Steamy Southern Nights (7 page)

“Tourist stuff, huh?”

“You’ll like it. Oh, and Lucy? Bring your toothbrush. You won’t be making it home.”

Lucy was having trouble concentrating on her research. She’d done it. She’d taken her resume and a nice letter and she’d officially applied for the position of assistant professor, tenure track. She needed to get hold of her mother and get copies of reference letters and a few other things.

And, she admitted, she needed to let Claude know what she’d done. If he freaked out, well, that was a pretty clear indication that their romance was strictly short term in his mind. That was fine, too. She’d decided that whatever happened with Claude, she wanted this job.

Somehow she needed to tell him, though.

She took the streetcar home and walked the couple of blocks to Beatrice’s place. She let herself in with her key, noting that her hostess’s car was gone. She was alone, which was fine by her. She needed to think about how she was going to tell them – him. She might not even get the job, but she already knew that Beatrice and Claude knew everybody and if word got out she’d applied, well, she wanted them to hear it from her first.

She slipped off her shoes and thought she’d run upstairs and call her mother.

A slight noise from the living room made her stop. Beatrice was out. Wasn’t she? Unless her car was being serviced or she’d lent it to someone.

“Beatrice?” she called walking into the room.

She stopped dead in her tracks, all the blood draining from her face so she felt like she might faint.

“Claude,” she said, and the weight of disappointment was so great she could barely get the word around the lead weight clogging her throat.

“
Merde
. Lucy. I thought you were at the university.”

“Obviously.” She found she was shaking so she sat down.

He was crouched beside an open safe she hadn’t even known about since it was inside a chest she’d assumed was pure furniture. In his hands was the three string pearl necklace with the giant emerald she’d seen on the thin, rich woman at the historical society party.

She didn’t think she’d have felt any worse if she’d found her brand new lover in the arms of another woman. The betrayal felt as sharp. “I asked you if you were a thief. You never answered me.”

He’d half risen and spoken her name urgently. Now, he settled back down and stared down at the gems in his hand. “No. I never did answer you.”

“At least you’re not a liar.”

He breathed a heavy sigh. “No. I’m not a liar.”

The doorbell rang. He cursed again. “Now, what?”

“I’ll go and see who it is.”

She walked to the front door and peeked out the peep hole. Perfect, just perfect.

She opened the door to the glamorous police officer who stood there with a male detective at her side. “Hello, Lucy. Is Claude here?”

Her brain whirled. Should she deny him? Turn him in? While she stood there dithering she felt Claude appear behind her.

“Isabelle, John. Hi.”

“Sorry to bother you but I saw your car out front of your place and you didn’t answer the door.” She glanced at Lucy, “I thought you might be here.”

Claude also glanced at Lucy. “This isn’t a great time.”

“It won’t take long. We need your help.”

There was a short pause then Claude said, “Come on in.”

Lucy watched him lead the officers into the very room where she’d found him with the jewels. He had balls, she’d give him that. She headed up the stairs to her room when Isabelle stopped her. “We’d like to talk to you, too.”

“Me?” She looked at all three of them. Then shrugged. This was a nightmare. A pure nightmare. “Okay.”

When they’d all sat down and the police officers had turned down her offer of iced tea, Isabelle spoke.

“There’s been another robbery, Claude.”

“Really?” His voice was leaden. He must be waiting for her to speak.

“The Gimmels, Chuck and Rose, were at the party Friday night. Do you remember seeing them?”

“Yes.”

“What time was that?”

“I don’t know. Early. Nine? Nine-thirty?”

“Lucy, did you see them? The Gimmels are a wealthy couple she was wearing—“

“I know who they are. Beatrice pointed them out to me. She was wearing the tiniest black dress I’ve ever seen.” She paused. “And a fabulous necklace.”

“Right. So you definitely remember that necklace?”

“Oh yes. An amazing piece. I’d know it anywhere.”

“Can you describe it?”

She looked at Claude as she spoke. “Three strings of fat pearls in a choker with a very large square emerald in the center. Claude would know more about sizes and so on. All I know is that it was stunning.”

“Worth a fortune, too,” Isabelle said. “It was stolen the night of the historical society’s gala. Seems like it might be the same thief as the one who took the Guillotine diamonds. It went missing between two, when Mrs. Gimmel returned it to the safe and four a.m. when their dog started barking and they found the safe open. Same MO. Nothing else taken.”

There was absolute silence in the room. Outside, Lucy heard a car drive by. In the house somewhere a clock chimed off the hour.

“Have you heard any rumblings Claude?”

Another pause.

“No.”

“Can you check with your network?”

He nodded.

“If you hear of anything Claude, or if a fence gets in touch with you…”

“I’ll call you right away.”

Isabelle looked for a second as though she’d say more, then with a nod she and her partner got up and left.

Lucy heard the door shut behind them, and then Claude’s soft tread returning to where she still sat stone still.

He didn’t come all the way in the room but stood leaning on the doorway. “You didn’t turn me in.”

She felt his gaze on her but couldn’t look at him. “No.”

“Why not?”

Why not? Why hadn’t she told the police that she’d seen him with a fortune in jewels in his hand not ten minutes ago and that they were stashed right here in this room.

Because in the moment she’d seen the police on the doorstep she’d known she was in love with her thieving cousin. “Because I’m an idiot,” she said savagely, kicking the leg of her chair so hard she bruised her heel.

“Are you planning to tell them?”

“I haven’t decid—“ She blew out a breath. “No. I’ve never done one single dishonest thing in my life until now. Not one. I don’t have an unpaid parking ticket, an overdue library fine. Nothing. And now I’m an accessory to jewel theft.”

Claude came and squatted in front of her chair. The strained look was gone and she thought he looked smug. No, not smug, she realized. Happy.

What the hell did he have to be happy about?

“Lucy, I need your help.”

“What you need is a good defense attorney.”

“I want you to promise me you won’t tell my mother about this.”

“Of course I’m not going to tell your mother. But Claude, what are you planning to do with that thing?”

He gazed at her with a slight frown pulling his brows together. “Put it back.”

“Oh.” Well, it was something at least. Maybe he was going to try and go straight. A sudden qualm assailed her.

“Claude?”

“Mmm?” He was rubbing her thighs but almost as though he were thinking about something else, so she didn’t stop him.

“Is Isabelle involved in the thefts?”

“Isabelle?” He looked at her like she was nuts. “Isabelle’s a cop. She’s trying to track down the missing jewels.”

“Yeah? Well, cops can be on the take. I’ve seen The Big Easy.”

He shook his head at her. “This one isn’t. It’s … complicated.”

Complicated? Calling this complicated was like calling Lake Pontchartrain a small puddle. Oh, she’d found her family skeleton all right. And he was going to rattle her right out of her mind.

She heard Beatrice come in the house and knowing there was no way she could see her hostess while the woman’s son’s criminal activities were so fresh in her mind, she excused herself quickly and ran upstairs to her room.

What was she going to do?

If only she hadn’t slept with him. She’d told herself she wouldn’t. Then she’d been swept away by totally inappropriate lust.

Oh, she was in trouble now.

She felt like slapping herself. Hard. The necklace had been stolen the night of the gala. The very night she’d first made love with Cousin Claude.

How could he have slept with her and then calmly gone off and stolen a fortune in jewels? She wondered which act had given him more pleasure.

She stared blindly out of the window at the garden he’d made for his mother. He was always encouraging Beatrice in her hobbies. She’d thought that was so sweet. And yet here he was living a double life. She imagined him sneaking out of his house right after she’d left it, racing out to go steal…wait a minute.

Isabelle had said the robbery took place between the hours of two a.m. and four a.m. She remembered creeping home that morning serenaded by early birdsong. That had been after five. She was sure of it now, because she’d checked her clock when she got to her room. Five twenty. Claude had been far too busy making love to her between the hours of two and four to be breaking and entering.

She sat down sharply on her bed. If Claude hadn’t taken the necklace then what was it doing in his mother’s house? And if he had taken it why would he have stashed it at his mom’s? Something was wrong with this picture.

But, with a slight alteration, everything made sense.

Lucy made her way back downstairs, hearing the rise and fall of Beatrice and Claude’s voices from the front room.

She walked in and they both stopped talking. Beatrice wiped her eyes and said, “Oh, Lucy. You startled me, honey.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that there’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. For my research.”

Claude was gazing at her with a warning expression but she sat beside him anyway on the couch and patted his knee. She’d promised him she wouldn’t tell his mother what she’d seen, and she wouldn’t.

“What kind of question? Something about the genealogy? I think everything’s in the family bible I showed you.”

“No. It’s not genealogy. It’s a little personal, but I’m curious where the family fortune came from. I understood it was inherited, but I can’t seem to find anyone in the family who ever made a fortune. And believe me, I’ve looked.”

“Lucy, you’re being nosy,” Claude snapped. “Stop it.”

“I am being nosy,” she said, keeping her gaze on Beatrice, “But I’d really like an answer. It’s … important.”

Beatrice heaved a huge sigh then turned to her son. “I think it’s time we told Lucy the truth, don’t you?”

“No. Keep your mouth shut, mother.”

“I think I’ve figured out most of it, anyway,” Lucy said.

“I told you she was smart as a whip,” Beatrice said to Claude, sounding proud.

“Mama, you can’t—“

“Lucy’s family. Besides, it’s my business and I’ll tell her if I want. I’m an international jewel thief, Lucy,” she said with an unmistakable note of pride. “My husband, rest his soul, was the true talent, but I wasn’t half bad either. We were a great team for more then twenty years. Never caught you know. Came close a couple of times.” She chuckled, the way another mother would, reminiscing over a particularly enjoyable family holiday. “Claude disappointed his father a little when he went straight, but you have to admit, he’s made a fine success of his business and he learned everything about jewels and antiques from us, of course.”

“That’s nice,” said Lucy, feeling something was required.

“It’s very inconvenient that he’s working with the police, though, very inconvenient.” She turned to Lucy. “Of course, I mostly only dabble these days as a hobby. I don’t keep the money. Not anymore. It’s a kind of philanthropy. I only steal from people who can afford it, and I use the money I raise for good causes.”

“Like Robin Hood,” Lucy found herself saying.

“You need a new hobby, mama,” Claude said with a bite.

“Then why don’t you hurry up and give me grandchildren?” She beamed at Lucy. “I’ll be a wonderful grandmother.”

“Back to the problem at hand,” Lucy said with determination, not liking the way the fanatical grandmothering gleam was being directed at her, “What are we going to do with this necklace?”

“You aren’t going to do anything,” Claude said. “Either of you. I’m putting the necklace back.”

“But the police know it’s missing.”

“I’ll figure out something.”

“How will you get into the safe?” Lucy asked.

Beatrice laughed. “Claude’s inherited his father’s gift. We used to put his allowance in different safes every week. He had to open the safe to get the money.” She chuckled. “By the time he was in high school there wasn’t a lock he couldn’t pick or a safe he couldn’t crack. That’s why his father was a little disappointed he spurned the family business.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. But the second generation often does, you know. Veronica Mills was telling me the other day that they can’t get a single one of their four children interested in the Mills chain of hardware stores. Not one.”

Lucy blinked. “How disappointing.” She turned to the man next to her. “So, you’re going to sneak into those people’s home and put the necklace back?”

“No.” Beatrice said. “You’re not. I’m going to sell it and donate the proceeds to the save the swamp fund, as I was planning all along. You keep your nose out of my business and everything will be fine.”

“Mama, times have changed. Law enforcement’s more sophisticated now.” He rose and went to stand in front of her. “I don’t want my mama in jail.”

“But—“

“And I’m not bringing the grandchildren on prison visiting day.”

“Oh.” She sniffed. “Oh. Well, that makes a difference.”

Lucy was getting a funny feeling in her belly, part excitement and part fear but this wasn’t the moment to think about herself. Someone in her family was in trouble.

“The Guillotine Diamonds,” Lucy suddenly said. “Isabelle said it was the same M.O.”

Beatrice beamed with pride. “That Isabelle is another smart cookie.”

“What did you do with the diamonds?” Lucy asked, half afraid to hear the answer.

“I returned them to their rightful owner, of course. It wasn’t right they should leave the family. Those dot.com people didn’t need or appreciate those diamonds. It was all for show. I merely rearranged ownership in a more satisfactory way.”