14
Another buff man with tatted up arms and tousled light brown hair entered the room, his button up shirt untucked and his tight, dark jeans, carrying a platter with drinks and danishes. “Just thought I’d bring some much needed cheer into the room.” He took the danishes straight to Marisa, who took a raspberry one. “All I ask is that you eat it slowly. I’m really not in the mood to clean up puke. I’m Ace.” He pressed his lips together and proffered his hand. She shook it and stared at him, curiosity filling her. The rest passed the platter of pastries and took one, while Ace divvied out the glasses of water.
“That was General Donati on the phone.” All attention moved to Jeremy as he spoke. “No one has tried to pawn the stolen items—there’s been no word about them.”
“If the goal was to quickly get the money, she would have tried to sell already,” Ace frowned as he sat. “Being a novice thief, I’m betting she has no clue who she might sell them to besides pawn type shops.”
“And if she’d made a deal to exchange the jewels for something,” Halluis said, “then the receiving party would have tried to pawn them or announced their acquisition of them by now.” He stroked his thin mustache.
“It doesn’t fit. The theft had to be a diversion,” Jeremy said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Christy, do you have anything more for us?”
“Nothing firm, but it looks like Tara could have been in and out of the vault in less than ten minutes if all she wanted to do was steal the items she took, but entrance logins show Tara and Marisa entered the vault not once, but twice. And there was a one hour break between the two. What was she doing during the time between?”
“She must have done something in that vault before taking the jewels,” Marisa said.
“Yes,” Ace said. “If only we knew what that was.”
All eyes fell on Marisa.
She bit her lip and looked away, an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach assailing her. “I don’t know.”
“I might,” Jeremy said. “What if Tara altered a document in some way? She did tell Marisa she was a master with forgeries.”
Marisa thought she could almost hear the gears of the team churning.
“I see nothing wrong with that conclusion,” Halluis said.
“It’s sounds pretty likely to me,” Ace said.
“Yes,” Christy said. “That would explain her double entry into the vault. She retrieved the document the first time and went somewhere to alter it. When she returned it, she took the jewels.”
“An attack of greed?” Halluis offered.
“I doubt it. Greed would lead to taking things of much greater value.”
“She never claimed to be a jewel thief,” Ace said. “Maybe her ignorance worked against her here like it did with the drugs.”
“Maybe, but I think it’s fair to say we don’t need to focus on the jewels anymore. They weren’t the primary reason for getting into the vault. They were secondary.” Jeremy seemed to always be the voice of reason.
“Well, now that she’s on the run, she might need to pawn them to survive,” Halluis said. “I don’t think we should discount them yet. With Marisa having no memories, the only lead we have to the truth is Tara, and our only lead to Tara is the jewels.”
“So, not much changes,” Jeremy said. “We have the general keep an eye on the jewel market and such, and we find Tara and/or what she altered in the vault. Yes. Let’s run with this.” Everyone was nodding. “Ace and Halluis, start researching forgers and see if you can get lucky and find our little druggist. It could lead us to her true identity. Christy, I need you to work with the captain on a way to get into that vault. We need you to look over everything to see if you can spot an anomaly in any of the documents.”
“If you think the captain is going to help anyone get into the castle behind the royals backs,” Marisa said. “You’re nuts. And helping someone into the royal vaults? No way.” Marisa looked at the clock on the fireplace mantle. It had only been thirty minutes since they’d taken her. It seemed like much more time should have passed.
As if he had heard his name and knew he was needed, the captain groaned and rolled over, falling to the floor. He groaned again as Jeremy and Halluis hurried to him, lifting him up under protest to sitting position on the couch. “Relax. You’re safe.” The captain’s strong arms fought against his bonds until his handsome hazel eyes fell on Marisa. Then he stared at her in stunned silence.
She resisted the urge to stand and salute him. Instead, she said, “Captain Di Stefano, I’m glad you’re awake.” She wanted to fix his hair. A section of his short-cropped, pistachio shell colored hair stuck straight up, and she knew he would hate that if he knew.
He narrowed his eyes and then examined the room quickly. “Where am I?”
“You are in a safe place,” Jeremy said.
“Then why am I cuffed?” He bared his teeth.
“Because we’re unsure how safe you are,” Jeremy said.
“What are you talking about? Set me free.” He jerked at his bonds.
“Not yet.”
“Are you working for these people, Donati?” Christian spat the words at her.
Her jaw fell. “No. I’m not working for anybody.” Her erect posture failed her, and she slumped slightly.
“We understand that this is confusing,” Jeremy said. “Let me explain.”
The captain set his gaze on Jeremy, who was sitting across from him in an armchair.
“Speak then.”
“We were hired by someone to clear Ms. Donati of all wrong doing and find the true culprits. We had not intended to include you in this mission originally, but when we discovered just how unwilling a participant Ms. Donati is in clearing her name, we thought we could use you as leverage to keep her from going back to the castle and turning herself in. Besides, as captain of the guard, we might find your insights useful.” The captain glanced at Marisa. “In the short while we’ve been here, we have made a lot of headway to our goal. This is what we know. Ms. Donati was tricked into her actions by a girl going by the alias of Tara. Ms. Donati was not a party to the end game, but she did demonstrate poor judgment. We will let her explain if she so chooses.”
Marisa glanced from Jeremy to Christian several times, but said nothing.
“We have found evidence that Tara has been working to achieve her goal, whatever that was, for a year now. We do not believe Ms. Donati was the original target. We believe she was either working for someone or with someone. At this point we do not know which. We need to find out what, if anything was tampered with in the vault and where Tara is. Uncovering either of these things will bring us closer to finding the people who Tara was working with and clearing Ms. Donati’s name.”
“I’m afraid her name will never be cleared.” His face softened as he looked back at Marisa.
“Guys,” Christy said. “I’m starving. How about we go get some breakfast?” She gave Jeremy, Ace, and Halluis a meaningful look. “While we’re whipping something up, why don’t you two have a chat?” Jeremy hooked the captain’s leg to the couch and stood, walking into the kitchen, leaving Marisa and the captain alone together.
“Oh, Marisa. Why did you run? It will only make you look guilty.” Her heart beat twice as fast now. She knew she had to tell him the truth, but it was killing her.
“I didn’t run. My dad extracted me without my consent.”
He frowned. “I should have known. Running didn’t sound like you.”
Marisa flushed. It felt like a compliment, but why would Christian bother?
“I just don’t understand how any of this happened. You were my best guard. I can’t understand what would make you bring someone into the castle.”
Marisa flushed. Shame made her want to hide the truth, but her integrity wouldn’t let her. She had to explain. “When I left the club, I was really hurt that you would treat me that way. I don’t mean it as an excuse, just an explanation.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head. “Please don’t interrupt. This is hard enough as it is.”
He shut his mouth, but furrowed his brow.
“I was mad, and I wanted to make you feel as stupid as I did. So when Tara suggested…when she suggested we go to the castle and do something to make you look foolish, I was totally on board. I wanted to hurt you. To make you the idiot for once. I agreed to take Tara inside the castle. I agreed.” She swallowed the hard lump in her throat and stared at the captain. “You see, I am a traitor. I am what they believe me to be.”
He was shaking his head. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t know why you thought I was making a fool of you at the club. I was having a great time. I thought you were, too.”
“Tara told me how you often seduced women to get what you want, and you needed me to stay quiet about your daughter, so you pretended to like me. To want me.”
“Hold on!” As he protested, Marisa realized what she had just said. “I don’t know who Tara is, and I never seduced anyone to get what I want. She was a liar. Don’t you see? She was manipulating you.”
Marisa saw it now. Tara had played her so well, the effects rippled on. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“I’m sorry you thought I was toying with you. I wasn’t. I truly have feelings for you. I have for a long time.” He leaned toward her and she had a thought that if he could have moved, he would have been right next to her already.
Marisa wanted to move to him, but didn’t. Her heart thudded hard against her ribs. She chewed on her lip.
“All of that at the club was real, Marisa. Ever since you started kicking guys’ butts right and left in the interviews, I couldn’t keep you off my mind as hard as I tried. Every time you came near me, I thought you would see it, sense it.”
“I thought you hated me. That you despised me for entering your male dominated kingdom.”
He chuckled. “No. Never. You have mesmerized me from that very first day I saw you, so determined, so unstoppable. I didn’t want to be your captain and yet, I wanted to be your captain, if you know what I mean.”
“Then why did you never promote me? You can’t deny that I’m the best you have.”
He hesitated. “You are the best at many things—the sparring, the training exercises, but you weren’t ready for a promotion. Despite my feelings for you, I stand by that. You’ve got a volatile temper and a wicked stubborn streak, and what I said when you came to me about a promotion holds true. You need to learn to work on a team.”
Marisa sighed. “Not that any of that matters anymore…” She didn’t mention her impending execution. She didn’t have to. She pushed the thought away and focused on what Christian was saying. She forced a laugh. “I’ve been my own worst enemy, haven’t I?”
“You could say that. But lucky for you, you have some pretty powerful allies. And I want you to know I’m one of them.”
She shook her head and finally moved to him. She put her hand on his arm and leaned closer to him. Warmth filled her.
The team walked in right then, carrying a tray of muffins and fresh orange slices.
“So, Christian, are you going to help us?” Jeremy said, holding the tray of muffins in front of him.
Christian looked at Marisa. A twitch formed right over his left eye. “If we can prove her innocence and discover who the traitors are without endangering the royal family, I’m in.”
Marisa knew his struggle and was truly shocked he had agreed. Their oath was to protect the royals and their property at all costs. She was sure the only reason he agreed was because he told himself that working behind the royals’ backs was the only way he could protect them.
Marisa spoke up, “I’m sorry I put you in this position. Truly sorry.”
He nodded. “If I hadn’t acted so foolishly with you, this never would have happened. I have to accept part of the responsibility. And I know you are innocent.”
Halluis said, “Wow, I never thought we’d be working with people as honor-bound as we are.”
“Honor can get in the way,” Ace said. “Can you pretend not to have it until we get the bad guy?”
Both Marisa and Christian looked at them like they were crazy.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Ace said.
“Here’s the plan,” Jeremy said. “You, Christian, are going to go back to work. We’ve had you for a little over an hour. Any more time away from the chaos than that will cause the royals to speculate. We can’t have that.”
Christian nodded. “You’re going to take Christy into the vault, where she is going to examine the contents.”
“No, I’m not.” His face was resolute, his lips almost not visible.
“It’s the only way.” Jeremy clasped his hands together.
“How do I know that you guys aren’t the bad guys?”
“We were wondering when you’d ask that.” Jeremy punched a few buttons on his phone and handed it to the captain. “That connects you to General Donati.”
He nodded. “Sir. Yes, sir. I’m calling to find out about this group of people trying to help…”
There was a lengthy pause.
“Most certainly, sir. I will, sir. Yes, sir.” He hung up, his face a bit white.
“Convinced?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, you will get Christy into the vault to check out all the items inside.”
“It can’t be done.”
“You two will find a way, of that I am sure. Christy will analyze the information and uncover what was altered. We will be working on locating Tara. We will take care of Marisa if you take care of Christy.” The three Division men stood. Jeremy cut Christian’s bonds and left the room. The three others remained.
“I was thinking an auditor or something similar.” Christy was typing things on a computer.
“We have royal castle auditors. Everything is done in-house.”
“Sounds like the royal family has a problem it needs to solve. They really need an independent audit, don’t you think?”
“You are stepping on hundreds of years of history here. No. They will never go for it.”
“Okay then. Sounds like your royal castle auditor needs to have a problem and not be able to come in today.”
Christian looked at his watch. “He should be arriving in two hours and he has an assistant that has all the same clearance.”
Christy smiled. “You mean Danilo Morra, Male 3456 via Montefiori, Monterra 60520, (340) 945-6754, fifty five years old and …”
Christian interrupted, “What? How did you know all that about him?”
She looked at the computer screen. “Would you like me to tell you what I know about you?” She gave him a wolfish grin.
“Don’t let her fool you, Christian. She has some kind of super memory or something.”
“But those records. People can’t get to those records.” Christian jerked his head back, his fingers touching his parted lips.
“The right people can. We’ll take care of Morra and his assistant. When you get the news that neither are coming in today, you will tell the office to call the special auditor. If they question you, you will tell them it is a new position and the information should be in the computer. After they call me, I’ll call you. You let me in.”
“Wait. Wait.” He stood up. “We need the auditor to come in today. He’s supposed to be retrieving a document, a contract of sorts for a big ceremony today.”
There was an unusual pause as Christy seemed to blank out again before she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get whatever the castle needs for today’s ceremony and whatever else it needs. Trust me.”
He shook his head but still said, “Fine. I’ll wait for your call. But be warned, the people who work for the royals are not idiots.”
“Hold on.” She turned toward the kitchen and called out, “Guys, get in here.”
The three men from Division entered the living room. “What’s up?” Jeremy asked walking close to Christy, closer than a superior usually got to a subordinate.
“I know what document was altered. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Don’t do that. We can’t lose you over something so small,” Halluis joked.
“Very funny. It was right in front of us this whole time.”
“Don’t leave us in suspense,” Ace said.
“It’s the peace agreement. The hundred year old peace agreement.”
“But what could someone alter on a peace agreement that was signed a hundred years previous?”
“I have no clue.” Christy continued to stare off.
“I do,” the captain said, his hand rubbing his jaw. “I’ve never seen the agreement, but I’ve heard people talk about it. From what I understand, there was a war fought over mines. In the end, both sides compromised a little to return the region to peace and form this country. It had something to do with who could mine in which mines and reap the benefits from the mining. I’m no lawyer, but I do know how the alteration of a few key words or lines in a contract can change the meaning of the whole document.”
“I think you’re on to something here, Christy,” Jeremy said. “This would explain the apparent rush Tara was in. Think about it. She’d spent an entire year trying to infiltrate the castle and when she finally does, she makes terrible blunders, including being forced to hurt the king.”
“Oh, my word,” Marisa said. “It all fits so well. She must have gotten me to tell her how to open the vault and after she found the document, she left the vault and the records room to alter it, just in case someone showed up. When she went to replace the document, however, she would have found the same protocol would not open it. As a safety precaution, the royals made necessary a third verification for entry to the vault if the same keycard was used within a twelve hour period. She would have needed my thumb in order to get back into the safe.”
“And that’s when she found the king in the record’s room,” Christian said. “When he can’t sleep, which is often, he goes to the record’s room and reads boring documents to help him fall asleep.”
“That celebration is tonight,” Marisa said.
“Nothing better than a ticking time bomb.” Ace said. “Tick. Tick. Tick.”
“What was in that document exactly, Christy?” Jeremy asked.
“Well,” Christy said. “The captain gave a good overview. More specifically, it looks like the people of Aligard believed the mines near the castle belonged to their family despite the fact that they were located outside their county. In fact, they believed all the mines in Monterra belonged to them. The agreement gave all rights to the mines near the castle to the Fiorelli family and the county of Aligard retained rights to the ones within their borders. It ended the war. From everything I’ve read, it would seem all the mines are still producing well.”
“Hopefully, you have enough information what you’ve read to determine what changes might have been made to that document,” Jeremy said.
“As soon as Christy finds that document, she better take it straight to the king,” Halluis said.
“And what will he do about it?” Ace said. “He can’t prove it’s been forged. And if I were from Aligard, an accusation of forgery would make me even more determined to get my hands on it.” Ace stepped toward Halluis, and Halluis stepped toward Ace as they completed their brainstorming session.
“Especially if I knew items had been altered in it.” Halluis said.
“In other words,” Jeremy said. “Even if Christy finds the document and discovers what was altered, there will be no real proof it was—and war could break out.”
“We have to find Tara. She’s our only hope,” Marisa said.
“You’re right,” Christian conceded. “So, do we bother with retrieving the document?”
“Yes,” Jeremy said. “Find the document, Christy, and let us know what was changed. Now that we know what Tara was up to, we can make a pretty educated guess about who was behind it.”
“Ottavio,” said Christian.
They all nodded.
“Ace,” Jeremy ordered. “I need you uncovering everything you can about Ottavio. He will lead us to Tara if Halluis is unable to find her through her forgery connections. Christian and Christy will be our eyes and ears inside the castle. Marisa, you will be going with us. I hope you’re as amazing as your training scores lead us to believe.”
“She is,” Christian said, his eyes flicking to hers.
She could feel herself blush as she said, “If I can work with a team.”
Christian and Marisa chuckled.
After checking their watches, Jeremy said to Halluis, “Let’s go take care of those auditors, shall we?” and they left. Ace got busy on a computer, and Christy turned to the captain. “Now, how are you going to explain your little absence?”
“I will say I was following up some leads. I’ll be vague about it. The only person who really questions me is the king, and he’s still sick. Well, the queen does sometimes, but she’ll be too worried about the king and the celebration. Yes,” he said, like he had to convince himself, “I’ll be okay.”
“A driver is waiting for you outside.”
He walked over to Marisa, who stood. “I’m sorry,” he said, his hand pressing onto her jaw. She leaned into it.
“No. I’m sorry.” She fixed his hair.
He raised his eyebrows and then smiled. “We’ll make this right.”