Page 19

“Let go,” commanded Cass. The door shut with a light click and I winced, wondering if I’d been so hasty I forgot to close the door when I’d entered. Had she been just outside, listening to us rummaging through her property, waiting for the right moment to strike?

Probably.

“No way,” I replied, clinging onto the band as hard as I could while her fingers twisted around mine. When her other hand joined the fight, I knew I was going to lose the struggle. There was no way I could hang onto something so delicate. Unless… I reached for my purse with my free hand, feeling inside, my fingers wrapping around what I was looking for. “Look down,” I said.

“Just give it to… oh.” The struggling ceased and she stiffened, holding still.

“Let go or I’ll shoot,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt as the barrel of my gun nudged Cass’s ribs, “and I won’t miss.”

She let go.

“Now back up. Against the door. Put your hands up.” I took a few steps forwards and turned quickly, keeping my gun trained on Cass. She’d thrown a hoodie over her shirt; the hood was up and she wore a black ball cap but there was no mistaking her. Nor her audacity in returning to the place she’d already escaped from. Except Cass hadn’t left and she clearly had no choice. We’d lured her out effectively and once she’d taken us on a wild goose chase, she had no choice but to circle back and retrieve the ring. For all her forward planning, she’d made a stupid mistake that I intended to capitalize on.

“It seems I underestimated you,” said Cass, her gaze taking in my bruise as she put her hands up.

“You’ve only known me for a matter of minutes,” I said, including the first brief encounter in my calculation, after waiting for an apology that never came.

“You’ve known me for a few seconds,” said Lily. “Did you underestimate me too?”

“Who are you?” Cass asked, sparing Lily a brief glance before she fixed her gaze on me.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Rude.”

“Meet Sally Smith,” I said. “Or Cass Temple. Or are you using another name today?”

“Does it matter? We’re wasting time.”

“I have all the time in the world,” I said.

“I don’t,” said Lily. “I’m paying for childcare. Let’s wrap this up so I don’t get a fine.”

“She has a point,” I said, holding up the ring. “I’m working this case and my clients want this ring back. I don’t want to add extra days to their bill if I don’t need to.”

“Then we have a problem because that ring is mine,” said Cass. “Give it to me and I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Not the arrangement I have with my client,” I pointed out.

Her gaze darted to the bed where the paperwork lay, obviously rifled through. “You read everything?” she asked.

“We did,” I said.

She gave me a disgusted look. “And you still want to keep the ring and give it back to your clients?”

I hesitated. “My clients didn’t do anything wrong. The fault lies with the sellers.”

“But your clients will benefit from the sale. Are they the type of people who want to benefit from the Nazis’ crimes?”

My resolve wavered. “I would hope not,” I said, unsure of the answer. The Reynoldses didn’t seem like those kinds of people, but it wasn’t a question I’d directly asked because I hadn’t needed to until the case began unraveling. Now that I thought about it, was I benefiting by taking payment for recovering the ring? The idea was so icky, I was tempted to turn the ring over on the spot. But it wasn’t my call… or was it? Plus, the vague outline of a plan was whirring in my mind. A plan that would solve everything. A plan that didn’t include Cass Temple.

“Then let me have the ring. I can return it to the rightful owners. Tell your clients you couldn’t locate it and they should file a claim for the insurance money. Everyone is happy,” Cass said, her tone lighter now, gentler, imploring me to do the right thing… according to her. She lowered her arms a fraction. When I didn’t react, she lowered them some more so her elbows were at her sides, her fingers still splayed.

“I like that plan,” said Lily. “We should do that.”

“I have a better idea,” I said, my brainstorm becoming clearer. Could it really be so simple? An answer that would make everyone happy?

Well, maybe not Maddox.

“I’m listening.”

“But first you have to tell me why the Feds are after you.”

“Simple. I steal stuff and they want to catch me,” said Cass, the familiar glint back in her eye. “And I don’t want that to happen. The latter anyway. I’m cool with the former.”

“Stating the obvious,” said Lily. “Who are you really? If you want a deal, you should own up to who you truly are!”

“Who’s the henchman?” asked Cass, nodding to Lily.

“Hench lady , thank you. I’m the one with the cellphone about to call Special Agent Maddox and Special Agent Farid,” said Lily. She waggled her phone.

“Long name,” quipped Cass and I held back a smile. I was not going to like her! She was causing me problems, professionally, ethically, and probably personally. I had to deal with her quickly and efficiently and not engage in jokes. This was not a girl gang day out.

“Before you make that call,” I said to Lily, as she poised her finger over the phone screen. “I want you both to hear my plan.”

“Hurry up. If she sticks around any longer, she’ll go after our engagement rings too.”

Cass raised an eyebrow. “Yours is particularly pretty,” she said to Lily.

Lily beamed. “Thank you! Do you want to hear the proposal story?”

“Never mind that,” I said before Lily launched into it and Cass ending up stealing my BFF. “Here’s what I think should happen.” I explained my plan while Cass and Lily listened.

When I finished, Cass smiled. “I like it,” she said, “but we just need a little, teeny-weeny addendum to the plan.”

I frowned. My plan wasn’t flawless but I wasn’t sure what I’d missed. “Go ahead.”

“I need your help getting out of here. I’ve escaped the Feds once today and I know they’re still around, poking inside my decoy rooms, the steam coming from their ears. I need to make sure they don’t get in my way when I get out of here. Can you do that?”

Maddox would be so pissed when he found out.

“I can do that,” I agreed, wondering how I could keep this story from ever reaching Maddox’s ears. Perhaps I could ensure the future through sheer willpower.

“Maddox is going to be pissed,” said Lily, the voice of doom behind me.

“When isn’t he?” Cass and I both spoke at once.

“ Interesting ,” said Lily, edging forwards to stand at the foot of the bed, looking between us.

“We’ll distract Maddox,” I said, becoming even more curious as to exactly how well Cass knew Maddox. Ever since I first met her, only a couple of weeks ago, and saw the way they looked at each other, I had the sneaking suspicion their relationship wasn’t strictly professional. But were they professionally friendly in their cat and mouse game? Or were they…? I gulped. Did this woman mean something far more to Maddox? Not that I didn’t know he dated, and I was sure there were girlfriends here and there, but I’d never come face-to-face with one of his romantic interests.

Was that what I was doing now?

Even worse, was I about to help her and potentially screw him over at the same time? No, it couldn’t be the case. If they were more than professional rivals, then they wouldn’t be engaged in these kinds of games, surely? There was too much at stake. Not just Maddox’s integrity but his career too. FBI agents climbing the ladder didn’t hook up with wily thieves.

It didn’t make sense.

Even if I asked, I doubted she would tell me… and I was not going to ask. Although that was partly because I suspected she wouldn’t tell me the truth.

“Do you want your stuff?” I asked, indicating the backpack and its contents.

“I’ll take the bag with the clothes, the cash, and the passports. Keep the paperwork for your clients. I have copies,” said Cass.

“I’ll pack for you,” said Lily, scooting over to the bed and shoving her things into the bag. She held up a roll of bills. “Is this all real?”

“Very,” said Cass, a small smile on her lips.

“And your skincare routine?”

“Lily!” I snapped.

“She has really good skin!” said Lily. “Seriously though, is this moisturizer…”

“Highly recommend it,” said Cass.

“We’re tracking the rental car and Maddox probably is too,” I told her, wanting, no, needing , to get us back on track.

“It’s a rental. I have no problem abandoning it. I would have already but I had limited options and figured someone around here would steal it here sooner or later.”

“Usually it would have been gone in ten minutes. Rough luck.”

“Noted. I’ll set it on fire next time,” she said without a hint of amusement that told me she meant it.

“Where can we take you?” I asked.

“Nowhere,” said Cass. “I need a distraction, not a ride. Just make sure the Feds are distracted for the next few minutes and I’ll get out of here. So long as the ring makes it to its rightful owners, you won’t see me again. Make sure they know I sent you. I’ll be watching.”

“Literally?” asked Lily. “Isn’t that risky?”

“No, it’s figurative,” snorted Cass. “I’ll find out but I’m not going to stalk either of you in person. Plus, if you don’t deliver it, I know where the ring will go back to and then I’ll just take it again.”

Lily tossed the bag at Cass’s feet and sidled over to me. “How’s that for successfully extracting her backup plan?”

“Brilliant,” I said, dryly. “I wouldn’t have guessed that was what she’d do.”

“You’re welcome! And there’s no way she can stalk me. She doesn’t even know my name.”

“Okay, Lily,” said Cass.

“Damn it!” squeaked Lily.

“I said it a minute or two ago,” I said. “She doesn’t know anything else.”

“Okay,” snorted Cass, and my determination faltered. I couldn’t be sure of anything with her.

“How are we supposed to tell anyone anything without your name?” asked Lily. “I’m pretty sure they don’t call you Sally Smith or Cass Temple.”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t know me by any name,” said Cass. “So you won’t need to give one. All you have to do is give them the ring and that doesn’t have to be in person. I have a locker set up for the transfer if you need it. The information is in the packet.”

“What will you do now?” I wondered.

“With the ring repatriated, my work here is done. I’m leaving town. You won’t see me again unless you screw up. In which case, well… you know what happens.”

“How do you know we won’t just give it back to the Reynoldses?” asked Lily. “I doubt they’d let it get stolen twice.”

“Because I think you both have a conscience and you know where that ring rightfully belongs. Before it even crosses your minds, you won’t find any links between me and the clients either. Even this meeting is hearsay,” said Cass. She rolled her shoulders, all pretense at keeping her hands up gone. “Please don’t prove me wrong. I hate it when clients do that. It ruins my week and my billing.”

“I still need to run my idea past my clients. How do I get in touch with you?” I asked.

Cass paused a long moment, then said, “I’ll give you an email address. For the record, it’s untraceable so don’t even try, and if you email for anything other than the ring, I’ll ignore it. You have forty-eight hours to turn over the ring, then I’ll consider our arrangement reneged on. Deal?”

“Deal,” I said.

Cass turned and tweaked the drapes, checking outside the room. Apparently satisfied, she picked up the bag Lily had packed and said, “Now help me get out of here, please.”

“I need to check where Maddox is,” I said, tucking the ring into the pouch before putting it into my jeans pocket. I still held the gun, uncertain if she would make any fast moves. Although I thought we’d reached a deal, she was a thief so she could be a liar too, and I wasn’t taking any chances until she’d disappeared. Then I’d explain everything to the Reynoldses and hope they would take my recommended course of action.

“Do it.”

I pulled out my phone and called Maddox. He answered quickly with a “What?”

“Are you still at the motel?” I asked.

“Yeah. The rooms are totally clean. It’s clearly a decoy that she never even slept in. I’m heading to reception to find out if she has another room number. Where are you?”

“Just hanging out, waiting,” I lied. “She hasn’t gone back to her car.” Which was true.

“I doubt she will now. I’ll get it towed. Meet me at the reception desk.”

“Give me a couple minutes.” I hung up and waited as I held up a forefinger to Cass, silently instructing her to wait. She pulled the drapes closed and I hovered by the door, my eye on the peephole. Less than a couple minutes later, the room dark and silent, Maddox and Farid walked past. I counted to sixty before I opened the door and cautiously stuck my head out, my gun hand behind my back. The two men weren’t in sight and the reception door was closing. “They’re in reception now but they’ll find this room,” I said. “You should clear out now.”

“Consider me gone. Nice to work with you, Lexi,” Cass said as I pulled the door open, wide enough to walk through, and stepped out of the way. Cass paused at the door, then surprised me by leaning in and hugging me. “Don’t make me come back,” she whispered ominously.

I stepped out, shaking off the weird, overly friendly moment, followed by Cass, and then Lily. Lily, with the packet of photocopies in her hand, pulled the door behind her and it locked automatically. I tucked my gun in my purse and zipped it, turning to check Maddox and Farid weren’t about to burst through the door but it remained closed. Turning back, I started to tell Cass she was good to go but she was already rapidly walking away, her hood pulled up, the bag over her shoulder. She rounded the corner of the motel, heading away from her decoy rooms, and a moment later was lost from sight. I wondered what she would do without her vehicle but I figured she probably now had a backup plan for that too, even if it were walking and changing her clothes as she went. Undoubtedly, there was another bag stashed somewhere easy to collect and a passage out of town. Where she went from here would be something I would think about for months to come.

“If you were a criminal, you could be living her life,” said Lily as we stood outside the room, watching the empty courtyard. “Although she was wearing sneakers and I don’t see you spending your life in sneakers even if you are wearing a cute pair today. Or hoodies. Or old lady blouses. Or putting that sticky, disguise stuff all over your face,” she added, waving a hand over her face.

“If the last couple of days are any hint of what her life is like, no thank you.” I turned to Lily, something bothering me.

“What’s up?” asked Lily.

I shook my head, uncertain I could put a finger on it. I had the ring, Cass was gone, and I had all the evidence I needed to show to my clients, plus, a great plan to save the day.

I should be feeling great.

But… something still niggled me.

“Let’s go,” I said. “I need to present this case to Solomon and then to the Reynoldses, and put some distance between us and the Feds because I feel guilty.”

“We still need to get past them,” said Lily, nodding to Maddox who ducked back inside after motioning to us. Then Farid stepped out of the reception, looking around. He saw us and waved, leaving us no choice but to stroll towards him.

“Say nothing,” I said through a false smile and gritted teeth.

“The receptionist recognized Temple’s photo,” Farid said to us, clearly pleased. “Maddox is getting the room number now. She said two women were here asking about her car so I guess that had to be you two.”

“It was,” said Lily. “You should have tried that.”

“That’s what I said!” grinned Farid and they high-fived.

When we stepped inside, the receptionist was tapping on her keyboard. Then she handed him a keycard and told him the number of the room we’d just vacated.

“Where did you go?” asked Maddox when he walked over to us.

“I was looking for Lily before we scouted around looking for the thief, but didn’t find her,” I lied. “I gave up.”

“She’s in the wind,” added Lily, waving her hand through the air.

Maddox narrowed his eyes. “It’s not like you to give up so fast.”

“I’ve learned not to waste my time. She could be anywhere by now.” Which was true. I shifted my feet uncomfortably, wishing I were telling him the whole truth but I’d made a deal to help my clients and everyone else involved. I couldn’t break it now.

“It’s true,” said Farid. “Cass Temple’s one slippery customer. If you spot her, you can’t close your eyes for a second or she’ll be gone and the trail will go cold for months.”

“Is that how long you’ve been tracking her?” I asked.

Maddox indicated we should step outside and the four of us formed a circle outside the side door. The more we lingered, the further Cass got away, and my stomach clenched with the discomfort of not revealing the truth. “Longer,” he said, “but it’s classified.”

“Who is Cass Temple really? Is that an alias too?” asked Lily.

“That’s her real name,” said Maddox. “I know that for a fact but she has access to plenty of other identities so it’s useless trying to trace her by that one. But we have her room number now and with any luck, she’ll have left her kit behind and holed up nearby until she can reclaim it. Farid and I will search her room and then hang around. I’m sorry if that doesn’t help your case.”

“Understood,” I said. “I guess we’d better let you get to it. Gotta go! Take care!”

Maddox stepped in my way. “What’s the hurry?” he asked, suspicion lacing his words as his brows knitted together and his eyes narrowed.

“No hurry. I just learned when to cut my losses.” I edged around him and he took two more steps, stopping me. I tried the other direction and he made the same maneuver. It could have been a fun dance, except I wanted to get out of there before he forced a confession from me. Not that he needed to force it out. It was ready to spill from my lips.

“You’ve never known when to cut your losses. What are you really up to?”

“I’ve been summoned to the agency. Can’t keep my clients waiting!”

“Why are you so keen to get out of here?”

“Because we lost Cass Temple and I need to brief my clients on the case.”

“What do you have to tell them?”

“That we know who the thief is and, um…”

“And that you guys scared her off!” Lily jumped in with an accusatory prod of her finger in Maddox’s chest. Then she poked Farid’s. “You too,” she added. “Didn’t want to leave you out.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” said Farid. “But…”

“We didn’t scare her off. She just evaded capture,” said Maddox. “She had this all set up in case her safe house was compromised and we tracked her here.”

“Duh,” said Lily.

“It’s been a rough couple of days,” I said. “We found her hideout and lost her again. I’m sure you’ll find her without us in the way.”

“There’s no telling when she’ll turn up again.” Maddox’s shoulders slumped and he lifted his gaze to scan the area, like Cass would be waiting on the next corner for him to spot her. “Maybe we’ll find something in her room. It’s right over here.” He pointed over my shoulder. “Right where you two just… no.” He stopped, paling, and when his gaze fell on me, I felt like shrinking. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t!” squeaked Lily and I at the same time.

“You. Did. Not!”

“Nope!” I said.

“Did you find her?”

“Does it look like we did?” I asked, spreading my hands.

“I’ll find out!”

“Sure, do that,” I said. Then I pointed and gasped. “Hey! Is that her?”

Maddox twisted his neck, half turning, falling for my plan.

I grabbed Lily’s hand and circled around him, then waved as we put distance between us. He shook his head and sighed, glanced back, then looked at us again. “You better not have helped her,” he called as we retreated.

“Would I?” I was jogging sideways, one eye on Maddox, one for obstacles.

“Damn it, Lexi!” Maddox shook his head sorrowfully. “I bet you fell for whatever sob story she gave you.”

“As if,” I said, then I waved and we turned, jogging for my car. “Do you still have the packet?” I asked Lily.

“Yeah, it’s halfway down my pants’ leg but it’s there.”

“Can you extract it?” I asked as I beeped my car unlocked.

“Of course. What if he’s right and it was a sob story?” Lily asked. She shook out her leg and the packet slipped to the ground. She grabbed it as we climbed in and passed it to me with a flourish. “This is one epic setup if it is.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have the ring.” I smiled at Lily across the car roof and patted my jeans pocket.

The smile began to slip.

I dipped two fingers inside my pocket, searching the small space, but already I knew there was no point.

How could I have been so stupid?

That was no grateful hug from a thief.

Instead, Cass Temple had ignored every step of my plan and deftly stolen the ring right out from my pocket.

And I’d let her go!