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There’s the distinct sound of the front door shutting, jingling the bell again as it does. And then the lock slides into place.
When will I learn?
My heart starts up again, but it’s beating so loud in my ears I have to strain to hear what’s going on outside that door.
Footsteps. Slow, steady, and heavy. Not Leah.
Maybe it’s Caleb. He got my message and came to meet me.
But no matter how hard I try to convince myself of this, I can’t make my body move to find out.
My legs feel like jelly and I grab the counter to keep myself upright, dragging in a quiet breath before I pass out.
What do I do? This is why Caleb told me to stay in my hotel room. But stupid me thinks she can do anything she wants and not die at the hands of a British maniac. Curse him and his beguiling accent.
“Amelia?” The voice is muffled but without a doubt Liam. Not Caleb.
My stomach sinks and I go still. If I don’t breathe, don’t move, he won’t find me. It’s like playing hide and seek. Be one with my surroundings.
Except there’s nothing big enough to hide in. I glance desperately at the window. It’s too small, I might make it through. But I also might get stuck half in and half out. Either way, I’m a sitting duck on this deserted street.
All part of the plan. I hear his voice in my head.
And to think I trusted him. I should have listened to Caleb.
Caleb. He’s never going to find me in time. I have to save myself.
“Amelia.” The voice is closer, much too close.
I glance around the room, searching for weapons in the dim light. Shampoos, conditioner, dyes, bleach, aerosol.
I lock the jewelry box back in my locker and shut it as quietly as I can. But every little sound echoes through the room like a thunderclap.
Wait, that was a thunderclap. Perfect timing, Mother Nature. I’m sorry for ever doubting you.
I tuck the can of aerosol down my shirt. It’s a terrible hiding place but the best I have. I stick the tweezers between my fingers like claws and glance around once more.
A hairdryer? Will he confuse that as a gun in the dark? Only one way to find out.
I hold up the hair dryer and aim it at the door, just as it bursts open. Splintered pieces of the lock and door clatter to the ground.
“I thought I might find you here.”
Chapter 46
Caleb
Amelia might have been onto something. Ever since we got back to the bureau from talking to Matthias, I’ve been digging into her parents' past and travel history. Their last vacation lines up with the timeline for one of Liam’s thefts. But their trip before that also lines up with something else. They were in New York at the same time Scarlett Winthrop was killed.
I’m not stupid enough to call them suspects; they died in the end. But there was a reason Liam was tracking Amelia. Because he was tracking her parents before. Before the painting, before Italy.
The why remains a mystery. There’s no relation between the Winthrops and Amelia’s family that I can find. Or between the Hawthornes and Amelia’s family.
I pull up case file after case file on Scarlett’s death, looking for the connection. But I run into nothing except dead ends. I keep going until I hit the last file connected to Scarlett. It has nothing to do with her murder. It was for a theft three months before she passed. I click on it. Her apartment had been wiped clean of many valuable art pieces, but whoever had stolen them knew how to shut off the alarms. It was someone close to her. Another reason Liam was suspected of her murder.
I scan through the list and photos of each item. Then freeze.
A jewelry box. I click on the image. It’s the same box Amelia thought was her grandmother's. She had no clue it was stolen. By her parents? By Liam? How did her parents end up with it? Is that what Liam has been looking for the whole time? The reason he killed Scarlett?