“She poisoned a priest?”
I glanced over at Riswan to make sure it was okay to tell this part of the story. He gave me a brief nod to continue.
“Father McCormack. He’s at Mount Sinai Hospital. You can check it out. She poisoned him so he couldn’t perform the ceremony, but unlucky for her, I’m good at my job and I found a replacement.”
“I’ll add ‘priest poisoning’ to the report,” he said. “And I thought this was going to be a quiet night.”
I wasn’t getting a good vibe from Garcia. Usually, he shook his head in feigned exasperation, laughed at my jokes, and gave me warm, tender looks that made me feel melty inside.
“Two people arrived to buy the necklace,” he continued, reading from his book. “But before they could finish the transaction, a mysterious person in a ski mask arrived. He used a drone with Nerf darts to distract Bella and her associates and then cut you free.” Garcia paused. “Why was he wearing a ski mask?”
“Why does anyone wear a ski mask?” I retorted. “He didn’t want to be recognized.”
“I thought ski masks were for skiing in the cold.”
“That’s because you lack imagination, Garcia, but I won’t hold it against you.”
Riswan coughed a warning, and I gave myself a mental kick. Garcia wasn’t in a playful mood tonight.
“Instead of leaving the warehouse and running to safety, the masked man engaged Bella and her associates in a fight during which time Gino and the buyers disappeared. You stayed behind to try and save Ben. The masked man managed to single-handedly subdue your captors and disappeared before the paramedics arrived.” He put down his book. “Like Spider-Man.”
“I didn’t see any webs and he wasn’t wearing spandex. I’d say he was more like a butcher, pounding his meat.”
Garcia leaned forward, his weight on his elbows. “Here’s the problem. Bella’s associates have a different story. One involving multiple assailants.”
My eyes watered and I swallowed past the lump in my throat. After getting Rose and Chef Pierre back to the van to make the emergency calls, Cristian, Gage, Chloe, and Emma had returned to the warehouse. When they realized The Butcher was battling the evil villains alone, they’d run to help him. I’d caught glimpses of them through the barrels. It had been one hell of a fight.
“Well, of course they’d say that. They must have been humiliated. And if it were true, you should be thanking the multiple assailants for handing the bad guys to you on a silver platter. It means less paperwork for you.”
“There are a lot of holes in your story,” Garcia said. “A lot of holes.”
“There were a lot of holes in Ben, but it sounds like he’s going to pull through.”
“If you’ve got evidence that counters my client’s story . . .” Riswan began.
Garcia shook his head and sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to do here.”
“Garcia,” I said quietly. “I didn’t commit any crimes. I didn’t steal the necklace. I didn’t shoot Ben. All I did was salvage a wedding and try to help a poor girl from being forced into a marriage to a man she didn’t love. I’m not a bad person. I started this business as a side hustle to help pay off my debts, and even that didn’t work out.”
“That is the only part of your story I believe,” he said.
“What’s going to happen to Bella? Did she confess? Did you recover the necklace?”
“Her story makes even less sense,” Garcia said. “She said Gino held a grudge against her father and decided to kidnap her and Ben and hold them for ransom. He intercepted them on their way to the airfield and brought them to the warehouse, where they were held at gunpoint by his two associates. Ben tried to save her, and Gino shot him. Then you showed up because apparently there is no problem you can’t solve and nothing you won’t do for your clients. After Gino tied you up, the masked man arrived, took everyone down, and tied her up by mistake.”
“That’s really sweet of her,” I said, smug in the knowledge that I had told a much better story. “Did she mention if she was going to give me a five-star review?”
Garcia reached into the box beside him and pulled out a plastic evidence bag containing a necklace. “We found this at the scene. On a hunch, before talking to you, I called Mr. Angelini. He said he didn’t know anything about a necklace, nothing had been stolen from his home, and as far as he was concerned, no crime had been committed. By an incredible coincidence, this necklace is a replica of the necklace that Chloe allegedly stole from the museum.”
“Replica?” There was no hiding my shock. We’d risked everything for a fake?
“As in not real.” Garcia pointed to the pink heart-shaped diamond pendant. “You can see here that it’s cracked. If it were real, that couldn’t happen, or so I’ve been told. I’m not really a diamond man.”
“Where is the real one?”
“I was hoping you’d tell me.”
“If I had it, do you think I’d be hiding it? That necklace is the key to Chloe’s freedom.” A shiver ran down my spine. “Did you ask Bella? Maybe she took it to pay for her escape and she was trying to sell a duplicate to the buyer. Or maybe she had it and lost it. Or maybe Gino took it.”
“We caught Gino,” Garcia said. “He was trying to hitch a ride out of town. He had a gun on him that matched the caliber of the bullet that the surgeon pulled out of Ben but no necklace. Bella is lawyered up now. I asked her about the necklace, seeing as how I knew it would be important to you, but she had nothing to say.”
That small concession, the hint of understanding, made my heart squeeze in my chest. “Thank you.”
“Are you going to charge my client with anything?” Riswan asked. “You’ve heard her story, and so far, it sounds to me in any version of the events that the only thing she is guilty of is trying to help people.”
I gave Garcia my best pleading look. I needed to get out of here. I had to find Jack. I wanted him to look me in the face and tell me I wasn’t wrong to trust him, that I hadn’t repeated the worst mistake of my life. I wanted him to tell me he hadn’t betrayed me and that at no point in time had he switched the real necklace for the fake.
Garcia studied me for a long moment before he closed his little black book. “I’m not laying any charges,” he said. “You’re free to go.”
Thirty
We met the next morning in Rose’s garage. She and Chef Pierre had made it safely home. Chef Pierre was resting. Rose had worn him out after the excitement of the day. It was more information than I needed to know.
“Where’s Anil?” Cristian asked. “He’s the one who called for an urgent meeting.”
“I don’t know. He didn’t answer my text, and when I called him, he sounded really down.” I shot a look at Gage. “Did you hear from Jack?”
“Nope.”
“Anyone?” I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t stop hoping. How could he have just walked away?
“We kicked ass in that warehouse,” Emma said. “Chloe took Bella down with just one punch.”