Page 34 of Savannah Heat
Jenna, afraid they would attract too much attention, broke away, though it was hard to do. “Will you behave yourself? We are supposed to be catching a thief, not renewing our relationship for all the world to witness.”
“We’re talented, so I feel sure we can do both.” Dan grabbed her hand again. “I can’t stop touching you. What’s wrong with me?”
“Dan, seriously, this behavior is not helping,” Jenna whispered, as she turned away and left him standing on the balcony grinning. Back inside, Jenna checked in with Marta Roseland again, who seemed to be set on holding court in one location. A smart decision on her part. Jenna was liking Marta more and more every hour. At some point, the band picked up, and the music became livelier and louder with every set. Dan liked to joke about the Black-and-White Ball. He said it was a Southerner’s excuse to let their hair down and get kinky. She reminded him Southerners needed no excuse.
Jenna saw Dan making the rounds once again, looking for anyone or anything who might be a clue as to opportunities for the thief. As the night wore on, he seemed more reluctant to leave her alone too long and made it a point to search her out on a regular basis. He felt it, too—something was in the air, and something would happen. Jenna looked up to see Dan coming her way again. She leaned on the bar, wondering if she should try coffee. “Hey, I’m exhausted,” she whispered as he joined her at the bar.
“The waiting is always painfully nerve-racking and exhausting. But cheer up. something is bound to happen soon. There’s not a lot of time left,” Dan said.
“Well, if anything is happening tonight, let it happen soon. I must get back to the hotel and get my things out of there. Who knows what Brock will do? He was not so happy with me when we parted. If he gets back there before me and checks out, can I get back into the room? They will de-activate my key card.”
“Oh, I don’t think he is going anywhere any time soon.” Dan nodded to his left. “He seems well occupied.”
“Ah, he’s switched from Harper to Gail, I see. He does have a thing about long-legged women. Not sure what he saw in me.”
Dan handed her a bottle of sparkling water. “Your legs are perfect. As your old and new boyfriend, I have a duty to assure you of that. I am nothing if not truthful.”
“I hate those silly terms, boyfriend and girlfriend. I always feel like I’m sixteen again and worrying about being asked to the prom. It brings back odd memories, teen angst and insecurity, and the smell of pot behind the gym.”
Dan took her hand and laughed. “Yeah, I can understand that. Let’s go with a better word, let’s say lover until I can arrange something better. How is that?”
“Oh, hush. You’re distracting me from running out of here screaming, aren’t you?”
Dan let her hand go and nodded to his right. “Look, Harper is on the move.”
“You think she is the one, don’t you? Or at least one of the two or three, right?”
Dan’s gaze followed Harper as she moved across the room. “I have ruled no one out. She has a lot of the things an international thief would need. All the things we talked about before. She has money, time, connections, and a fuzzy history.”
“What about her fuzzy history? Did you hear more from Luc?”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you. Let’s find a better place to talk.” Dan steered Jenna out toward the balcony again and out of sight from others. “Yeah, it seems she has more than one name. The Harper Clavell we know is actually Diana Delmonte. She became Harper Clavell ten years ago when she started her current career. Along with accumulating large sums of wealth, sources unknown, she has homes in Paris and New York City. She has been seen around Milan at the fashion events, but Luc hasn’t found property there in her name—at least, not yet.”
Jenna could hear all the alarm bells ringing now. Harper was more than they counted on. “Why the name change? And where is she really from? And who is she?”
“Luc is still on that, along with trying to find out more about the Delmonte family. He’s waiting on Interpol and the FBI, but it’s not high on anyone’s list right now. All he can do is wait and call in a few favors. Harper has kept a much lower profile the past few years. No pictures in the magazine and no appearances at the fashion shows. That alone is a red flag. That means, to me, she is trying to blend in rather than stand out. That goes against type, so there is a reason.”
“Maybe she has been busy learning another set of skills.”
Before Dan could reply, they froze at the sound of an alarm that seemed to come from close by.
A group of security people ran past them and down the steps of the balcony that led to the lower level, and they sprinted across the lawn.
Dan pulled Jenna’s arm. “It’s the senator’s house; let’s go.”
“Wait, it might be a diversion.” Jenna looked back into the room to locate the senator and his wife. “They are leaving the Roselands here unguarded, Dan.”
Dan stopped and looked around. “You’re right. What’s wrong with them? His personal security should be there. He must have ordered them to go.”
They made their way over to Senator and Marta Roseland, who, considering the circumstances, were calm. Jenna was much relieved to see his senate-assigned bodyguard was still there. The senator and the bodyguard were both on their phones and speaking rapidly.
“Do you know what’s going on yet?” Dan asked the senator as he ended his call.
“Something triggered the alarm is all we know at the moment. I should get an update soon. Security asked us to stay here.”
Jenna looked around and didn’t see any other security other than the one personal bodyguard. “What about security here for you and the guests—how many security people are left here?”
The senator’s face went pale as he looked from Jenna to Dan. “You think it’s a ruse, don’t you?”