Page 14 of Lost to Thievery
“It sounds familiar because your father worked the case,” Owen smiled knowingly at Emerie.
Her frown deepened. “A murder case? Why… Oh my God! The red diamond! The Varons owned the Crimson Dame!” Her face lit up, excitement pouring out of her.
“Can someone please explain what she’s talking about?” Liam cut in, frustratedly.
Emerie turned to him, the broadest smile on her face. “My father also worked in art, like me, before he retired. And this was one case he could never solve. If I remember correctly, the Varons owned the largest red diamond in the world, called the Crimson Dame. Mister Varon had gifted it to his wife for her birthday or something.”
“Ten-year anniversary,” I corrected softly, not wanting to draw attention to myself, but all the eyes at the table turned to me anyway.
“Yes! That’s right. Someone broke in and stole it and killed the Varon women in the process. But my father could never figure out where it went. It’s still torturing him, actually,” Emerie scoffed, deep in thought.
“The targetwasthe Varon women. The diamond was an afterthought. But Grayson has it now. It was taken by Charles Anderson, but he got it back,” I answered softly, hoping it would bring her father some semblance of closure, even though I didn’t know him.
“Interesting.” Emerie looked up. “You’ve seen it?”
I nodded with a small smile. “I had it in my hands.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “Wish I could tell my father,” she murmured to herself.
Oh, right. No one was allowed to speak of it to anyone.
“So Varon killed Anderson out of revenge,” Marshall noted. It was the first time he had spoken since entering the boardroom.
“Yes, and please be aware that Charles Anderson’s son had taken over for his father and is gunning for Ava’s life for her involvement. Him and his capo Wesley are off the radar at the moment. No one has seen or heard from them in months. Varon might have gotten to Shaun too, or they’re lying low for now. But that can change at any moment. So stay sharp. And for the love of God, keep our consultant alive. Everything you need to know is in the files. You all have a lot of catching up to do. That includes the list of known and possible thefts by the Apparitions. Ava and I worked tirelessly on that list. It should be tattooed to the underside of your eyelids by tomorrow. Now, let’s get back on track, shall we? These are known locations of safe houses for the Apparitions as provided by Ava. Most of them have already been searched and came up clean. Exceptionally clean. Also, the Varon estate on the outskirts of Willsbury is abandoned and completely torn apart by people searching for the red diamond. It does not look like Grayson has any connection with it anymore. We still haven’t found the cabin in Frostford Forest, but we’ve located the ranger that Ava met at the cabin, and he’s going to lead us to it. This will all make sense once you readthrough the file. Just be ready to leave tomorrow for Frostford Forest.”
Owen continued with the briefing, including every aspect of my time with the Apparitions, laying bare my most intimate and crushing moments to the four strangers. He tried to keep it as vague as possible when he could, but there was no getting around it. I had fallen hard for a conman. And I paid the brutal price.
“Any more questions?” Owen asked with a sigh after four more hours, slouching into a chair.
Everyone was silent, but Emerie turned to me. “Is there anything else you can tell us about these three people? Anything not in the files.”
I chewed at my lip, as all eyes focused on me again, seeing more of me and my patheticness than I felt comfortable with. I knew everything about the Apparitions, yet nothing at all. Nothing that could be used against them. Had that been by design? “Just know that the three of them will kill for each other and Grayson will rain down hellfire on us if we hurt his family. So be ready. You won’t see him coming.”
Liam chuckled. “Well, it wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t a little dangerous.”
I looked down hurriedly, before they could notice how my heart panged, pain filling the empty void where my soul used to be. Grayson used to say the exact same thing.
Taking a few steadying breaths, I quickly reined the feelings back in, locking them down tight.
Yes. The sick bastard might even enjoy this little hunting team we’ve put together.
Ava
Iflinchedwalkingintothe boardroom the next morning as the footage of Gemma being tackled to the ground played out on the screen.
“Oof. That had to hurt.” Syntax cringed.
The whole team was gathered around the table, studying the footage of our failed takedown. I kept to the back, not wanting to distract them. Syntax was at the edge of her seat, her body moving with the camera, completely immersed. Marshall didn’t blink, not missing anything. He shook his head in disapproval when most of the officers ran from the house after the truck. Emerie was back to her aloof self, rolling her eyes at Syntax.
“You guys can say what you want about our perps, but they’re kindabadass.” Liam had an excited grin on his face as hewatched the helicopter lift out of the barn. “I wonder who taught that girl to fight like that. I’d like some lessons.”
“Whose side are you on?” Emerie gave a menacing look to Liam, her eyes clearly communicating that she questioned his sanity.
Liam laughed and pulled up his shoulders. “Hey, I’m just saying what you’re all thinking.”
“The real badass is Miss Beaumont over here,” Syntax said, pointing to the screen. I stood underneath the helicopter’s spotlight, my hair whipping around me, grinning up at it like a madman.
The footage cut off, and once again, all eyes in the room found me.
