The Diamond Affair Page 9

  He returned to his list but he couldn't think straight. His body was all too aware of her. The way she moved about the kitchen, the way she tipped her head back to drain her glass, the way she had looked on that couch, flushed all over from their love-making.

  Crap.

  "Look," he said, because he had to say something. "Let me explain." But he was damned if he could think of the right words. He'd never been good at talking. Give him action over speeches any day.

  "Don't," she said. "There's no need. You're not interested beyond a bit of...fun. End of story. I don't want to talk about it any more."

  Perfect. Neither did he.

  He just wished she didn't look so miserable. Some of the light in her eyes had gone out and he hated that he was responsible for that.

  Ruby tried to eat her sandwich but it tasted like dirt. She felt like crying and shouting at the same time. Her plan had backfired. She'd tried to get him to talk about his feelings by using reverse psychology, but Jake obviously hadn't got the memo that stated men never did as they were told and he took her suggestion not to talk literally. So now she had to pretend everything was all right between them when her heart was crumbling into little pieces.

  After five minutes, the painful silence became too taught for her nerves and she had to break it. "Tell me what happened at Sinestri's office and about the accident. I got the feeling from Frankie that he caused it."

  Jake looked relieved that she'd said something that didn't involve feelings. "He was doing a little night research himself. We had an encounter at Sinestri's office."

  "Did you injure his hand?"

  He shrugged. "I should have done more damage because the sonofabitch could still drive. I couldn't out-run him."

  "He ran you off the road?"

  "No, he tried to shoot me. It was a little distracting and I didn't see the other car. No one else got injured thankfully."

  "Yeah," she said, feeling weak. "Thankfully." She breathed deeply to settle her racing heart.

  At least he was alive. It kind of put her concerns about where their relationship stood in perspective. She'd give him up a thousand times to ensure his safety.

  "What do you make of this?" He handed her a business card. "Read the back."

  She did. "An appointment with someone?" She shrugged. "Who?"

  "Recognize the handwriting?"

  She looked again. "It's the same as in Sonya's diary."

  He nodded. "I checked it against the diary. The slot for eight p.m. last night had Max's written against it. I think that must be her shorthand for Maxim's."

  "Why would they be meeting?"

  "If she stole the Florentine, she could be seeking his help to on-sell it. If he stole the diamond, he could be using it to lure her."

  "Lure her?" She frowned. "Oh." She got it. He meant into bed.

  "Or neither of them could have the diamond and they're just having an affair."

  She nodded, thoughtful. "Do you think Guy knows?"

  He tapped the notepad he'd been writing on with his pen. "I'm not sure but it would explain Frankie's presence at Sinestri's office. Beauvoir may have a suspicion and be trying to find out more by sending Frankie. They got lucky in that I happened to be there." He shook his head and stabbed the pad with the pen. "And I led them straight to you."

  "Don't blame yourself. If you do then I have to blame myself for nearly getting you killed."

  He nodded but she knew he wasn't convinced by that argument. "Tell me more about last night." He leaned forward over the table. "How'd you get away?"

  She gathered her plate and glass and placed them in the sink. She needed coffee before she got into the gory details. As to how much detail to tell Jake, she wasn't sure.

  As she put the pot of coffee back on to heat up, she decided she needed to tell him everything. If he was to do his job properly then every piece of information she could give him might be useful.

  And as far as she was concerned now, the sooner this was over, the better. She would go back to her normal life and Jake would go to Sydney. She didn't need a brooding man with relationship issues in her life. It might take some time, but she would get over him.

  She turned around, leaned back against the kitchen bench, and told him everything. About Frankie taking her to the cabin and Guy, about her hands being tied and the gun. And about Guy's preference for torture over death and Frankie's willingness to buck those orders.

  "Why do you think—?"

  She didn't get to complete the question because Jake rose, picked up the chair he'd been sitting on and threw it to the floor. It made a hell of a noise but didn't break.

  "Jake?"

  But he strode out of the kitchen and a few seconds later she heard a door open and bang shut. Well, that was quite a reaction.

  The coffee bubbled behind her and she switched the gas off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jake crossing the courtyard out the back of the house. Beyond that she could see a sweeping, formal garden and beyond that was the blue of the bay.

  She found the mugs in a high cupboard and got out two. She made his coffee the way he liked it, poured one for herself then followed him outside. She found him standing at the end of the garden, staring out across the water. He must have heard her approach but he didn't turn around, didn't acknowledge her.

  "It's hot out here," she said. When he didn't respond, she added, "I made you a coffee."

  Still he said nothing and she was about to turn inside, but decided against it. This was her drama, not his. And damn it, she was not putting up with his he-man protective attitude. She got it enough from Matt when he was home.

  "I got out of there," she said. "No damage done. So don't—"

  "Only because you got lucky." His voice was thick and rough.

  "Luck! Ha, luck had nothing to do with it. Matt used to make me do drills when I was a teenager. After our parents died, he wouldn't let me out of the house unless I could prove to him I could defend myself." She smiled at the memory. "I proved it to him all right. He got a black eye and his shoulder still gives him trouble."

  Jake's head half turned so that he was in profile. Despite the grim set of his mouth and the tension in his jaw she could see the crinkles around his eyes. "You took Matt out?"

  "Yes but I should admit he was taken by surprise. He was chatting to his girlfriend on the phone at the time."

  The crinkles deepened. "Doesn't matter. If the guys knew his little sister had taken him out, he'd never live it down."

  She handed him the coffee mug. "I wish I'd used those moves on Frankie at your apartment. Or at my workshop. But he took me by surprise, both times."

  "The element of surprise is the greatest weapon you can have in your arsenal."

  She nodded and swallowed a mouthful of coffee.

  "But I still should've been there." He swore and looked over her head to the house. "I should have bloody been there."

  She reached out and touched his arm. "Don't. No more blaming yourself, or I walk out that door and do this on my own."

  She thought he'd argue with her, swear perhaps, but he surprised her by laughing softly. "You think you'd be able to hide from me? I'm very good at finding people."

  She smiled, glad to see he still had a sense of humor. "So find the person who stole the Florentine." She squeezed his arm then let her hand drop. He'd made it clear where they stood. No point making a fool of herself again. "Let's go inside and talk about our next move."

  "Your next move is to do nothing," he said, walking alongside her. "My next move is to pay Sinestri a visit."

  ***

  Apparently Jake still felt worried about leaving Ruby on her own because it was easy to talk him into taking her along. She'd thought he'd argue and make up excuses but she'd only had to ask once and he'd given in. Maybe reminding him about the last time he'd left her alone wasn't a fair tactic, but she was done with fair fights. This game had turned dirty.

  They went to Sinestri's office first but it was closed up. How
had Jake broken in the night before? The office had more locks and alarms than a bank and yet none of them seemed shot up or damaged in any way.

  "Trade secret," he'd said when she asked.

  That was about the total of his conversation for the entire journey to Sinestri's home. He wouldn't tell her what he planned to ask the gem dealer either. All he would say on the subject was, "Don't speak to him, don't even look at him. I'll do all the interrogating."

  She agreed but didn't quite mean it. He might be the scary one with all the attitude and combat experience but she'd negotiated a few business deals in her life, and this one might require a deft touch. Jake didn't seem to know the meaning of deft.

  Harry Sinestri's house was on a slightly less grand scale than Beauvoir's in the suburb of Hawthorn. Built in a modern mock Georgian style, it was out of place in a street where the rest of the houses were at least a hundred years old.

  Jake had made her wear a hat and big sunglasses but even so, his gaze continuously scanned the quiet street. It wouldn't be out of the question for Fat Frankie to turn up there.

  As they waited for the doorbell to be answered, Ruby realized she knew nothing about Sinestri. She didn't even know if he was married. When the door opened and the man himself appeared, Jake ushered her inside, forcing Sinestri back against the wall.

  "Hey!" Sinestri recovered and drew himself up to his full height which was still considerably less than Jake's. "Who the—?"

  "Harry," Ruby said, removing her hat and glasses, "it's me."

  His eyes nearly exploded out of their sockets. "Ruby Jones!" He shook his head. "You're in big trouble, young lady. I hear Beauvoir is turning over every rock to find you."

  "Yeah," she said, "I heard that too. Hence the bodyguard." She nodded at Jake.

  Jake eyeballed her. She shrugged innocently and raised a questioning eyebrow.

  "Ruby doesn't have the diamond," Jake said. "She never did. If you get a visit from Beauvoir or his monkey you can tell them that."

  "Why would I get a visit from them?" Sinestri wiped a hand through the few strands of hair clinging to his head.

  "Because Frankie was at your office last night," Jake said.

  "Frankie! Well, fuck. I had a call from the cops. Apart from a shot-up computer and a bullet hole in the floor, there was nothing out of place. Not even the safe was touched." Sinestri frowned and sucked on the inside of his cheek as he considered the news. Then his frown deepened and he pinned Jake with a glare. "How do you know it was Frankie anyway?"

  "My bodyguard has special powers," Ruby said.

  Sinestri turned his glare onto her. "This isn't funny, young lady. Beauvoir is not a man you want to cross."

  "Do you see me laughing?"

  "We know how serious it is," Jake said. "That's why we're trying to find out who really has the diamond."

  Sinestri crossed his arms over his chest. "And you've come to me because...?"

  "Because you know a lot of people in this business," Jake said. "You have an ear to the underworld and—."

  "That's an unsubstantiated allegation."

  "And you might have heard something," Jake went on as if Sinestri hadn't spoken. "If you have any information, we want to hear it."

  Sinestri simply shrugged.

  "I'll pay you," Ruby said.

  "If I had information about someone who'd stolen the Florentine, you wouldn't have enough money to buy it. That sort of information is priceless because it would be my neck on the line if word got out I'd talked." He stretched his neck as if he could feel a cold, sharp blade against it. "Now, if you don't mind, I have better things to do than stand around talking to you." He opened the door.

  Jake pushed it closed again and stood between it and Sinestri, his arms crossed over his broad chest, looking every inch SAS. "You do not have anything better to do right now," he said. When Sinestri nodded nervously, he went on. "If you want us to leave, tell us one thing. Why did you meet Sonya Beauvoir last night?"

  CHAPTER 11

  Sinestri made a gurgling sound in the back of his throat. "Wh, what?"

  "It's a simple question, Mr. Sinestri," Jake said.

  "I, ah, well, that is..." His Adam's apple bobbed furiously. "Don't tell Beauvoir." He rubbed his balding head again. "Christ, you don't think that's why he sent Frankie round to my office do you?"

  "To find evidence of your liaison with his wife?" Jake shrugged. "I don't know. Does he have any other reason to search your office?"

  Sinestri was too busy pacing his hall rug to answer.

  "So was it a social meeting?" Ruby asked. "A business meeting? Or a mixture of both."

  Sinestri stopped pacing long enough for Ruby to see that he was sweating. Beads dripped off his shiny head down his temples into the collar of his crisp white shirt. "That," he said, "is none of your business. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do." When neither Jake nor Ruby moved, he said, "Look, I don't know anything about the Florentine except that Beauvoir is going to gain one dangerous enemy if he doesn't hand over the diamond to my buyer on Monday."

  Ruby put on her hat and glasses and turned to go. Jake still didn't move.

  "All right!" Sinestri shouted. "If I hear anything about it, I'll call you."

  Jake fished in his pocket and removed a black business card. He grabbed a pen from the nearby hall table and wrote Damien's cell number on the back. "Use this number." Sinestri went to take the card but Jake held it back. "And if I find out you know more than you're telling us, I'll make your life so miserable you'll think Beauvoir is a kitten in comparison."

  Since Sinestri seemed frozen and didn't move to take the card, Jake shoved it into the dealer's shirt pocket.

  Ruby and Jake left him and returned to the sedan. "Do you think he was telling the truth?" she asked.

  "I think he's now more scared of Beauvoir than he was before. He knows why Frankie was at his office last night, which means he's guilty of something, but whether that's theft of Beauvoir's diamond or his wife, I don't know."

  She pulled a face. "He's so slimy. I can't believe anyone would have an affair with him. Why risk it for that little creep?"

  "Maybe that's the whole point. Sonya's risking it because she wants to be caught."

  "She's a slut not an idiot."

  He shrugged and concentrated on the road. "It could be a way of getting attention from her husband. Some couples play that game with each other. Personally, I don't get it."

  "Me either." She shivered and hugged her arms. "I wouldn't want to play any kind of games with either Sinestri or Beauvoir. Both men are crazy."

  He glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. "You okay?"

  "Yeah. But I'll be better when this is all over."

  "You and me both," he muttered.

  Did he mean he wanted to be far away from her? Or did he mean he was worried about her? The man gave nothing away as he watched the road. It was like conversing with a brick wall.

  "Where to now?" she said.

  "Maxim's. It's not far."

  It took only a few minutes to drive to the restaurant situated on a busy Hawthorn shopping strip. The lunchtime diners had left and there were only a few waiting staff setting up the tables for dinner. One of them met Jake and Ruby at the door.

  "We're closed," he said with a tight smile.

  "We're not here to eat," Jake said. "We're here for information. Were you on duty last night?"

  The waiter blanched. "Why?"

  Jake reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and showed it to the waiter.

  "I'll just get the manager for you," he said and hurried away.

  Ruby lowered her sunglasses just enough to peer over them at Jake. "What was that?"

  "Trade secret. Works every time." He gave her a rueful smile. "And for future reference, if a cop ever flashes their badge at you, make sure you check it before speaking to them. Even if they're in uniform. Got it?"

  "Yes, Matt," she mocked
. Her brother had always given her lectures on how to stay safe when she went out, including the "always check the badge" one. It was actually his favorite.

  Jake ignored her.

  "Officer?" A middle-aged man with thick gray hair came up to them with a forced smile. He gave Ruby only a cursory glance before returning his full attention to Jake. Clearly she'd been pegged as the junior partner in this arrangement. She huffed out a breath and had to concede she was definitely the novice of the two.

  Jake introduced them both with fake names. He didn't produce his wallet again nor did the manager ask to see any ID. "You had two diners in here last night. Eight o'clock booking, probably in the name of Sinestri."

  The manager flipped back a page of the reservations book perched on the lectern near the front door. "Ah yes, they sat at the back." He nodded in the direction of a corner booth, away from windows and doors. Cozy. Secluded. "Is there a problem?"

  "No problem, I just want to ask you or the waiting staff some questions about the couple. Were you on duty last night?"

  "I was, and Zoe would have waited on them. That's her zone whenever she works." He clicked his fingers and a waitress looked up from one of the nearby tables. She approached on his signal. "Zoe, this police officer has some questions about the couple seated at table twenty-two last night."

  Jake had the girl confirm the diners' appearances. She described both Sinestri and Sonya right down to their haughty attitudes.

  "How did they seem?" he asked her. "Happy? Nervous?"

  "Nervous," Zoe said. "Definitely nervous. Especially the lady. She jumped whenever someone walked past."

  "Did they appear...friendly?"

  "To each other?" She shrugged too-thin shoulders. "I suppose."

  "What my colleague means," Ruby said, "is do you think they behaved like lovers?"

  "You mean did they kiss and fondle and stuff?" Zoe shrugged again. "A bit. Not too much. Not like full-on kissing or cuddling. Just a touch of their fingers sometimes."

  "A tender touch?" Ruby asked.

  Zoe shook her head. "I don't know, just a touch. You know, like this." She grabbed Jake's hand and covered his fingers for a few moments before releasing them. "That's all."