Page 22 of Savannah Heat

“I doubt Gail Wells would do that. She wants to be the one who gets the credit for catching you. Though how she plans to do that without help is a mystery. What are you thinking?”

Dan looked around, eyebrows raised. “I’d be willing to bet she has a local contact on the police force here now. Maybe someone working with her or someone not so kosher on her team. Or it could be a freelance private investigator. That’s just the way she works.”

Jenna stood, flexing her leg muscles, trying to head off a leg cramp. “It’s all so frustrating. She has everything on her side legally to intimidate you. I didn’t see anyone at the party who made me suspicious, did you?”

Dan shook his head. “Not really, but a thought occurred as I left the party last night, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you this morning. I wondered for a minute if it could be Harper.”

“What? Harper as the thief? Oh, Dan, you must be kidding. I can’t see it. Though…”

“I know, I know, at first look she doesn’t entirely fit the profile, but think about it. She is rich, she travels, she knows all the society people, and she has access everywhere. What could be more perfect?”

Jenna returned to the bench and sat. “With all of your contacts, can you check to see where she was at the time of the recent robberies in Europe?”

“I’ve sent Luc a text to see if he will do that since he has much better access than I do. But due to the time difference between here and Paris, it could be tomorrow before we hear back.”

Jenna shrugged. “But why would she do it? She seems to have everything. Why risk it? Or maybe she is one of those people who need more of everything.”

“Some people like the drama, the chaos, and the thrill, Jenna. It’s not like why we did it, to avenge my father and bring down Roget for all his illegal deals, and for causing my dad’s heart attack. The Red Cat might not have a reason beyond greed. Besides, we don’t know how and where Harper got the money that funds her jet-setting life, do we? And why is that—why is it so difficult to trace her background? That alone is a red flag.”

Jenna’s stomach did a flip-flop because she thought that he might be right, and more than that, in danger. “Dan, you might think I’m paranoid, but have you ever wondered if Roget’s accomplices might be somehow connected, too? It could be a way to reap the rewards and blame it all on you, us, as payback for Roget’s death. In fact, I worried about that for years. I was sure someone would come for revenge one day. It’s always been in the back of my mind.”

“It isn’t our fault Roget died in prison. He was guilty of the crimes he was there for. A jury convicted him. Once he was in prison, I didn’t think about it anymore. There were other things to deal with at the time.”

“Yes, I know, but I think it’s true just the same. Think about it. Yes, he died in prison, but it is our fault he was in prison. Does he have relatives around who still might want revenge? Do you know? I seem to recall a brother.”

“I think there was one older brother, but he was much older then and would be pushing seventy-five or so now. I can’t see it. Let us not forget Roget would not have been in prison were an innocent man, Jenna.”

“Are you being obtuse on purpose about this? Yes, I know he was a criminal, and you know it. But what difference would it make to a family member or friend wanting revenge? Ruling out his brother, are there any children or nieces or nephews?”

Dan reached for her hand. “You aren’t letting this theory go, are you? I guess that’s one more thing I’ll check with Luc about. But you might be right. Revenge is a powerful thing. Justice is only justice if you believe that it is.”

Jenna nodded her head, happy Dan was acknowledging what to her was obvious. “Another thing that is lodged in my head, I keep looking at Harper and wondering why she looks so familiar. It’s as if I should know her, but I can’t place her. Brock said she was asking questions about me and my family, but I thought those were girlfriend questions. But maybe it was about something more than that.

“Girlfriend questions?” Dan frowned.

“Yes, and don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. Maybe she was trying to figure out if I was your partner at some point. She wants to determine how much she really knew about you and your past. How much does she know, Dan?”

“Come on, let’s walk on down by the river. I’ve never told her about that part of my life, the part concerning you and me and what we did. I just don’t see how she could know about it. Though I did catch her rifling through my things in Paris one time. But I’m pretty careful about what I keep out in the open. Most everything important or sensitive is in a safe deposit box in Paris.”

Jenna allowed Dan to pull her up from the bench. “But if we can track her, then she can track you and us. She obviously has the means, and the more we learn, it seems she might have the connections, too. Maybe she did just that, target you, investigate you, and she has put it together somehow. You need to ask yourself how much you really know about her other than what she has told you.”

“When it comes down to real facts, you could be right. I don’t know that much. She was always coming and going and just wanted to have fun. She was not a talker. I guess I was never that interested, and when we were together we were always on some adventure, like skiing, sailing, climbing. She didn’t seem to have those kinds of interests.”

“Brock told me she speaks four languages, Dan.”

Dan shrugged. “So what? I only heard French and German, but there could be another, Italian maybe. She seemed to have a lot of Italian friends and references, now that I think about it. Yeah, okay, you’re right. That shows you how little that I, that we, really know about her. We need to remedy that as soon as possible.”

Jenna shook her head and stopped to watch a large boat come toward the harbor. “Brock also said she has street smarts. Not sure how he figured that out, but he referred to her depths of information, but said the information was about only certain things. Not sure what he meant by that, either, but apparently, he found her fascinating.”

“Are you jealous, Jenna?”

Jenna tried to laugh, but it came out as a snort as she began walking. “Hardly, even though she does have legs up to her chin.”

Dan laughed. “Well, this is new. You worried about a little competition. Since when?”

“Oh please, I don’t see her as competition. Geez, your ego is huge.”

He laughed again and touched her cheek. “I was referring to being jealous of Brock’s admiration for her. You have no competition, Jenna. Never did, never will.”