Stolen

Smiling, Jordan took a sip of soda water. But the whole time he felt his sister’s gaze, watching him closely.

Suspiciously.

THE PHONE WAS RINGING when Clea returned to her hotel room. Before she could answer it, the ringing stopped, but she knew it would start up again. Tony must be anxious. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. Eventually she would have to, of course, but first she needed a chance to recover from the night’s near catastrophe, a chance to figure out what she should do next. What Tony should do next.

She rooted around in her suitcase and found the miniature bottle of brandy she’d picked up on the airplane. She went into the bathroom, poured out a splash into a water glass and stood sipping the drink, staring dejectedly at her reflection in the mirror. In the car she’d managed to wipe away most of the camouflage paint, but there were still smudges of it on her temples and down one side of her nose. She turned on the faucet, wet a facecloth and scrubbed away the rest of the paint.

The phone was ringing again.

Carrying her glass, she went into the bedroom and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Clea?” said Tony. “What happened?”

She sank onto the bed. “I didn’t get it.”

“Did you get in the house?”

“Of course I got in!” Then, more softly, she said, “I was close. So close. I searched the downstairs, but it wasn’t there. I’d just gotten upstairs when I was rudely interrupted.”

“By Delancey?”

“No. By another burglar. Believe it or not.” She managed a tired laugh. “Delancey’s house seems to be quite the popular place to rob.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Tony asked a question that instantly chilled her. “Are you sure it was just a burglar? Are you sure it wasn’t one of Van Weldon’s men?”

At the mention of that name, Clea’s fingers froze around the glass of brandy. “No,” she murmured.

“It’s possible, isn’t it? They may have figured out what you’re up to. Now they’ll be after the Eye of Kashmir.”

“They couldn’t have followed me! I was so careful.”

“Clea, you don’t know these people—”

“The hell I don’t!” she retorted. “I know exactly who I’m dealing with!”

After a pause Tony said softly, “I’m sorry. Of course you know. You know better than anyone. But I’ve had my ear to the ground. I’ve been hearing things.”

“What things?”

“Van Weldon’s got friends in London. Friends in high places.”

“He has friends everywhere.”

“I’ve also heard…” Tony’s voice dropped. “They’ve upped the ante. You’re worth a million dollars to them, Clea. Dead.”

Her hands were shaking. She took a desperate gulp of brandy. At once her eyes watered, tears of rage and despair. She blinked them away.

“I think you should try the police again,” Tony said.

“I’m not repeating that mistake.”

“What’s the alternative? Running for the rest of your life?”

“The evidence is there. All I have to do is get my hands on it. Then they’ll have to believe me.”

“You can’t do it on your own, Clea!”

“I can do it. I’m sure I can.”

“Delancey will know someone’s broken in. Within twenty-four hours he’ll have his house burglarproof.”

“Then I’ll get in some other way.”

“How?”

“By walking in his front door. He has a weakness, you know. For women.”

Tony groaned. “Clea, no.”

“I can handle him.”

“You think you can—”

“I’m a big girl, Tony. I can deal with a man like Delancey.”

“This makes me sick. To think of you and…” He made a sound of disgust. “I’m going to the police.”

Firmly Clea set down her glass. “Tony,” she said. “There’s no other way. I have some breathing space now. A week, maybe more before Van Weldon figures out where I am. I have to make the most of it.”

“Delancey may not be so easy.”

“To him I’ll just be another dimwitted bimbo. A rich one, I think. That should get his attention.”

“And if he gives you too much attention?”

Clea paused. The thought of actually making love to that oily Guy Delancey was enough to nauseate her. With any luck, it would never get that far.

She’d see to it it never got that far.

“I’ll handle it,” she said. “You just keep your ear to the ground. Find out if anything else has come up for sale. And stay out of sight.”

After she’d hung up, Clea sat on the bed, thinking about the last time she’d seen Tony. It had been in Brussels. They’d both been happy, so very happy! Tony had had a brand-new wheelchair, a sporty edition, he called it, for upper-body athletes. He had just received a fabulous commission for the sale of four medieval tapestries to an Italian industrialist. Clea had been about to leave for Naples, to finalize the purchase. Together they had celebrated not just their good fortune but the fact they’d finally found their way out of the darkness of their youth. The darkness of their shared past. They’d laughed and drunk wine and talked about the men in her life, the women in his, and about the peculiar hazards of courting from a wheelchair. Then they’d parted.

What a difference a month made.

She reached for her glass and drained the last of the brandy. Then she went to her suitcase and dug around in her clothes until she found what she was looking for: the box of Miss Clairol. She stared at the model’s hair on the box, wondering if perhaps she should have chosen something more subtle. No, Guy Delancey wasn’t the type to go for subtle. Brazen was more his style.

And “cinnamon red” should do the trick. “I’VE CHECKED THE NAME Nimrod Associates,” said Richard. “There’s no such security firm. At least, not in England.”