Page 23 of Savannah Heat
Dan’s text ping stopped her reply, and they stopped walking.
While he read, he held up a hand. “It’s Luc, and he thinks he can have the information for us about Harper in the morning. But one thing he turned up already. Her ex-boyfriend there in Paris accused her of stealing his Picasso. Sadly, never proven and never recovered. Seems she left Paris shortly after that big event.”
“Now, that’s interesting.”
Dan put the phone back in his pocket. “She might be our Red Cat, after all. She’s been in training all this time. I was right there as she traveled the world, making contacts with rich people and maybe setting them up as future targets. I never suspected anything. Boy, do I feel stupid.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Maybe you were overwhelmed by her beauty. Or to quote Brock, she was fascinating, and you were distracted. What do you do now?”
Dan ignored Jenna’s taunt. “Let’s go on down to that ice cream shop. Maybe that will put us both in a better mood, he said, taking her hand. “I want to talk to the senator and his wife. I want to get Mrs. Roseland to swap out her real necklace with a fake tomorrow night. I know she has one, because it was covered in an interview when he gave her the diamond for their anniversary.”
“Dan, they hardly know us. We are just names on some list. We will need someone to help us get a meeting. I do know their aide, Kerri Townsend. She does most of their press things. I think she trusts me. I’ve never done a hatchet job on her boss.”
“Excellent. I think they will listen since one of their guests’ necklace stolen right off her neck at one of their own parties. If your friend Kerri can get us a meeting, I think I can make them believers.”
Jenna nodded. “Maybe you can. I’ll give Kerri a call, explain things, and try to set up a meeting. I’ve already talked with Kerri about your years of working with your dad in the diamond and gem business. She also knows you’re an ex-policeman, and maybe will understand why you are worried about another attempt at the big event. She’s good at her job, and I’d bet she has already broached the subject of added security with the senator.”
Dan let go of Jenna’s hand and held the door open to the ice cream shop. “Why were you talking about me to Kerri?”
Jenna lowered her voice as she went to look at the ice cream selections. “She was running some names by me from her guest list to get some input. She knows I write about these people and their connections all the time. When we talked about press coverage, and my angle for my articles in the magazine, she recalled you and I were somehow connected but couldn’t recall why. So, I was just honest with her about things. Well, as honest as I could be.”
Dan looked at Jenna and grinned. “Okay, I guess we can start with Kerri and hope for the best. But with her recommendation, I’m sure we can get to the senator and his wife. You’d better come along for both meetings. If we put up a united front, I think it will go down better. They know you better than me. I’m still just a name on a vetted list of who might give them funds for re-election. Oh, that chocolate ripple thing looks good.”
Jenna placed her ice cream order for fudge ripple and turned back to Dan. “What are you saying to them about your suspicions?”
Dan shrugged as he reached for his order and paid for the ice cream. “I’ll tell them I became suspicious of Harper when I noticed she seemed to be in every place where a big jewelry heist was done. That started me wondering if their own necklace, which was in the news not long ago, might be the big attraction for the thief this weekend.”
“I guess they have nothing to lose by going along, but they will want their own security team on it, I am certain,” Jenna said as they went back outside.”
Dan nodded. “We’ll have to deal with that, but with an inside contact like Kerri, maybe we will know where the senator’s security team will be. That gives us an edge our thief won’t have.”
Jenna tried not to look skeptical. “I’ll call Kerri to see how soon we can get in to talk to the senator, or if he will even talk to us. We’ll hope for the best. Okay, yeah, this ice cream is putting me in a better mood.”
Chapter Eleven
Suddenly, for Jenna, this situation was all very real, and with it, the real possibility that they were in over their heads already. This was a long way from five years ago and what they did then. Though Dan was an ex-detective, he wasn’t one now.
Eyes narrowed, Dan held up his hand. “Let’s take a minute before you call her. Don’t give away too much information to Kerri, the details, I mean. I know she’s a friend, but let’s keep it simple. You can tell her you and I both have heard from our contacts in Europe a jewel thief is here, and the senator and his guests might be a target.”
“Well, there is not much more that I can tell her, is there?”
“Yeah, I guess not. Sorry, Jenna, I don’t mean to micromanage every move. I’m so convinced the thief is here I can practically smell him—or her.” Dan looked down at his phone again. “I’m waiting on any updates about who they are looking at for similar robberies in Europe. I want to know if there is anyone else besides Harper that we can put on our radar. Nothing yet.”
Jenna looked at him and smiled. “You don’t want to believe it’s Harper, do you? That you didn’t pick up on some things. That you were distracted by her beauty?”
“Yeah, yeah, have your fun. I’ll give you that, maybe I didn’t see her for what she was, but that was because I wasn’t that interested in her.”
Jenna laughed. “Okay, I’ll let it go. Can you stay for a few minutes more? I think we are out of sight here at the river.”
“Sure, I’ll hang around to see what Kerri can do. Do you know how to reach her?”
Jenna nodded. “Of course, I can call now; her number is in my phone.”
Dan pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call one other contact I thought about while you do that.”
Jenna got Kerri’s voicemail, so they were doomed to wait yet again. Dan had similar luck with his contact. They tried to think of other ways to attack the situation while waiting on Kerri and Dan’s friend to call back. They were both surprised it took less time than they thought. Jenna picked up her buzzing phone. “Okay it’s Kerri.” She listened, nodding, watching Dan pace.
Then Dan stopped an exhale as Jenna gave him the thumbs-up sign.