“I didn’t steal anything,” I said firmly. “Not from Simone and not from the museum.”
His eyes filled with earnest concern. “I want to believe you. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know a thief when I see one. But you are hiding something from me, and I need to know what it is or this situation is just going to get worse. Is someone else involved?”
My mind jumped back to Friday night when I’d fallen asleep in Jack’s arms.
I’ve never been a gentleman.
“No. There’s no one else. I seem to be able to screw up my life perfectly fine on my own.”
He tucked his phone away and picked up his bag of candy. “You may find this hard to believe, but I care about what happens to you.”
His gentle voice and kind words gave me all the feels. “I appreciate the sentiment, but what I’d appreciate more is not being suspected of things I didn’t do.”
Garcia was a good cop, and a nice guy. But what about Jack? He’d offered to hold my clutch—a clutch that had been picked out by someone he knew—at least twice during the evening when I needed my hands free. Had I been used? Had one of his many disappearances been to perform an old “switcheroo”？ I wanted to trust him, but like Garcia, I didn’t believe in coincidences.
Fifteen
With the wedding coming up fast, I gathered the crew together on Friday night. Between contacting all the vendors and suppliers, organizing the big day, working my two jobs, and planning the heist with Chloe in the evenings, I was on an energy high.
“Breathe.” Rose set down her tray of munchies and helped me put up the whiteboard in her garage.
“I am breathing.” I flipped through the notes I’d made on my phone. “There’s just a lot to cover. I still have to make arrangements for the reception table, pick up the wedding favors, buy coloring books for the kids, finalize the menus, and tomorrow I’m meeting Bella and her mother at the bridal shop for the final fitting of her wedding dress. And then there’s the heist to think about. Dad needs me at the tailor shop tomorrow. I have an afternoon shift at the candy store on Sunday, and my parents have invited Anil’s family over for Sunday dinner because they think we’re getting married.”
“You and Anil?” Rose chuckled. “That would never work. You’re both too excitable. You’d drive each other crazy. You need someone more laid back, someone calm.”
Garcia was calm. Jack was laid back. Garcia was trustworthy but thought I was a thief. Jack was a thief and might be using me to help him steal necklaces in Chicago. I was better off alone.
“Where’s Chef Pierre?” I asked to take her attention off my nonexistent love life that involved three entirely unsuitable men.
“He’s got a meat exam today: barbecue ribs, Italian beef, and hot dogs. It gives me time to visit Stan. Juggling three men isn’t easy.”
“Three? I thought you had two.”
She gave a dramatic wave. “I had drinks with the director of my new play the other night and one thing led to another. You know how it goes.”
“Actually, I don’t but I wish I did.” I kissed her cheek. “You’re such an inspiration.”
“I keep Fridays open for our crime show binge nights,” she continued. “Tuesdays for drinks with the girls, and Wednesdays and Sundays are rehearsal days and evenings out with the cast. I slot the men in where I can.”
“I thought I was busy.”
“We both shine when we have too much to do,” Rose said. “That’s why we get along.”
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
?Jack didn’t show so we started the meeting without him.
“Our best chance of getting into the house undetected will be the night of the rehearsal dinner when everyone will be out.” I spread a blueprint of the Angelinis’ mansion over the table. Chloe had hacked into the city property database to retrieve it. She was awesome that way.
“Everyone except the security guards,” Gage added. “They have two armed guards. One walks the perimeter and the other stays near the house. Angelini brought them on when he secured the necklace. The perimeter guy does a quick walk-around every hour and then hangs out with the other guard, smoking and shooting the shit.”
“You got all that from our day on the boat?” Emma had brought a six-pack of Coors Light and drank her beer straight out of the bottle. She hadn’t wanted to dirty a glass.
“I did a little solo recon because boat day was a fucking disaster,” Gage said. “Except for Cristian in the inner tube. That was comedy gold.”
“Could we not mention the inner tube?” Cristian huffed. “I’m sensitive about it.”
“I’m sure you are.”
Emma and Gage laughed together until I motioned for them to stop. They’d formed some kind of bond that involved cackling at other people’s expense.
“Don’t forget about the dogs,” Anil said. “There were kennels outside.”
“You’ll be fine.” Gage waved a dismissive hand. “They’re Rottweilers.”
“Are those nice dogs?”
“The best. Very friendly.”
I shot Gage what I hoped was a withering look. “You won’t have to worry about dogs because you’ll be inside,” I said to Anil. “Gage will be our outside man.”
Anil’s face brightened. “Does this mean I have a key role in the heist?”
“You have a supporting role,” Gage said. “Expendable crew member. I suggest you wear a red shirt.”
Emma snorted a laugh and the two of them started chuckling again.
“Leave him alone,” Chloe said gently. “He just wants to help.”
“I’ve booked the rehearsal dinner for the Thursday before the wedding at a restaurant in the Loop,” I said. “We’ll have three hours plus the forty-five-minute drive each way, which should give us more than enough time to get in, crack the safe, and get out with the necklace. Cristian will be our point man at the dinner. He’s good with the social stuff, so if there are problems and we need to keep them at the restaurant, he can sort it out.”
“I could even do a little entertaining.” Cristian did a little tap dance and finished with a flourish.
“You’ve missed your calling,” Chloe said. “You’re very good. Maybe after we get the money, you should consider a career onstage.”
“My big dream was to develop an educational kids’ show after I finished my animal science degree,” he said. “I wanted kids to see all the amazing things animals can do so they understood why wildlife needs to be protected. I got some serious interest in the project and even had a director, screenwriter, and producer lined up so I could focus on the acting side, but I couldn’t get the financing together.”
“That’s amazing, Cristian,” Chloe said, breaking the stunned silence in the room. “If we pull this off, you could make that dream a reality.”
Gage shared an irritated glance with Emma. “We can’t give him a hard time now.”
“Sure we can.” She clinked bottles with him. “Just picture him bouncing away on that inner tube and you’ll forget he’s a hooker with a heart of gold.”