Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) Read online

  “Oh come on, Ace. You know I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Do I?” Ace asked. “We know very little about what you’re involved in since you left the bureau.”

  “And anyway, you certainly can’t have any evidence because I didn’t do it,” Kate said realizing he must have been bluffing.

  “Oh no?” Ace planted his palms on the table and leaned across it, his face heart-thumpingly close to Kate’s. “We have witnesses that say you were asking around about him. The pamphlet to his Actors Studio was found in your purse … and if that’s not enough, we lifted one of your fingerprints from his doorknob.”

  Kate’s breath caught in her throat. Dammit!

  Ace smiled triumphantly at her reaction and straightened. “So, you do know him.”

  Kate shook her head. “I never met him. His name came up as a lead in the Millennia Ruby case.”

  Kate hated to give away any of her leads that might give the FBI an advantage on finding the ruby even though she was supposed to be working together with them. But they obviously already knew about Summers, which Kate found suspicious.

  Ace’s left eyebrow lifted. “What were you doing at his apartment, then?”

  “I went to talk to him, but he wasn’t home.” Kate’s mind raced—how had they found a fingerprint, she was sure she’d worn her gloves. Then she remembered the neighbor interrupting her as she picked the lock. She’d probably forgotten to wipe the doorknob. But the fingerprint on the outside of the knob wouldn’t place her inside the apartment.

  “And you broke in,” Ace persisted.

  Kate shifted uncomfortably in her chair under his unwavering gaze. She wasn’t very good at lying.

  “I didn’t find anything,” she said in a small voice.

  Ace came around to Kate’s side of the table and leaned his well-formed butt on the edge. “Tell me why you are so interested in Summers.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes at Ace. “Why are you so interested?”

  Kate saw Ace’s eyes grow soft and her heart crunched. He leaned toward her, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear and causing her pulse to take off like a horse in the Kentucky Derby. “Kate, there’s more going on here than I think you are aware of. Messing in this could be dangerous.”

  Kate frowned at him.

  What was he talking about?

  “How did he die?” Kate asked.

  “He was found floating in the Charles River.”

  “Murdered?”

  Ace shrugged. But of course they thought it was murder, why else would the FBI be interested? And since they seemed to know so much about it, Kate decided it was probably in her best interest to tell him what she knew—he’d find out soon enough from Mercedes since they were supposed to be sharing their information.

  “We have reason to believe that he used a disguise to steal the Millennia Ruby from the person who stole it from the museum,” she said.

  “And …” Ace prompted.

  “That’s it. That’s all I know,” Kate said “Okay, well, I’m pretty sure it was him because I found the disguise in his apartment.”

  “Why do you think he would do that?”

  “I guess someone paid him … we found a large deposit in his bank account.”

  Ace nodded. “We did too. But don’t you think that’s a little excessive for the ruby?”

  “Well, now that you mention it, I do.” Kate studied Ace. “You know something more about the case, don’t you?”

  Ace put his hand over Kate’s and she looked down at their two hands as hers started to tingle annoyingly underneath his. “I know that you should be careful. You may be into things that are way over your head.”

  Kate snapped her head back up to look at him.

  Did he just say “over her head”?

  For a minute there, Kate had been starting to warm to him again, but now she realized he was still a condescending jerk. Clearly, he thought she couldn’t handle getting the ruby back and whatever else was going on with the case.

  Well, if Detective Ace Mason hoped his warnings were going to get her to stop investigating, he could think again—she was more determined than ever to retrieve the ruby.

  Kate jerked her hand out from under his, and pushed herself up out of the chair, her eyes flashing with fury. “This interview is over. I have nothing more to say, so if you want to keep me here, you’re going to have to arrest me.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The FBI didn’t have anything to hold Kate on, so they had to let her go. After running home and grabbing a quick shower, she headed over to the museum and straight to Gideon with her suspicions of the real reason the FBI pulled her in.

  “I knew it!” Kate said as Gideon pulled the tracking device off the underside of her car. “That’s the oldest trick in the book. Did Ace Mason think I would fall for that?”

  “Do you really think they pulled you in just so they could put this on your car? They could probably do it while it was parked on the street at any time,” Gideon pointed out.

  “He did press me for information,” Kate said. “And tried to get me to back off.”

  “Why would he want you to back off?”

  Kate shrugged. “He said something about me being in over my head.”

  Gideon’s brows shot up. “I bet that went over well.”

  “Now I’m more determined than ever to get to the ruby before they do,” Kate said, then at Gideon’s quizzical look she added, “I mean it’s most important the museum gets the ruby back no matter what … but I just want it to be me that gets it.”

  “I understand. You don’t want Ace Mason to beat you out.”

  Kate’s gut clenched at the mention of the detective’s name. “It’s not just that …”

  Gideon held the tracking device up in his hand. “So you want me to destroy this so he can’t follow you around and steal all your leads?”

  Kate held out her hand, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “No, I have a better idea. If Ace Mason thinks he’s going to put a tracking device in my car so he can get me to do all the legwork, he’s going to be in for a little surprise.”

  Gideon raised a brow as he dropped the tiny device into Kate’s hand, but she didn’t elaborate on her plan.

  “So, now that your lead is dead, what do you plan to do next?” Gideon asked as they walked toward the elevator.

  “Good question. We need to figure out who hired Summers—that’s the only thing we have to go on at this point.”

  “I might be able to help,” Gideon said as they road down to the basement lab.

  “Really? How?”

  “You said he met with a mysterious ‘uncle’ at the Actors Studio, right?”

  Kate nodded. “Uncle Roger.”

  “Well, I did some searching and discovered that there are some traffic cameras on Tremont Street. I went through the tapes and I might have found your Uncle Roger.”

  “Really?” Kate’s pulse sped up as they spilled out of the elevator and Gideon punched in the code to the lab. “Let’s see.”

  Gideon led her over to the computer where he pulled up a screen that showed the sidewalk outside the Actors Studio. He fiddled with the settings, reversing in fast motion.

  “Watch here.” He pointed at the door to the building and Kate watched as it swung open and two men walked out. One of them was Caleb Summers.

  “That’s him!” Kate watched the two men carefully. She could see the tension in Caleb as the two stopped to talk. Then the other man pointed to the left and they both took off in that direction with Caleb sneaking a furtive glance behind him as they walked.

  “Do you recognize him?” Caleb asked.

  “No.” Kate chewed her bottom lip. “When was that?”

  Gideon pointed to the timestamp on the bottom. “Last Tuesday—two days before you went to the Antarctic.”

  “That’s got to be Uncle Roger,” Kate said. “I wonder what they were saying. Can you zoom in?”

  Gideon shook his head. “So
rry, that’s as close as it gets. But I could try to run his face through the recognition software.”

  “Yes. Please do that,” Kate said. “I think I’ll go catch up on some of the paperwork piling up in my office while it runs.”

  “Okay, I’ll text you if anything comes up.”

  “Thanks,” Kate said as she turned toward the door. “Oh, and Gideon?” she turned back around to face him.

  “Yes?” He looked up from the computer screen.

  “Let’s not tell Mercedes about this just yet. I don’t want word to get to the FBI that we have another lead until we check it out thoroughly.”

  Gideon nodded and returned his attention to the computer.

  And after I’ve had a chance to get a head start, she thought as she exited the lab.

  ***

  Kate spent the rest of the day catching up on the paperwork that was piled in a two-foot tall tower on her desk. Having an assistant to deal with this stuff would be really nice, she thought as she worked her way through the pile. Paperwork wasn’t her strong suit—she’d rather be out in the field chasing down bad guys and retrieving stolen artifacts.

  It was almost suppertime when she finished. She took the expense reports Mercedes had nagged her about earlier in the day straight up to the assistant, hoping to catch a glimpse of Max in his office.

  “He’s not in,” Mercedes said, without even looking up from her computer, as soon as Kate appeared in the doorway.

  “Oh, well, I finished the expense reports.” Kate slapped the papers on her desk and Mercedes cocked a perfectly plucked brow at her.

  “I hope the receipts are legible this time.” She picked up the pile and leafed through.

  Kate grimaced. The last time she’d done an expense report the receipts had gone through the wash a few times and almost all the ink had washed out. Kate turned to leave, then stopped and turned back.

  “Have you met with the FBI lately about the ruby case?” Kate asked.

  Mercedes’ long red fingernails stopped their clickety-clacking on the keyboard and she looked up at Kate. “Not since last week, why? Do you have something you would like me to relay to them?”

  “No. I was just wondering if they told you anything more.” Kate knew there was more, she could tell by what Ace had said at the station. She’d wondered why he was holding things back, but maybe he’d told Mercedes and she hadn’t mentioned it yet.

  “Nope, nothing more than what you already know.” Mercedes dismissed Kate by turning back to her computer and Kate cast a longing glance at Max’s office door before heading out into the hall.

  On her way down the hall, she called Gideon. “Anything yet?”

  “Nope.” Gideon’s voice came over the phone. “I’ll keep it running though. Could take all night.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Kate hung up and made her way to her car.

  She noticed the tail only a few miles into her drive. The FBI certainly wasn’t wasting any time following her around. She drove slowly the rest of the way so they could keep up. When she pulled into the parking spot, she couldn’t help but shoot a smug smile in their direction as she palmed the tracking device in her pocket.

  They sped off down the road and Kate figured they wouldn’t waste time sitting outside her apartment. They had the device on the car, or so they thought, so they could find out where she was any time they wanted.

  Kate didn’t realize how tired she was until she got into her apartment. She searched the fridge for food and found only ketchup, half a can of tuna and some milk. The tuna she was saving for Archimedes. The milk was sour so she poured it out. The ketchup she squeezed onto some bread then layered on some potato chips and topped it off with another piece of bread to make a sandwich. It wasn’t exactly fine cuisine, but she had to admit it went pretty well with the pink zinfandel she was drinking.

  She sat on her couch to think about the day’s events.

  Ace Mason had wanted her in there for something—he knew she didn’t kill Summers, so why pull her in? Had he wanted to warn her there was something more dangerous, or just insult her? She got the feeling it wasn’t just about the ruby. But what else could it be about?

  Of course, it had been a convenient time to plant the tracking device on her car, but as Gideon had pointed out, they really could have done that almost anywhere.

  Kate glanced around her apartment uneasily. Had they used the time she was being questioned to search her apartment? She wouldn’t put it past them. She’d participated in similar searches when she’d been with the bureau.

  Her thoughts drifted to Mercedes LaChance. Was Mercedes telling her the truth when she asked if she’d learned anything more from Mason? There wasn’t any indication she was lying, and why would she? She’d have nothing to gain so it probably was true Mason hadn’t told Mercedes about whatever it was he was holding back from Kate.

  And just why was Mason the one to deal with Mercedes anyway? When Kate was with the FBI, they had someone with lower rank as the liaison. Why would Ace be doing that personally now? Maybe he was doing it to spend time with the pretty assistant. She wouldn’t put it past him, Kate thought as she pushed away a pang of jealousy.

  Meow!

  Kate turned her attention to the window where the gray-striped cat was rubbing his face against the edge of the fire escape and looking in at her with his big yellow eyes. Her lips turned up in a smile as she raced over to the window to let him in.

  “Hi Archimedes.” She bent down to pet the cat. His ears were cold and she rubbed them, then petted him under the chin eliciting a deep purr.

  She went into the kitchen, the cat close on her heels, and pulled the can of tuna out of the fridge. Spooning the cat food onto a plate, she set it on the floor. Archimedes sniffed at it a few times and then hunkered down in front of it taking leisurely, dainty bites.

  As the cat ate, Kate got out a tube of superglue. Taking the tracking device from her pocket, she dabbed the glue on, then pressed it to the cat’s collar holding it there as the cat ate so it would adhere properly.

  Once the cat was done eating, she let him sit in her lap while she finished her glass of wine. Archimedes didn’t usually stick around long, and tonight was no exception. After an hour, he was ready to go back out. Kate opened the window for him, and held back a giggle as she watched him slip outside, the tracking device held securely on his collar.

  That’ll teach Ace Mason to try to put one over on Kate Diamond, she thought as she watched the cat wind his way down the fire escape and through the alley.

  ***

  Ace Mason stared at the blinking green light on the computer screen in front of him.

  “Where the heck is she going?” Mick Mulcahey, his partner, frowned at the screen, then looked over at Ace.

  Ace let out a chuckle as the green light continued to zigzag through the back alleys of Boston.

  “Should we get someone to tail her?” Mick asked.

  “Nah, that’s not her.”

  “What?” Mick’s ginger-haired eyebrows mashed together as he looked at Ace. “But that’s the signal from the tracking id we put in her car.” He glanced back at the screen. “How is she even getting her car down some of those streets?”

  “She’s not,” Ace said as he pulled over his laptop and typed something bringing up another screen similar to the one he’d been looking at except the green light wasn’t moving around.

  Mick looked over at the screen. “What’s that? Another tracker?”

  “I knew Kate was too smart not to suspect we’d tagged her with a tracking device. So I had Emmy sew another device into the lining of her purse while I was questioning her.” Ace tapped at the light on his screen. “This is where she really is … or her purse anyway—and I’ve never known her to go anywhere without her purse.”

  A fist closed around Ace’s heart as he thought about Kate. He’d been surprised today that she looked as good, no—better, than he’d remembered. And she still wore that lily of the valley scent that drove hi
m crazy. He’d thought after all this time his feelings for her would have faded … but they hadn’t.

  Mick’s laughter pulled him out of his thoughts. “So the one under her car was just a decoy. She finds that one and doesn’t bother to look anywhere else. That’s pretty good … I guess that’s why you’re the boss.”

  Ace looked sharply at Mick and Mick cringed. “Sorry. I’m used to you being the boss.”

  Ace wasn’t the boss anymore and it stung to think about why. He’d done a good job, or so he thought. But after the Damien Darkstone incident, the bureau hadn’t liked the way he’d stuck up for Kate and they’d shown their displeasure by knocking him down a few notches in rank.

  “No worries, Mick. It’s not a big deal,” Ace said sincerely. It really wasn’t a big deal. The job was pretty much the same except less paperwork and someone else made all the hard decisions. Actually, maybe things were better now that he wasn’t the boss.

  Both men stared at the stationary light for a while then Mick broke the silence. “So, where is she now?”

  Ace looked at the address. He knew it well. “At home. Probably all tucked in for the night.”

  “And this?” Mick angled his head at the monitor with the moving dot.

  Ace squinted at the screen.

  “I think she put it on a cat.” He chuckled. Probably that striped cat that always came to Kate’s window. He had to hand it to her; it was pretty clever to stick the tracer on the cat. Another agent, one that didn’t know Kate as well, might have been fooled into going on quite the wild goose chase.

  Mick stretched out a yawn. “So we probably don’t need to sit here and monitor these.

  “Right,” Ace said, wondering why he couldn’t take his eyes off the dot on the screen. Probably because he wanted to make sure that Kate didn’t slip away without him being able to follow her. But not because he wanted to recover the Millennia Ruby first. Ace had a hunch there was a lot more going on here than just the theft of an expensive gemstone and, if his hunch was correct, keeping an eye on Kate could mean the difference between life and death.