Family Jewels by Rita Sable Read Free Book Online Page A

selected one of the straight-backed swivel chairs in front of the captain’s desk for his seat.
    Hill shuffled the loose papers together, piled them up and tucked them into a manila folder. He stabbed a blunt finger on the folder and then slid it across his desk. “These are for you to deal with.” He leaned back into his chair and folded his hands over his ample stomach.
    “Thank you.” Trevor eyed the folder. It was awfully thin. Not much paperwork to go by and probably less than he already knew about the case.
    Hill grunted. “Since this incident with Miss Lyons early this morning, the mayor’s office informed me that it’s now an international investigation under your command.”
    “Yes, it is. I appreciate your help and cooperation, Captain.”
    The older man scratched his flabby chin. “How long have you been on this case, Agent?”
    Trevor stared into the dark depths of his coffee cup, trying to decide how much information to impart without seeming rude and secretive. Doing that only served to make a fellow cop dig deeper. Generalities were pretty safe, if transparent. He sipped his coffee as a stall tactic surprised to find this was one cup that didn’t taste half as bad as television shows always made it out to be.
    “I’ve been working this case for six months,” he said, “following the trail across most of Europe and now here in America.”
    The older man listened quietly, pushing out his fat lower lip. “You cover a lot of territory. Strange that something as small as a local burglary attempt could attract Interpol’s attention. This isn’t just about a foiled attempt at burglary, is it?”
    “No,” Trevor sighed. “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.”
    The captain’s eyes narrowed. “That must be why I get the feeling there’s more going on than Miss Lyons is letting us know. She has something you want, doesn’t she? Something of value. A large diamond, perhaps? But there’s more to it. I can feel it.”
    Tiny hairs on the back of Trevor’s neck prickled with warning. How much had Miss Lyons let them know? He’d figured she would be defensive and not say much. As a whole, jewelers and gemologists tended to be a tight-lipped bunch. Introverted and paranoid. Very secretive. Had he been wrong?
    “No offense but I’m not at liberty to discuss the finer details with you, Captain. Or anyone else. For Interpol Command to contact your mayor in the first place and give me total control of the case after you’ve started an investigation along the same lines takes a lot of cooperation between our organizations. If your mayor didn’t agree with that I wouldn’t be here.”
    Hill grunted again and then leaned his chair back to stare up at the ceiling tiles over his desk. He blew a long, whistling breath through his nose.
    Trevor cleared his throat. He’d had enough conversation with him to understand the man was curious—which was natural and expected. But too curious hinted at something else entirely, especially regarding the nature of this job. “Is Miss Lyons still available for questioning?”
    Hill smiled but his hazel gaze was sharp enough to pierce a hole through steel plate. He straightened his posture and reached for a button on his desk phone. It buzzed like an angry bee trapped beneath his plump fingertip.
    “Yeah, Captain?” said a man’s voice through the intercom.
    “Tell Ed and Jack their time’s up. Our special agent has arrived. He’ll take over.”
    “Sure thing, Captain. Is he comin’ down here? Or do I bring the lady upstairs?”
    “Bring Miss Lyons up. She can leave with him.”
    He folded his meaty hands together and leaned his elbows on his desk. Tense lines drew the captain’s mouth down, making him look like he’d bitten into something rotten and didn’t know how or where to spit it out.
    “I don’t like having my hands tied behind my back, Agent St. James. I answer to the mayor but this is still my jurisdiction. Miss Lyons is a