter 10

The next morning, Janet and Dennis had barely walked through the doors of Kirk & Associates when Anne informed them that Ham was already waiting for them in his office.

Dennis checked his watch. “It’s not even nine a.m. yet. Did he say what it’s about?”

Anne shook her head. “I have no idea. It seems the entire agency has been turned on its head with this new case you’re working on. Ham asked me to come in half an hour earlier until further notice—can’t say I’m thrilled about it, but I need this job.”

“Sorry to hear it, Anne.” Janet squeezed Anne’s shoulder. “We’d better not keep Ham waiting.”

Janet exchanged glances with Dennis as they headed straight for Ham’s office. They had quickly briefed Ham last night on their successful meeting with Bassand. What could’ve possibly happened since then to warrant Ham’s summons first thing in the morning?

The door to Ham’s office was open and he could see Janet and Dennis approaching while seated at his desk. “Come in, come in,” he called out excitedly.

“Good morning, Ham.” Dennis waited for Janet to walk inside and closed the door behind them.

“Good morning. Apologies for the rush, but I have urgent news. I spoke with Agent Norris this morning—the bureau is very pleased with your performance last night. They are ready to implement the next phase of the plan.”

“That’s great,” Janet said excitedly. “I have to say last night, it seemed touch and go for a while, but once we mentioned the diamond, it was all smooth sailing. Agent Norris was right—Bassand is still smarting from his failure all those years ago.”

Ham nodded. “Excellent work. Now, the next phase is to introduce Bassand to Garrett. The bureau has a meeting scheduled with Garrett today and your presence is requested there.”

“They actually got Garrett to work with them?” Dennis asked. “From what I know, this guy is a famous recluse.”

“That he is, but he also happens to be a great art lover. Garrett is the anonymous donor of the Monet painting that you so luckily purchased,” Ham explained. “When the bureau reached out for his help, he was only too glad to oblige.”

“I imagine he could use some excitement in his life,” Dennis quipped.

“You’ll have the opportunity to find out when you meet him today at the bureau’s offices at three p.m.,” Ham said.

“Great. I’m looking forward to it. Is there anything else? If not, I’ve got to get to my desk—I’m swamped.” Dennis moved to get up from his chair.

“Just one more thing.” Ham paused to clear his throat. “Given the complexity of this case, I’ve decided to add Tina to the staff.”

“Fine, sure.” Dennis nodded. “We could use an extra body to help out with the workload while we’re tied up on the Bassand case.”

“I’m putting Tina on the Bassand case,” Ham said firmly. “I discussed it with Agent Norris and he approved the idea.”

Dennis looked like he was about to have steam start coming out of his ears. “What? Why on earth would you suggest that? What value could she possibly add?”

“Garrett needs an escort for his meeting with Bassand. Apparently attractive agents trained in marital arts are a hot commodity at the bureau and they didn’t have anyone available on such short notice. Tina fits the bill, so she’s getting the job. Case closed,” Ham said firmly.

“She’s with the agency, what, not even a month? And already you’re giving her a high-profile case? For crying out loud, you’d have a better chance putting Laskin in her place.”

“Laskin in a wig and evening dress? I don’t think he’d pass for Garrett’s girlfriend.” Ham chuckled. “I knew you’d get upset, so I wanted to give you a heads up. You have until three p.m. to simmer down.”

“Thanks for ruining my day.” Dennis got up from his chair. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. Oh, sorry, I’ll be in the office I’m forced to share with Janet, if you need me.”

“Quit your complaining, Walker. You can share your office with Janet until we finish the Bassand case.”

“Until we finish the case?” Dennis asked. “You said we’d be moving to new offices at the end of the month.”

“I know what I said. But with the Bassand case being so high profile, we can’t afford the distraction of the move, so I postponed it by two months—it should be over by then.”

“At the rate things are going, it’ll be over sooner than that—the moment Bassand sees Tina with Garrett, he’ll know something is up,” Dennis grumbled.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Ham slammed his palm on his desk. “You’re supposed to all be working together and that means helping each other out. If Tina’s cover gets blown, I’m holding you personally accountable.”

“That’s not fair!” Dennis exclaimed, sounding like a five-year-old. “What am I supposed to do, babysit her?”

“I doubt that will be necessary,” Ham said dryly. “In fact, there are a few things you could learn from her. Sharing your experience, however, is part of the assignment—you’ve been in enough undercover operations to have valuable input.”

“Thank you for that. I’ll do my best. May I leave now?” Dennis asked. “I have a lot to do.  The three p.m. meeting doesn’t leave me much time to start training Tina.”

“Yes, you may leave now.” Ham nodded. “And no more sulking. Janet, talk some sense into him, will ya?”

“Not to worry, Ham. We’re all going to work as a team on this,” Janet said readily as she rose to leave.

“Thanks for having my back in there,” Dennis muttered once he and Janet were back in their office.

“Come on, you’re being ridiculous. If Ham thinks Tina should be on the case, who are we to object?” Janet countered.

“It’s all fine and dandy making decisions from a cushy office chair, but we’re the ones putting our necks on the line here—”

There was a knock and the door opened. “Am I interrupting?” Tina poked her head through the door.

“Not at all,” Janet assured her. “We were just going to start prepping for our meeting with Agent Norris. Ham told us you’ve been assigned to the case—we can all work together now.”

“Great.” Tina smiled nervously. “It’s my first big assignment. I’m going to take lots of notes.”

“Look, I don’t know what you did to get yourself on this case, but if you think it’s going to be a walk in the park, you’re mistaken,” Dennis growled. “Bassand is a dangerous criminal—it’s a serious investigation, not a thrill seeking adventure.”

Tina’s eyebrows knitted together in a furrowed line. “Look, I don’t know what it is that you have against me, but I’ve had it with your needling. I get it, you’re intimidated by a female who can kick your butt, but that doesn’t give you the license to push me around. I’ve won more martial arts tournaments than you can count on your fingers, I’ve taught self-defense classes, I’m equally good with a shotgun and a rifle, and I have my PI license. I’d say it’ll take a fraction of these credentials to pretend to be some playboy’s girlfriend. The real reason Ham wants me on the case is to have your backs.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dennis demanded.

“In case your cover gets blown, I’ll be there to protect you and Janet while the FBI gets there. That’s what it means, genius,” Tina snapped.

“Ham didn’t mention anything of the kind—I have no idea where you got this from,” Dennis retorted.

“Ham told me so himself. And I told him that I could do the job, which is what I’m going to do. Now, if you decide to grow up, you can join me in my office.” Tina turned on her heels and headed for the door, slamming it behind her.

“Happy now?” Janet asked, shaking her head. “Did you have to piss her off?”

“What? You’re on her side?”

“There are no sides! There’s only one side—ours. I just want to finish this case successfully and move on,” Janet said.

“So do I. We’ve been working our tails off, and he goes and puts Tina on a high-profile case just like that without even asking us? We’re the ones sticking our necks out here, and we’ll be the ones to pay if anything goes wrong. Ham could’ve at least given us the courtesy of asking what we think.”

“Tina’s fighting skills are way better than yours and mine combined.”

“No need to rub it in,” Dennis grumbled.

“Oh, please—would you stop being so vain? I, for one, will be happy to know she’ll be there to have our backs.”

“Well, if you put it that way—”

Janet rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s go—we have lots of work to do before our meeting at three.”

“Where are we going?” Dennis asked innocently.

“I thought it was obvious—to apologize to Tina and to get our act together. We want to be prepared for our three p.m. meeting with the FBI.”

Janet moved for the door, but Dennis lagged behind.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. “Are you coming?”

“I don’t see why you have to drag me in there,” Dennis grumbled. “I don’t have anything specific to discuss. Can’t we just cover everything that needs coverage at our three p.m. with Agent Norris?”

“No, we can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you were incredibly rude to Tina and because I’m not having us look like a bunch of unorganized amateurs to the bureau.”