janet maple 05 - it doesnt pay to be bad (24 page)

“Of course, Sir.” The butler stood back respectfully.

“Wait for us in the display room,” Daniel murmured to Tina, squeezing her hand.

“See you soon,” Tina said softly, feeling the jolt of electricity as she returned the pressure of his fingers with hers.

A few moments later, Tina was in the room that contained the display case for the Eternal Light. The same room where she and Daniel had their first dinner together during the extravagant visit to his mansion he’d sprung on her after their first meeting. But unlike then, this was real action and she couldn’t afford to blunder. For all intents and purposes, she was Daniel Garrett’s fiancée—an independently wealthy socialite with little else to do but to collect art and be completely devoted to Garrett. The successful outcome of the entire case depended on her playing her role just right, while keeping her vigilance the entire time. Should something go wrong, she had to be ready to act in a matter of seconds to neutralize any potential threat to Garrett. She knew if it came to it, no fancy gown was going to hinder her martial arts moves, and if worse came to worse, there was a gun strapped to her thigh.

She positioned herself to admire the display case, while still having a clear view of the door—an old instinct that was ingrained in her.

A few moments later, the door opened and Daniel appeared on the threshold. Instantly, Tina felt a warning feeling in her stomach. It took less than a fraction of a moment for her to tell from the slightly strained look on his face and the constraint in his stride that something was wrong. Strangely enough, all previous nervousness and misgivings fell away from her, and she felt cool and collected, ready for action. She smiled easily, her face a pleasant mask, as she inwardly geared up for action. Daniel entered the room, very closely followed by a young woman in a black off-shoulder gown whom Tina guessed to be Nicole Sheridan, Bassand’s closest associate. Behind them walked an immaculately dressed man looking to be in his fifties whom she instantly recognized as Bassand himself. After the three of them entered the room, Bassand closed the door behind them. There was no sign of Janet or Dennis, who were supposed to be accompanying Bassand and Nicole. Tina instantly knew that her initial haunch had been correct—something had gone terribly wrong.

“And you must be Christina. How lovely to meet you,” Bassand articulated every syllable in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

“Mr. Bassand, it is truly a delight to meet you.” Tina flashed him her brightest smile, her gaze traveling briefly to Daniel. Should she act now? She could see the warning in Daniel’s eyes, telling her to stand down, and a second later she spotted a glistening object in Nicole’s hand—she had a gun pressed into Daniel’s back.

Bassand intercepted Tina’s gaze and smiled like a cat that had just swallowed a canary. “I see you are a very perceptive young lady, so we might as well dispense with the pleasantries. If you’d be so kind as to open the safe for us and hand over the Eternal Light, we’ll be on our way.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Tina stammered to buy herself more time. “Daniel, darling, is this a joke? Are you planning to have a mock robbery during the gala to make it more exciting?”

Bassand laughed and clapped his hands theatrically. “A conclusion only someone born with a silver spoon in her mouth could come to.”

“Enough of this nonsense,” Nicole spoke up for the first time, cutting off her mentor, and Tina noticed her pushing the barrel of the gun into Daniel’s back. “Move it, or your fiancé here is going to get it,” she snarled, throwing Tina a menacing look.

“So this is for real? You have a real gun?” Tina faked her best squeal, looking helpless, as she inwardly assessed Nicole. If Nicole didn’t have a gun pressed into Daniel’s back, Tina could take her out with one hand, but that was a big if.

“Darling, please open the safe,” Daniel said weakly.

“Do as your fiancé says,” Bassand said soothingly, “he’s a smart man. And while this no doubt puts a dent into his charitable plans, I assure you, I will take very good care of Eternal Light. It has eluded me for far too long, and it is time it came to its intended owner.”

Suddenly, Tina had a plan—it was a risky plan, but she was going to give it a try nonetheless. Her hands deliberately shaky and her movements purposely clumsy and slow, Tina proceeded to open the Eternal Light display case. Carefully, she reached inside and took out the tray that contained the Eternal Light.

“Now hand it to me, dear,” Bassand instructed her.

She was about to hand him the tray that contained the diamond when her hands shook deliberately yet again and she dropped it on the floor. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered, already planning her next move.

“It’s all right, dear. I understand,” Bassand said in an almost kindly tone. “These things can be stressful.”

“Armand, don’t! It could be a trap—” Nicole cried out, taking her attention off Daniel for a split second, as Bassand bent down for the diamond.

This was exactly the move Tina had been counting on—in a flash she had her gun out and pointed it at Bassand. “Drop your gun, or your mentor gets it,” Tina said in a steely tone to Nicole. But Daniel beat her to it—taking advantage of the momentary confusion, in a series of quick, well-practiced hand combat moves, he turned on Nicole and knocked the gun out of her hand, kicking it to the far corner of the room.

“FBI. You’re under arrest.” The man Tina thought to be Daniel Garrett was pointing his gun at Nicole Sheridan. “Nice work, partner.” He winked at Tina.

“We have to call for backup,” she managed to say. Now was not the time to mention the fact that the man she thought she knew had turned out to be a liar, even if his lies were justified.

“I think backup is already on the way.” He jerked his head at the door.

Just then there was a sound of boots storming down the hallway—it had to be the FBI backup.

“I told you we couldn’t trust those two weasels, Bassand,” Nicole seethed. “I bet they had us followed since the Monet—”

“Shut up, you fool,” Bassand snapped. “You’re giving them evidence.”

“Oh, trust me, we have more than enough evidence to put you both away for a very long time,” said the man Tina had known as Daniel Garrett. Now that the case was over, she realized that she didn’t know anything about him except for the fact that he was with the FBI.

Just then the door was swung open and the FBI troops filled the room, followed by Agent Norris. The armed agents quickly cuffed Bassand and Nicole.

“Nice work, Agent Connelly,” he addressed the man Tina had known as Daniel Garrett up until a few minutes ago.

Agent Connelly
, she thought, her head still spinning after everything that just transpired,
his name is Agent Connelly
.

“We’ll take it from here,” Agent Norris added with an air of authority that Agent Connelly clearly disliked.

“Now that we’ve got everything under control, I think you can handle the rest,” Connelly agreed.

“Excuse me a moment.” Agent Norris stepped away to instruct the FBI agents to take the apprehended prisoners to the transport van waiting for them outside.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Nicole attempted to wrestle free as she was being escorted out of the room. “We have your friends—if you ever want to see them—”

“Shut up, you dumb cow!” Bassand exploded. “I have no idea what she’s talking about,” he added in a very polite tone, checking himself. “I believe this lady is not in the right state of mind from all this excitement. This is all very confusing. I was invited to this party by who I thought was Mr. Garrett. I was about to admire the Eternal Light diamond, and the next thing I know I’m being arrested. I need to speak to my lawyer. I’m an old man and I’ve been having memory lapses. I’m starting to feel very confused here.”

Agent Norris cracked a quick smile at Bassand’s theatrical performance—the man was a con artist through and through. “Rest assured, Mr. Bassand all the protocols will be followed and you will have ample opportunity to consult with your lawyer.”

“I understand.” Bassand held up his hands theatrically. “Whatever this is, I’m going to cooperate until we get to the truth of this,” he added mournfully.

“I’m sure he’s not going to like the truth of it,” Agent Norris said with a wink once Bassand and Nicole were escorted out of the room.

“What was it Nicole said about our friends?” Tina asked worriedly. “Did she mean Janet and Dennis?”

“Don’t worry—they are both fine. We have them. Bassand and Nicole thought they might cheat them out of Eternal Light, so they had Leonard tie them up in Bassand’s soundproof room in his townhouse. Good thing Leonard really valued his immunity deal. The minute Bassand and Nicole left, he cooperated and let Janet and Dennis loose. They’re waiting for you outside.”

“Good.” Tina breathed with relief.

“Excellent work, both of you,” Agent Norris praised them.

“Tina was great—I could’ve never done it without her,” said Agent Connelly, looking straight at Agent Norris to avoid eye contact with Tina.

“We heard everything through the receiver.” Agent Norris pointed at the necklace on Tina’s neck. “It was Connelly’s idea, and I gotta give to him—it worked out great.” He paused. “I apologize for the whole Daniel Garrett charade, but we thought you’d act more naturally if you didn’t know that Connelly here was an FBI agent—”

“Special Agent Brad Connelly,” Connelly cut in.

“Special Agent,” Norris conceded. “We also wanted to protect Connelly’s identity and that of Garrett’s.”

“So there is a real Daniel Garrett?” Tina asked, trying to do her best to maintain a neutral expression when all she wanted to do was to slap Special Agent Brad Connelly across his smug face, hard. All that flirting and romancing he’d carried on with, making a complete fool of her the entire time. The very nerve of him! She was just dying to use one of her martial arts maneuvers on the bastard—the thought of getting him into a headlock sounded heavenly.

Agent Norris nodded. “Of course there is—the famous Internet entrepreneur—all the information the bureau supplied about him was accurate. Garrett even happens to look a lot like Connelly here, which is one of the main reasons Connelly was assigned to this case.”

“That and my skills,” Connelly cut in sharply.

Agent Norris coughed, rocking back on his heels. “That too. Anyways, Garrett has been most generous in assisting us with this investigation. This mansion belongs to Daniel Garrett and there was going to be a real gala, which of course now we’ll have to cancel. I have my secretary taking care of it now. We anticipate lots of ticked off celebrities and rich people. Hopefully it’ll drum up the auction price, as Garrett really does plan to give the proceeds to charity.”

“And the Eternal Light?” Tina asked.

“It’s real.” Agent Norris nodded. “Not this particular version though,” he added, stooping to pick up the huge diamond from the floor that Bassand had been so eager to get his hands on.

“It’s not?” Tina asked, amazed. “It looks so real.”

“We used the latest technology to make a very realistic copy. The same technology was used to make the necklace you have on—looks like real diamonds and sapphires, doesn’t it? By the way, I’m going to need that back—the transmitter is very valuable, not to mention the stones. Even though they’re artificially created, the process is still very costly.”

“Couldn’t it wait till later?” Connelly barked at Norris as Tina began to undo the necklace clasp.

“Here you go.” She smiled pleasantly as she handed Agent Norris the necklace. “I have no use for it now that the case is over, Agent Connelly, but thank you for your consideration.” Her voice was as sweet as pie as her eyes met Connelly’s and he looked away, embarrassed.

“Well, it looks like my work here is done,” Tina said smoothly. “I’ll be happy to assist you in any way I can, should you need any information from me.”

“Thank you, Tina.” Agent Norris shook her hand.

“It’s been great working with you.” Agent Connelly stuck out his hand awkwardly. “Sorry for not telling you, but as Agent Norris explained it was outside of my authority—”

“No need to apologize, Agent Connelly.” Tina smiled brightly. “This was a very important case, and I’m glad I could be a part of it. Good day, gentlemen.”

“I’ll walk you out,” said Agent Norris.

As if in a fog, Tina followed Agent Norris down the same hallways that Agent Connelly had walked beside her, holding her hand just a few hours ago. It had all turned out to be a game of pretense, although for a good cause. She’d gotten her first taste of undercover work and she was going to be much wiser for it. And as far as she was concerned, Agent Brad Connelly could go to hell with his apologies.

“We’d best use the back entrance,” said Agent Norris. “My secretary is dealing with cancelled gala conundrum up front.”

A few moments later they reached the back door and he opened it for her. “Thank you for everything, Tina.” He shook her hand again. “And,” he paused, “Don’t be too hard on Connelly. Sometimes he just can’t help himself. I see your friends are waiting for you,” he added, waving at Janet and Dennis who were just outside the door.

“I know just the type.” Tina smiled. “It was great working with you, Agent Norris. Goodbye now.”

“Tina! We were so worried!”

Tina smiled at the sight of her co-worker, Janet Maple, rushing toward her. A moment later they were hugging each other in excitement and relief, as Dennis stood by.

“Come here, Dennis,” Janet urged him. “Group hug!”

Looking a little embarrassed, Dennis joined in.

“I’m fine, but what happened to you guys?” Tina asked once they were done hugging. “Agent Norris told me the basics, but I want to find out everything from you. He said something about Leonard tying you up? How did that happen?”

“It wasn’t as simple as that,” Dennis was quick to explain. “Nicole pulled a gun on us.”

“She did, but thinking back we could’ve neutralized her,” Janet pointed out.

“It’s a long story,” Dennis began. “Can’t it wait till later?”

“We’ve got plenty of time.” Janet waved her hand in dismissal. “Let me just say that both Dennis and I could use a lot more of your self-defense training.”