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“Yes. Ms. Robicheaux. My granny spoke of her often. I’m sorry, I didn’t make the connection.”
“It’s alright, child,” smiled Irene. “You’ve had a lot going on these last few months.”
“Where are the diamonds now?” asked Luke.
“Inside my dress,” she said, looking at him. Their eyes went wide, and Mike leaned back, staring at the tiny, lithe body and the very body-hugging dress.
“Um. Where?” he asked.
“It’s an old trick. You sew them into the seams or lining of a dress. I never buy a dress unless it has pockets. In this case, my pockets have pockets filled with diamonds.” She stood, pulling the dress up around her thighs. Luke, Cam, Eric, Hex, and Dan all turned, but Mike just stared at her. She blushed but kept lifting the dress.
Sure enough, sewn to the pocket was another pocket.
“Do you have a knife?” she asked. Mike took out a large pocket knife.
“Let me. It’s very sharp,” he said.
She nodded, watching as his big fingers slid between the pocket and her leg. The heat of his fingers against her flesh made her body feel like an inferno. Gently, he cut away the threads holding the inner pocket, setting it on the table. When he heard a clearing of someone’s throat, he realized his hand was still lying against her warm flesh.
“Th-thank you,” she said. “Those are the loose diamonds. All of them. The jewelry from the store has been placed in the hotel’s safe. I need to get that back.”
“We’ll send someone to get it,” said Hex.
“But, how?”
“Trust me, we’ll get it for you.”
“What about him? Smith?”
“You were right,” said Luke, grabbing the sheet of paper from Tanner. “His real name is Smith Jones. He’s worked in jewelry sales his entire life, but never more than a few months at a time in any one place. There were no thefts at any of his places of employment, but he always seemed to be in a city where there were large thefts happening.”
“Has there been one here?” asked Sage.
“Not yet,” said Eric, “but there are six major Mardi Gras balls with high-profile people attending over the next three days. I would suspect there will be a lot of jewelry.”
“He knew those men,” said Sage. “They knew him, and he knew them. He must know something.” Mike stood from beside her, nodding.
“And he’s about to know me.”
“Can I kill him?” asked Mike, staring through the glass of the conference room.
“Uh, well. We’re trying to cut back on that,” said Cam. “You know. New image kind of thing. Plus, the gators are getting too big. Mama Irene asked us to cut back where we can.” Mike frowned but nodded, entering the room.
“You have no right to hold me!” he yelled.
“You trespassed onto our property,” said Tanner. “Cameras show that you hid between several couples with invitations, sneaking onto the property without authority. That’s punishable by death around here.”
“Sh-she stole from me!” Mike walked in and slammed his fist against the table. The glass of water in front of the man tipped, spilling the water everywhere.
“If I were you, I’d try that again,” said Mike. “You brought those stolen jewels into the store. Who were the other men?”
“Th-there were no other men. It was just me!” he sputtered.
“What did you want with her?” asked Mike.
“I want my stuff back. It’s mine! She stole it!”
“Buddy, you’re gonna need to write a different book. That one doesn’t have a happy ending for you. The sheriff is on the way. Good friend of the family. He’s going to make sure that you’re in a cell with a few good old boys who get confused about their bed partners.”
