Christmas Male(65)

“What about the other two?” Fiona asked.

“Same reasons. Do I need to give them again?”

“No.” Fiona found herself staring at the emergency technician’s back and called after her, “Where are you transporting them?”

Over her shoulder, the woman gave her the name of the same hospital Amanda was being kept in. “Try in a couple of hours.”

Fiona turned to find D.C. grinning.

“You should have used your charm on her.”

“It never worked on my mother when she was in that kind of a mood. You can have Natalie post a guard on them at the hospital, and they’ll keep for now.”

As Fiona headed back to talk to Tully, she updated Natalie and requested the guards. D.C. angled his way to Wendy Davis. While Tully filled her in on the details of what he knew about the fire—not much—D.C. continued to chat with Billy’s neighbor. By the time Natalie had called back to say they could pick Amanda up and take her to the National Gallery within the hour, D.C. was holding the cat and Wendy was studying the photos that they’d showed Arthur Franks of Charity Watkins, Kathryn Lewen, Regina Meyers and Carla Mason.

Fiona studied him—a large man holding a small cat and using his not inconsiderable charm on a witness. They shouldn’t have been able to work together—and yet they could. Their styles—so different—seemed to mesh perfectly. D.C. turned his head slightly and met her eyes. She felt the instant connection, the pull, and as she did, the noises around her faded. Her heart went into free fall for the second time. This was the moment she’d remember, she thought giddily. While smoke blocked out the sun and the sound of sirens filled the air, the realization streamed through her. In spite of the barricades she’d put in place, this was the moment she fell in love with D. C. Campbell.

“Lieutenant?”

As the sound of D.C.’s voice penetrated her thoughts, Fiona gathered herself and reached him just as Wendy Davis handed him back the photos.

“The one I left on top is definitely the one you say is Professor Kathryn Lewen. And the top three are related, right?”

“Why do you think that?” Fiona asked.

“The shape of the eyes is very similar on the two younger ones. And the older one has the same shaped nose and chin as the professor. I worked my way through college doing portraits. I tend to notice things like that.”

“Thank you for your help, Wendy,” D.C. said as he handed her the cat.

This time when his eyes met hers, Fiona could see they were thinking the same thing. She sent a brief nod to Tully and then turned to walk with D.C. toward the car.

“Meyers, Watkins and Lewen—they’re related,” Fiona said. “I got a hint of it when I saw Kathryn Lewen. There was something familiar about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But Regina Meyers could be an older sister of Kathryn and Charity.”

“I’m betting she’s their mother.”

Fiona stopped to stare at him. “And they’ve been planning this for ten years.”

“Looks like.”

“We have enough to bring them in for questioning,” Fiona said.

“I vote we take Amanda to the exhibition at the National Gallery first. It’s closing in two hours, and the insurance company will be there to provide security for the diamond’s transportation back to Shalnokov’s estate. I’m betting that two out of the three of these women will be there, too. If seeing the Rubinov there brings Amanda’s memory back, a lot of our questions will be answered.” As D.C. punched numbers into his phone, he shot her a grin. “In the meantime, I’ll tell my brother to fast-track the check on Kate McGowan.”



FIONA STOOD TO THE RIGHT of Amanda’s wheelchair a short distance down the hallway from the exhibition room. From their vantage point, they could see D.C. and one of the guards just outside the doors. Viewers were moving at a steady rate from the exhibition room into the hall.

Chance had called just as they’d arrived to say that he wouldn’t be personally present to oversee things. Natalie had gone into labor. Someone else from his company would be heading up the transfer and safe transport of the diamond from the National Gallery to Shalnokov’s home. Just as D.C. had expected, Regina Meyers and Charity Watkins would be on hand to witness the transfer.

The plan was to wait until the exhibition room had cleared and then to bring Amanda in to see the room and the diamond. The insurance company’s security team would give them a few moments of privacy before bringing Watkins and Meyers in and removing the Rubinov from the case. A glance at her watch told Fiona that they had only a few moments to wait.