janet maple 05 - it doesnt pay to be bad (19 page)

“Why don’t you try to make friends with him,” Janet said. “I think once you get to know one another, your opinion might change.”

Before Leonard could say another word, Janet grabbed her outfit and headed for the bedroom to change. As she walked away, she heard Baxter’s bark, followed by a feeble sound that had to belong to Leonard, but she kept on walking. If they were going to entrap Bassand, Leonard was going to have to become a whole lot tougher.

On her way into the bedroom she nearly collided with Dennis. “You’re looking spiffy,” she observed.

Dennis held up his hand in a gesture of annoyance. “Don’t even try it. These pants are riding up my butt and this jacket is pinching me in the shoulders. I feel the whole thing will burst at the seams if I take too deep a breath.”

Janet giggled. “For what’s it’s worth, you look very handsome,” she whispered.

“Coming from my wife that’s worth a lot,” Dennis said quietly. He leaned in, his lips brushing over hers. “I’m feeling better already.”

“I’m glad,” Janet said playfully. “Now I need to get dressed or we’ll be late.”

“Dammit. That’s so not what I had in mind.”

“The night is still young.” Janet winked at him. “Now go and try to be civil to Leonard. He needs all the encouragement he can get.”

With that Janet quickly closed the bedroom door and placed the dress she was going to wear on the bed. She slipped out of her clothes and put on the dress—it fit her perfectly. She was starting to like the idea of having Leonard as her personal stylist. She reached inside her closet and pulled out a pair of black stilettos—what the heck—she was feeling adventurous. Then she grabbed a clutch in dark purple patented leather and hurried into the living room, hoping that Dennis and Baxter hadn’t scared poor Leonard to death.

“Wowwee!” Dennis howled as Janet emerged down the hall.

“Well, thank you.” Janet twirled around slowly to show off. She nearly twisted her ankle when she saw that Leonard had Baxter sitting on his lap and was scratching his ear. “I see you two made friends.”

Leonard nodded. “We did. Turns out old Baxter here isn’t all that bad—he just wanted some attention. Janet, you look marvelous,” Leonard added.

“Leonard, I gotta give it to you—when it comes to dressing women, you know your stuff,” Dennis said. “Maybe you should consider it as your next career move once this whole thing with Bassand is over.”

“I’ll take it under advisement,” Leonard conceded. “It might be a nice career change. From the looks of it, the feds could use a stylist.”

“I don’t know about that,” Dennis said. “You might want to focus on the fashion world instead.”

“Gentlemen,” Janet reminded them. “It’s time for us to get going.”

Chapter 14

Half an hour later, Janet, Dennis, and Leonard were standing on the marble front steps of Bassand’s mansion.

“Here we go.” Dennis pressed the doorbell.

Minutes later Bassand’s butler opened the door. “Mr. Bassand is expecting you,” he said promptly, bowing slightly. “Please follow me.”

“At least the butler recognized us,” Dennis whispered into Janet’s ear, “so it can’t be all that bad.”

As the butler escorted them down the hallway, Janet noticed that he was leading them to a different room from the one where Bassand had met them before.

Finally, the butler swung open a set of doors. “Mr. Bassand is already waiting for you,” he said and stood aside respectfully.

As the three of them walked inside, Janet saw Bassand seated in a leather armchair in the center of the room. Next to him, halfway reclined on a settee was a striking brunette Janet assumed to be Nicole Sheridan. Janet quickly scanned the rest of the room, which consisted of a long leather couch, a coffee table, and a large mahogany bar in the far corner of the room.

“Janet, Dennis, how kind of you to join me on such a short notice.” Bassand rose from his seat to greet them. He merely nodded at Leonard to acknowledge his presence. “Come, there is a very dear friend of mine I’d like you to meet.” As he said so, the young woman sat up and directed her gaze at them. “Please meet Nicole Sheridan,” Bassand said, a glimmer of pride in his voice.

“A pleasure.” Nicole’s large, dark brown eyes took them in from beneath her long lashes. Her black, perfectly straight hair was parted down the middle and fell straight to her shoulders. She had a delicate, perfectly straight nose, sensual lips, oval chin, and a very long neck. Slowly, she got up to her feet, clearly aware of her good looks, as she showcased her long, shapely legs. She brushed past Leonard without as much as a nod, her attention focused on Janet. “Armand has told me so much about you,” she purred, as she took Janet’s hand, squeezing it firmly. “I can’t wait for us to become great friends.”

“As do I,” Janet muttered, thinking that perhaps she should’ve paid better attention to Leonard’s warning. Being under Nicole’s gaze felt as though she was being subjected to a set of X-rays.

“And you must be Dennis.” Nicole dropped Janet’s hand. “It is so wonderful to meet you at last.” She extended her slender arm, as though expecting him to kiss it.

“The pleasure, I assure you, is all mine,” Dennis said slowly as he pressed Nicole’s hand to his lips.

Janet bristled inwardly. No one, and she meant no one flirted with her man. Sure, this was a work assignment, but if that Nicole character knew what was good for her, she’d better stay away from Dennis Walker because he was already spoken for.

“Shall we?” Bassand pointed at the couch. “Please, let’s all get comfortable.” He led the way, resuming his seat in the armchair in the center.

Janet expected Nicole to take her old seat, but instead she perched herself on the couch and patted the space next to her. “Don’t be shy now,” she said, looking at Dennis.

“I assure you that shyness is not among my qualities.” Dennis took a seat next to Nicole, without giving Janet as much as a look.

“Yes, I gathered as much. That was one ballsy move you pulled snatching the Monet right from under my nose. You cost me a lot of money.” This time Nicole’s voice was icy cold, not a hint of flirtation in it, as her eyes turned into two narrow slits.

Janet felt a chill, barely resisting the urge to clutch her shoulders—there was a lot more to Nicole Sheridan than met the eye. They were going to have to watch their step around her.

“Nicole,” Bassand sounded like a father appeasing a petulant child. “We’ve been through this already. You’ll recover your commission and then some.”

“Yes, Armand.” Nicole smiled pleasantly, her voice purring again. “I can’t wait to hear about this venture that Janet and Dennis have in mind.”

“And you shall, my dear,” Bassand said soothingly, “you shall.” He turned his attention to Janet and Dennis. “I gave Nicole a brief overview of your proposal, but she’d like to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. So if you could indulge us both and go through your plan one more time.”

“Of course.” Janet made herself comfortable on the settee that Nicole had occupied previously. Still being completely ignored by Nicole and Bassand, Leonard timidly sat down next to Janet.

“Here’s the gist of it, Nicole.” Janet proceeded to give an overview of their plan to steal the Eternal Light diamond. “And as I have mentioned before, I have three invitations to Garrett’s gala, which will give us ample opportunity to scope out the place—”

“Make it four invitations,” Nicole cut Janet off.

“Excuse me?” Janet asked, although she’d heard Nicole perfectly.

“There has been a change of plans,” Bassand interjected. “It is my opinion that our chances of success will be enhanced by Nicole’s presence. After all, Nicole and I go way back, but you and I have only just met,” he added, his gaze burrowing into Janet and Dennis in turn.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” Dennis began, “We have an invitation from Garrett for a private pre-gala viewing of the Eternal Light—we can’t just snap our fingers and bring whomever we want.”

“Oh, no?” Nicole’s lips curved in a leering smile. “I thought you were all pretty chummy with Garrett, so a small thing like that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We have a way in, but no one, and I mean no one can claim to be ‘chummy’ with Garrett,” Dennis shot back. “The man’s net worth is the size of a small country, for crying out loud—he’s incredibly cautious with allowing people into his inner circle. Janet has the inside connection and you’ll just have to take our word for it. Not to point fingers, but even your boss here couldn’t get near Garrett.”

“It looks like you somehow managed to make the cut,” Nicole pressed on. “So what’s the problem? Unless you’re not telling us the truth.” She looked at Bassand. “Armand, I told you these two couldn’t be trusted. How can we be sure they won’t cut us out of the deal, just like they did with the Monet?”

Bassand was about to speak, but Janet stepped in. “I can get another invitation,” she said calmly. “And since we’re all going to be working together, there’s no sense in keeping secrets. My connection with Garrett is through his fiancée—” Janet broke off and paused for emphasis. “The engagement is secret—Garrett is going to announce it at the gala. His fiancée comes from a wealthy family and has a passion for art, just like Garrett. I had the privilege of advising her on expanding her collection. She also asked me to help her find a suitable wedding gift for Garrett. In fact, that was how I obtained an invitation for Armand—I explained that he’s a renowned art collector and said that he might be of help to find exactly the kind of gift she’s looking for.”

“Sounds lovely,” Nicole said acidly. “The more the merrier. You can tell your dear friend that I’m Armand’s significant other,” she added, casting a playful glance at Bassand.

“It should be manageable,” Janet said matter-of-factly. “But I suggest that no further changes be made to our plan. Garrett is known for his reclusiveness and we don’t want to spook him.”

“Agreed.” Bassand nodded. “I think we can put this matter to rest now.”

“Gladly.” Janet put a pleasant smile on her face. “Now, there’s something else we’d like to discuss—” She paused, fixing her gaze on Bassand to gauge his reaction. “I have with me the schematics for Garrett’s display case for the Eternal Light.”

Nicole parted her lips to no doubt make another snide remark, but Bassand flicked his hand in a warning gesture. “Now we’re talking, Janet. Let’s have a look.” Bassand rubbed his palms excitedly, a greedy light in his eyes.

***

“I think that went well,” Janet said as they were driven away from Bassand’s mansion in an executive chauffeured car, courtesy of the FBI. It certainly beat hunting around for cabs in New York City. It was well after midnight. Bassand had kept them talking late, refreshing their glasses with expensive scotch, his enthusiasm reignited by seeing the blueprints for the Eternal Light display case. He’d been like a schoolboy, his eyes alight with anticipation, and for a moment Janet almost felt guilty about entrapping him. But that was the thing with successful thieves—they could be very charming when they wanted to be, and the trick was to remember who the bad and the good guys were.

“Yes,” Leonard agreed. “Much better than I expected. But Nicole has it in for both of you now—watch your backs. She doesn’t like to be outshined, and once you pulled out those specs, Bassand didn’t pay her any mind. How did you get those by the way?”

“Internal sources—need to know basis only,” Dennis said dryly.

“Have it your way,” Leonard grumbled. “But be prepared for Nicole snooping around—she won’t rest until she finds out how you got it.”

Dennis grinned. “She’ll be looking for a while. But for once I agree with you Lenny—Nicole has got it in for us. And I can’t blame her. Janet, remember that little argument we had right after we’d bought the painting in Antibes?”

Janet wrinkled her forehead. “I don’t think so.”

“When you caught me looking at another woman?” Dennis reminded her.

“Yes,” Janet replied, the details coming back to her. “You said she was wearing the same outfit as the one I had on, but I didn’t believe you—” she broke off. “Are you telling me that was Nicole Sheridan?”

“That’s right.” Dennis grinned. “I never forget a face. She was in such a rush to get to the gallery, she nearly bumped into me. I wonder what she would’ve done had she known we had the very painting she was after. And I’m pretty sure she recognized us tonight.”

“So that explains why she kept glaring at us,” Janet said.

“That and the fact that you outsmarted her,” Leonard pointed out. “Even if it was by accident, which she of course doesn’t know. And let’s not forget her reputation. I’m pretty sure this is the first time Nicole Sheridan has been outplayed and she doesn’t like to be outplayed.”

“No one does,” Janet pointed out.

“She’ll just have to get used to it,” Dennis added. “We’re only getting started.”

Chapter 15

The next morning, before going into the office, Janet and Dennis met with Agent Norris in a rundown diner a few blocks away from their office. The diner looked like its décor had not been updated since the 1970’s and not in the fashionable, retro way that’s recently become all the rage in New York. The rundown furniture and brisk service were authentic, but the coffee and the Danish pastries were excellent. Plus the shady, spacious booths provided an excellent spot to talk without being listened to or noticed.

“So how did the meeting go with Bassand last night?” asked Agent Norris, as he bit into his Danish and took a gulp of his coffee. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said this coffee was strong—my eyeballs nearly popped out.”

“After the night we had, Janet and I might need a refill.” Dennis took a long swallow of his black coffee. “Hits the spot.”

“So how did the meeting go?” repeated Agent Norris, clearly unimpressed by Dennis’s coffee bravado.

“It went well,” Janet hurried to explain. “Bassand was very excited about the blueprints—kept us talking past midnight. I’d say at this point he’s not going to back down.”