Page 62 of Masked Secrets
“Oh, love, of course, you would remember your own wedding. I had to tell a little fib, or they wouldn’t let me stay with you. I couldn’t bear to leave you alone and not know if you were okay, so I might have said I’m your husband.”
“Are. You. Kidding? You didn’t.”
“I did,” I admit sheepishly.
Before we can talk further, a couple of guys come to move her to a regular hospital room. I follow, playing the part of the dutiful husband.
Hopefully, she won’t reveal my lie because I have no plans to leave her side. Whoever tried to kill her may try again. I’m determined to stop them. It would help if she can tell me exactly what happened. Unfortunately, that must wait until she gets some rest and her memory returns.
I kiss her on the cheek and sit in the chair next to her bed. For the rest of the night, I hold her hand, watching the rise and fall of her chest.
I need reassurance that she’s breathing.
30
STUART
Fortunately, Brooke woke up the next morning with a clear recollection of the prior night’s events. She shared the details of what she heard and what happened to her. We called my dad and set a plan in motion.
For it to work, everyone must believe that Brooke is missing. Fortunately, the errand I sent my driver on last night makes that possible.
Now, the next step is today’s meeting at the PR firm. To make sure everything is in place, I arrive early with two guests, Mr. Gentry and Mr. Rivers, who are set to play key roles in the meeting, if all goes well.
The receptionist shows us into the largest conference room where Jason awaits our arrival, nervously wringing his hands as he paces in front of the windows.
Hearing the door open, he looks up. “Stuart, there you are. Everything is set up as you requested,” a slight tremble detectable in his voice.
I survey the room. The jewels from the auction are displayed on a long table under the windows. Armed guards stand at each end. Good.
“Thank you. This is Mr. Gentry, a well-respected expert on gemstones. He’s going to take an initial look at the auction items now. And this is Mr. Rivers, who will be viewing the proceedings remotely for security purposes. He prefers to remain anonymous, so you’ll understand the sunglasses and baseball cap.”
“Of course. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. Mr. Gentry, please proceed with your analysis. Let me know if I can be of assistance,” Jason says.
“Thank you, I will. Please have one of your guards bring me one piece at a time.” Mr. Gentry says. Walking to the side of the conference table closest to the jewels, he opens his briefcase, removing a loop and related tools for inspecting the diamonds.
As Mr. Gentry goes about his work, I turn to another part of the plan. “As I mentioned on the phone, Mr. Rivers would like to observe the proceedings in an adjacent room. Were you able to set that up?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve set up a video meeting with a live feed shown on a computer display in the closet over here. Mr. Rivers will be able to hear the conversation on headphones. However, our IT department has muted the audio and video in the main conference room. Follow me, and I’ll show you the setup. I must apologize though. The closet is small. We were barely able to fit a small table and chair inside.”
Mr. Rivers and I follow Jason to the door in the far corner of the conference room and peer inside. It’s as he described. Turning to Mr. Rivers, I say, “I think it’s best if you wait in here for the meeting to start.”
With a nod, he steps inside, closing the door.
“Jason, would it be possible to have a cup of coffee while we wait for Mr. Gentry to finish his analysis?”
“Of course. Excuse my poor manners. I’m rather flustered by the course of recent events.”
“I completely understand. But you will need to play the role of calm overseer today. You cannot let the people joining us know that you suspect anything is out of the ordinary. Perhaps you should add a drop or two of brandy to your coffee,” I suggest.
“Not a bad idea. I’ll be right back.”
While Jason goes in search of coffee, I walk over to Mr. Gentry, asking, “What have you learned so far?”
“I started with the Gertrude diamond as you suggested. Then I took a quick look at several of the other pieces. So far, I’ve found exactly what you expected.”
“Excellent. You should have time to inspect the remaining pieces and put your tools away before the group arrives.”
“I’ll let you know if I find anything unexpected.”
