Author Anon

“You know we’re being followed,” says Belle.

“What? How do you know?” asks Nicholas.

“Because I just saw my sister being ushered in.”

“What if she decided to dine here tonight. It’s very popular with the locals.”

“My sister and Chloe Purl have more refined tastes in food. Not to say that it isn’t good here, but they prefer the high class, pricey French and Italian restaurants.”

“Why would they want to follow us?”

“Because that’s the way Ashley is. She doesn’t like it when we have boyfriends. She deliberately sabotages any relationships we have. The only reason she’s left Alex alone is because the whole family got on her case about her behavior.”

“What about Gavin?”

“What about him? I told you she doesn’t really care about him. In fact, she cares very little about any relationships she has. She’d rather go after the guys dating her own sisters. And once she has them, she just throws them away like a dirty old sock. Not that she even wears those.”

“Are you saying she’s after me?”

“Possibly. She was asking a lot of questions about you earlier.”

Nicholas laughs.

“You wouldn’t laugh if you knew what she puts guys through,” says Belle.

“Don’t worry. I can handle myself.”

“Good. What about Gavin?”

“Oh, I’m sure he can handle himself, too,” says Nicholas.

“Actually, what I mean is, do you trust him?”

“Trust him? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Do you think he’s telling you the truth?” asks Belle. “I know I shouldn’t even question the integrity of my best friend’s brother, but having a sister like mine, I can’t rely on familial inheritance of good character.”

Nicholas thinks about it. “I’ve never even questioned it. I’ll admit, when he first led me to New York, I was suspicious of him. I wasn’t sure where he got his information. I thought he was leading me into a trap. But when he finally revealed that he worked for the FBI, it never crossed my mind to question him. Why do you ask?”

“Just think about it. Has he done anything else that might be questionable? I mean, he tells you that Carl is only involved in the jewelry thieving and would not know about the other sides. The FBI operates the same way. They don’t tell all their agents everything, just what they need to know. For security reasons. So, how does Gavin know about these other sides?”

“You think he’s working with Carl?”

“It’s a possibility I have to consider. Agents have been known to be bought and bribed.”

Nicholas looks hard at Belle. “Don’t tell me you gave him a dud gem, too?”

Belle shrugs. “Does it make a difference?”

“Of course, it does. If Gavin works with Carl, all he has to do is tell Carl that he has a dud. On the other hand, if he did work with Carl, he would know how to open that gem up.”

“That assumes that the gem can be opened. It also assumes that Gavin is on the jewelry side. He could be on the arms side and is the contact person.”

“Then why would he approach me and get me involved?”

“To get you off the scent. After all, you were after Carl in the first place for something different.”

“Hmmm,” says Nicholas. “He did blow our cover in New York when he alerted Carl and we lost him temporarily. He’s the one who followed Carl to your apartment.”

“You only have his word for what happened that night,” says Belle. “He was shocked when I recognized the saleswoman as a man. And he suspected me of having something belonging to Carl immediately. It just makes me wonder.”

“All right. This is giving me a headache. I left him alone to watch Carl tonight. What if something goes down?”

“He will either call you and lead you into a trap. Or he could take off with Carl and their supposed prize.”

——————————————————————————————–

William looks around the table. “If there’s any hanky-panky going on, I want it to stop right now.”

Mark suddenly bursts out laughing. “You’ve completely wasted my time. You must have realized that I have hardly been home since I opened my cafe. I would have no time for such childish pranks. As for the others, I cannot account for their time, but none of them would stoop to such measures to get rid of unwanted persons from this house.”

“Well said, little brother,” says David, sarcastically.

“If my mother is haunting this place,” continues Mark, “she would only be trying to set things right. Those who have guilty consciences should beware. Now, if you have nothing further to say, I will be on my way.” With that, he gets up and leaves, but no one tries to stop him.

——————————————————————————————–

From his vantage point, Gavin is pacing back and forth across the darkened window. He silently curses Nicholas for leaving him alone and Belle for…for….well, just for complicating everything. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees a figure leaving from the back of Les Carr’s.

“Damn!” he curses under his breath, as he runs down the stairs to catch up with the fleeing figure. He pulls his hat down further and wraps a scarf around his neck, covering his mouth and nose. It had the double advantage of keeping him warm and preventing him from being recognized by Carl.

Minutes later, Nicholas and Belle arrive.

“Well, he’s not here,” says Nicholas.

“And there’s no way to check on Carl,” says Belle, looking across the street. “Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“Ashley and Chloe have arrived.”

“C’mon. We’d better head into that nightclub before they start wondering what we’re up to.”

——————————————————————————————–

Filed under: All That Glitters