not, I mean we are supposed to be working with them.” Kate ground her teeth together. She had to share the information with them but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to do all the work and the FBI would swoop in at the last minute and take all the credit.
“Were you going somewhere?” Mercedes bent down to pet Daisy, who, Kate noticed grudgingly, had trotted over to greet her.
Kate glared at the dog. Traitor. Then she looked back over at Mercedes who was staring up at her with her doe-brown eyes.
“I was just goin—”
Ding!
“It found something.” Gideon bent over the computer, tapping on the keyboard.
Kate rushed to his side, elbowing Mercedes out of the way to get closer to the computer whose screen showed the picture Kate had given Gideon side by side with a license. The man in the license was an exact match. Caleb Summers.
“Caleb Summers,” Kate said. “Does that name ring a bell?”
“No.” Gideon and Mercedes replied in unison.
Kate made a face. “Let’s look through the database of gem thieves and con men. We need to find out just who he is and why he stole the ruby and, more importantly, where we can go to get it back.”
Gideon, Kate and, much to Kate’s dismay, Mercedes, spent the next hour huddled over the computer. Daisy lay quietly on the floor at their feet. They searched every database and case file for the name Caleb Summers but came up empty.
“I don’t get it.” Kate scrubbed her fingers through her hair. “How could an unknown pull off a heist like that? He doesn’t seem to have any experience or knowledge … unless he’s been very good at keeping his activities hidden.”
“Maybe someone hired him,” Mercedes said.
Gideon’s face lit up. “Of course! Why didn’t we think of that before?”
Yeah, why didn’t we? Kate wondered as she watched Mercedes fold her arms over her chest with a satisfied smirk.
“I’ll check his financials. If someone hired him, he might have had some unusual activity in his bank account,” Gideon said as he tapped away on the computer.
Kate slid over to one of the other computers and started her own search into the background of Caleb Summers.
“I can’t find anything unusual about him,” Kate said about twenty minutes later. “He’s just a struggling actor.”
“Struggling?” Gideon’s forehead pleated as he stared at his computer.
“That’s what it says here.” Kate pointed to her monitor.
“Oh, really?” Gideon pointed to his own monitor. “Then why does he have a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in his bank account?”
Chapter Fourteen
The money that appeared in Caleb Summers’ bank account had been a cash deposit. There was no way for Gideon to trace it, so Kate decided to go straight to the horse’s mouth. He lived in one of the less affluent sections of Boston, his twelve story high-rise apartment building loomed over Kate as she weaved her way around a child’s plastic big-wheel that had been left carelessly in the walkway.
The main door to the building was propped open with a brick so Kate didn’t need to wait to be buzzed in, which was fine with her. Somehow, she felt like she’d have a better chance of actually talking to Summers if he didn’t have advance notice of her visit.
The elevator was broken, so she walked up to the fifth floor. The stairway was dirty, the air heavy with the spicy aroma of dozens of tenants’ meals, the walls dotted with spurts of amateur graffiti. Kate was glad she brought her gun and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
She emerged on the fifth floor and stopped to suck in some air, promised herself that she’d spend more time at the gym, then proceeded down the threadbare carpeting to apartment 512.
Kate knocked and then cocked her ear toward the door to listen for movement inside. She didn’t hear any, so she knocked louder.
“Mr. Summers?” She yelled through the door.
No answer.
She rapped her knuckles as hard as she could,
“Were you going somewhere?” Mercedes bent down to pet Daisy, who, Kate noticed grudgingly, had trotted over to greet her.
Kate glared at the dog. Traitor. Then she looked back over at Mercedes who was staring up at her with her doe-brown eyes.
“I was just goin—”
Ding!
“It found something.” Gideon bent over the computer, tapping on the keyboard.
Kate rushed to his side, elbowing Mercedes out of the way to get closer to the computer whose screen showed the picture Kate had given Gideon side by side with a license. The man in the license was an exact match. Caleb Summers.
“Caleb Summers,” Kate said. “Does that name ring a bell?”
“No.” Gideon and Mercedes replied in unison.
Kate made a face. “Let’s look through the database of gem thieves and con men. We need to find out just who he is and why he stole the ruby and, more importantly, where we can go to get it back.”
Gideon, Kate and, much to Kate’s dismay, Mercedes, spent the next hour huddled over the computer. Daisy lay quietly on the floor at their feet. They searched every database and case file for the name Caleb Summers but came up empty.
“I don’t get it.” Kate scrubbed her fingers through her hair. “How could an unknown pull off a heist like that? He doesn’t seem to have any experience or knowledge … unless he’s been very good at keeping his activities hidden.”
“Maybe someone hired him,” Mercedes said.
Gideon’s face lit up. “Of course! Why didn’t we think of that before?”
Yeah, why didn’t we? Kate wondered as she watched Mercedes fold her arms over her chest with a satisfied smirk.
“I’ll check his financials. If someone hired him, he might have had some unusual activity in his bank account,” Gideon said as he tapped away on the computer.
Kate slid over to one of the other computers and started her own search into the background of Caleb Summers.
“I can’t find anything unusual about him,” Kate said about twenty minutes later. “He’s just a struggling actor.”
“Struggling?” Gideon’s forehead pleated as he stared at his computer.
“That’s what it says here.” Kate pointed to her monitor.
“Oh, really?” Gideon pointed to his own monitor. “Then why does he have a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in his bank account?”
Chapter Fourteen
The money that appeared in Caleb Summers’ bank account had been a cash deposit. There was no way for Gideon to trace it, so Kate decided to go straight to the horse’s mouth. He lived in one of the less affluent sections of Boston, his twelve story high-rise apartment building loomed over Kate as she weaved her way around a child’s plastic big-wheel that had been left carelessly in the walkway.
The main door to the building was propped open with a brick so Kate didn’t need to wait to be buzzed in, which was fine with her. Somehow, she felt like she’d have a better chance of actually talking to Summers if he didn’t have advance notice of her visit.
The elevator was broken, so she walked up to the fifth floor. The stairway was dirty, the air heavy with the spicy aroma of dozens of tenants’ meals, the walls dotted with spurts of amateur graffiti. Kate was glad she brought her gun and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
She emerged on the fifth floor and stopped to suck in some air, promised herself that she’d spend more time at the gym, then proceeded down the threadbare carpeting to apartment 512.
Kate knocked and then cocked her ear toward the door to listen for movement inside. She didn’t hear any, so she knocked louder.
“Mr. Summers?” She yelled through the door.
No answer.
She rapped her knuckles as hard as she could,
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