Cut (16 page)

“No.”

“Acquaintances?”

“No.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm positive. The morning after the attack I spent all my time going through her contacts to get the word out that she's in the hospital. The name Elizabeth doesn't sound familiar.” She shook her head. “No, I've never heard Melanie mention anyone with that name.”

“Thank you.”

She waved him off. “Just go and do what you came to do.”

Brent took the liberty of entering Melanie's office first. He wasn't prepared to be in her personal space without her. A feeling of disgust crept up his spine at going through Melanie's belongings while she lingered between this world and another.

He stood there and looked out at her room with hesitation. He had to choose between Melanie's privacy and the possibility of finding a clue. He reminded himself that Melanie had indirectly led him here, and he needed to try to find out why. The diamonds were his priority, not respecting Melanie's space. She'd stolen from him. Now he would take from her if need be. Too much was at stake. Time was running out for him and the deal he'd made.

Melanie's warmth surrounded him. The mahogany desk faced a wall of six windows: three on top and three on the bottom. The view led to the front of the property with the expansive yard and trees bordering the driveway. Tiered shelves sat to the right and showed off pictures of his nieces with their big smiles and toothless mouths. Another photo was of Melanie and Luke on their wedding day, the San Francisco skyline the backdrop. Other items sat on the shelf: pencil holders, organizers, books, forgotten roses in a vase with murky water and dead petals.

“I'll start with the bookshelves,” Daniel said, and walked to the wall of cabinets on the opposite side of the room.

Brent chose to go through her desk first. Melanie's excellent organization made the task both easy and disappointing. Right away he could see there wasn't much in the way of notes or calendars. No phone numbers scratched on a piece of paper or random junk. The notebook gave him some promise, and he flipped through it, only to find notes about speech and language. The three side drawers he looked in next, and again, he found nothing more than notes on what he assumed to be work-related matters.

“There's nothing,” Daniel said, closing a cabinet. “Maybe Melanie has no secrets.”

“Everyone has a secret.” Brent had his own. Jessica had hers. Even Melanie did.

He pulled an address book out of the middle drawer. Half-hopeful, he turned the pages with eyes set on finding the name Elizabeth. No such luck. Brent slammed the drawer closed. “Where did she hide them?”

Daniel looked over at Brent. “We'll find them.”

“Luke's on his way home,” Kendra announced as she re-entered the room. “I thought you might want to know.”

Brent stretched out his arms and leaned on the desk. “Kendra, did you notice any changes in Melanie's behavior recently?”

“I didn't. I told the detective the same. I wish I could tell you otherwise. Melanie went to work earlier in the day. Detective Brennan confirmed as much. She came home and spent the evening as usual, with her daughters. They ate dinner together and she put them to bed. I left around seven-thirty.”

None of what Kendra said made complete sense.

If Melanie went to work, then how did she get the diamond to Jessica?

“What about the bachelorette party?” Daniel said, picking up the same question Brent had. “Did Melanie plan to go?”

“Melanie mentioned the party, but she wasn't going.”

“Huh,” Brent said, unsure what to ask next. “Thank you for your help, Kendra. Don't tell Luke I stopped by.”

“I won't lie to him.”

“Then say nothing about our visit.”

She waved off Daniel with a shallow smile. “Go.”

Brent signaled for Daniel to put down the basket of papers in his hands. “We better leave.”

They left Luke's house right away. The search in Melanie's office had proven futile. He didn't know what kind of a clue she might have left. Brent waited by his car and took a cigarette from Daniel. They both lit up. The swirls of gray smoke soon followed. They discolored the air with each frustrated exhale.

“Jessica said Melanie wasn't going to attend her wedding,” Brent said, tapping the cigarette. The ash fell to the ground. “If Melanie mentioned the bachelorette party to Kendra, then she must have known the location and the details of the weekend. Do you think she received an invitation?”

“It's possible, but I doubt it. The bachelorette party is typically made up of bridesmaids and close friends. If Melanie wasn't going to the wedding, I don't see why Jessie would have bothered to include her.”

Brent gave Daniel a funny look. “I didn't realize you were an expert on bachelorette party etiquette.”

“I have a lot of sisters,” Daniel said. “Three of them have become Americanized.”

“You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think the obvious answer is the right one. Melanie knew Jessica would be in town. Someone told her about Jessica staying at the Ritz. I think she went to the hotel before Jessica arrived and I think she left the diamond there for her.”

“I have to agree with you.”

“We need to find out what else Melanie did that day. Talk to someone at the Ritz. I don't think the police have made that connection yet.”

Daniel inhaled a long hit off his cigarette. “What about the other matter?”

Brent put out his cigarette. “We're losing ground until we find the diamonds. I got a message this morning from Jefferies Abbott. He is arriving earlier than planned.”

“You think he'll go back on the deal?”

“He wanted to let me know he'd be in attendance at the auction at Whitaker's. I don't like his sudden arrival. He's anxious to get back his diamonds is all.”

“Do you think he knows they're missing?”

“I'm not sure. That's why we have to find them.”

“What if we don't?”

“I can't think about that.”

Daniel flung his cigarette on the ground. “I need to get moving. There's much to do.”

Brent leaned back against his car. Of all the people and business he should be thinking about, he found his thoughts were tied to Jessica and the bachelorette party. Melanie wasn't invited and no matter what anyone said about the relationship between those sisters, he saw how Jessica looked ready to break every time he brought up Melanie's name. There was something soft and caring beneath Jessie's hard exterior. He would be a lot closer to that side of her—and the diamond—if not for scaring her off.

His gaze drifted up the length of the house. The fog and the quiet unnerved him. The way it moved without being heard. Things were happening. They unraveled with each step he took. He sensed something bigger on the way.

He got in his car and drove away from Luke's house. Rain sprinkled down and continued to get worse the closer he got to the hospital. He didn't have any business there, he simply wanted to see Melanie.

The sign to the hospital entrance had become a familiar sight. He parked his car and grabbed Jessie's purse. She'd left it at his house the previous night.

He got out of the car and walked unhurried, despite the rain. He entered through the main doors and ran his fingers through his hair. A line formed at the elevator so he took the stairs.

He arrived at the ICU and signed in at the nurses' station. He expected to go right to Melanie's room, but at the sight of Jessie curled up on one of the couches in the waiting area, he stopped cold.

It pained Brent to watch her sleep with such a troubled expression on her face. Her eyes remained closed, her lashes dark crescents on her pale cheeks. Her pretty, sulky mouth was locked shut. The guilt he felt magnified at the fact that he couldn't reach out and comfort her. He walked over to her and dropped her purse by her foot.

He took a step back.

Her eyelids flew open. Her eyes reflected confusion first, followed by fear. “You!” Jessie shouted.

Brent held up both hands. “I won't hurt you.”

“What's going on?” Luke said, suddenly at Brent's side.

“I thought you went home,” Brent said.

He stared at Jessie. “I changed my mind.”

Jessica looked worried. They both knew Luke didn't have a clue about the green diamond. At least, he hoped she hadn't told him.

She sent her gaze back to Luke. “There's nothing going on. I would appreciate if you and your family stay out of my life.”

“No problem there,” Luke retorted.

“I'll come back when he's not here.” Jessie spotted her purse, grabbed it, and breezed past Brent.

A muscle in Brent's jaw ticked.

Luke cleared his throat. “Are you going to tell me about that?”

“Not worth the time,” Brent answered curtly. “How are you?”

“Not well, considering my wife stole from me and then landed herself in there.” He pointed to her room.

“We don't know why.”

“The reasons don't matter. There's no plausible justification for her to get the codes or to be near the vault. She took them on purpose. Her actions took planning.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Harrison,” said a tall man with a pale face and a receding hairline.

“Yes,” both Brent and Luke said.

Luke introduced the stranger. “Detective Brennan, this is my brother, Brent; Brent, the lead detective.”

Brent shook the detective's hand. “I'll give you two a minute.”

“I've come to see you,” said the detective.

“About Melanie?”

“Yes.”

A bead of sweat formed on Brent's neck.

“I understand you and your brother work together. The two of you, along with your other brother, own Trace Elements.” He scratched his jaw. “It's not every day I meet an expert in the field of gemstones. I hear you're opening a jewelry store in Union Square. Quite an endeavor.”

“A necessary one to keep our business going strong.”

“Seven diamonds in your brother's home, the
warehouse
of your gemstone and diamond supply, were taken the night of Melanie's attack. Any idea why she would take them?”

“I've been asking myself the same question.”

“Any theories?”

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“Do you think someone might have blackmailed her to get to you or to your brother?”

“No one's ever threatened us before. Very few people outside our clientele are aware of what we do. We cater to a high-end market. Our clients ask for a specific stone and we locate it for them. It's really no different, than say, someone selling rare art.”

“Your brother tells me you brought these seven diamonds to Trace Elements. How did they come to be in your possession?”

“Through a company called D & F Diamonds. The headquarters is in South Africa and I worked there last year doing a private contract job.”

“Forever Yours.”

“Excuse me?”

“The D & F slogan is Forever Yours. I bought my wife a ten-year anniversary ring from one of their stores. It's a massive company.” Detective Brennan huffed. “What kind of work did you do at D & F?”

“A variety of jobs. I trained some of the high-level workers in the art of cutting diamonds. I spent time in the mines. I evaluated rough diamonds, cut diamonds, and anything else I was asked to do. I worked with the sightholders.”

“What's a sightholder?”

“An exclusive team hired by D & F to oversee the purchasing of bulk, rough diamonds. The diamonds in the jewelry stores in America most likely come from this group of men and women.”

He gawked. “All these diamonds come from such a small pool?”

“Yes.”

“How does it work?”

“Suppliers and retailers go through D & F to buy diamonds for their stores. In my industry, in any industry really,” Brent said, “there are two ways to get the diamonds. Either legally or illegally. The seven diamonds we are all interested in recovering had been acquired through legal means, through Jefferies Abbott, the owner of D & F. In this case, in all our transactions actually, our dealings are held to the highest of standards. My brother and I would never resell gemstones gotten through unsafe or illegal measures. It's the only way to run our business.”

“What happened once these diamonds became yours?”

“I sent them to Luke. My brother advertised them through a list of clients. Word of mouth spread, and I happen to be home from my year-long stint during the time someone offered to buy them. Those diamonds are set to be shipped late next week.”

“I've been reading up on the diamond industry since Melanie's attack. Someone tipped me off that Jefferies Abbott happens to be in town. He is, as you say, a powerful man in the diamond industry.”

“The most powerful man,” Brent said. “He's here for the auction of a personal diamond collection belonging to Salvador Alvarez.”

Detective Brennan cocked his head. “Are you planning to see your former boss?”

“I won't be attending the auction, not with Melanie in the hospital.”

“How would Melanie know about these diamonds in the first place?”

“She might have overheard something one of us said,” Luke assumed. “I do run my business out of my home, after all.”

“So it's safe to say Mrs. Harrison generally does not know the contents of your vault.”

“Correct,” Brent said.

“However, she took an interest in these particular diamonds.”

“It appears that way, yes.”

“When did you last see her awake?” Detective Brennan asked Brent, and scribbled some words on his notepad.

“Melanie stopped by the location for the jewelry store.” The same memory he'd shared with Jessie.

“Is there anyone with an interest in harming her?”