Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 05 - Gems & Gunshots by Laina Turner Page B

point I was trying to get across a few hours later when he finally made it home.
    “Presley, I’ve told you over and over to stay out of this.”
    “Cooper, you have to listen to me. There is too much here that doesn’t add up.”
    Cooper sighed. “You’re just not going to let this go are you?”
    “No. Not until you listen. Just hear me out and if you still feel I’m completely off base and am making a big deal out of nothing, then I’ll leave it alone and not interfere.”
    “Promise?”
    “Yes,” I said.
    “Fine. Let me grab a beer for this.” He got up and walked to the kitchen.
    “Hey, bring the pitcher of mojitos while you’re in there,” I yelled to him.
    He walked back in with beer in one hand and mojitos in the other.
    “I can’t believe you chose that beer over my awesome mojitos,” I teased.
    “I may have to go back to work, so I’m limiting myself to one drink and it’s hard to drink just one of your mojitos.” He softened a little. “Now what’s this crazy theory of yours?”
    “It’s not crazy. Just look at the events. Greg files a claim for stolen diamonds that he doesn’t tell anyone are stolen, including you. Shortly after he gets the insurance money the store is robbed and an employee killed. That employee was someone he was dating, cheating on his wife, I might add, and whose father owns the insurance company he filed a claim with for the stolen, yet not really stolen, diamonds. The week after he filed the claim Nicole quit her job at the dental practice and went to work for Greg. Don’t you see? It makes perfect sense.”
    “See what?”
    “That there are too many coincidences, Cooper. It’s all related.”
    “First of all, you don’t know that Greg was having an affair with Nicole.”
    “The girls at the dental office where she worked said Nicole told them she was quitting her job because she had found the man who was going to take care of her. Greg was a patient at that dental office and Nicole started working at the jewelry store. Don’t you see? Greg’s that guy!”
    “Presley, I admit it does seem suspicious, but Greg could have gotten her a job without having an affair. Maybe Nicole meant she found a guy to take care of her in the sense of a better job.”
    I rolled my eyes. Guys could be so dense when it came to affairs of the heart. Even though, from what I had learned about Nicole, it was more like an affair of the pocketbook. “Cooper, trust me on this. Women know these things. Nicole must have met Greg at the dentist’s office and thought he was going to be her sugar daddy. She wouldn’t have thought that if he hadn’t given her reason to. I bet he gave her that reason because he knew who she was. Or rather who her family was.”
    “But Nicole didn’t even work at her family business. How could she have been any help to him? Besides, the insurance company didn’t even question the claim.”
    “I’m not sure, maybe dating Nicole was his backup plan in case the insurance company gave him grief over the claim,” I admitted. “But I can ask Alan, Nicole’s brother.”
    “No, Presley. I admit this is good information, but you need to leave this up to me and the police.”
    “Have you figured out any more on who’s blackmailing him?”
    “Not yet. We’ve got a tail on Ganuchi’s son, but so far nothing. Since they contacted us postponing the drop for two days we haven’t heard from them. It’s the strangest case I’ve ever worked. Makes me think we’re dealing with amateurs.”
    “Isn’t that good? If they’re amateurs they’re bound to slip up and you can catch them.”
    “Believe it or not, it’s not good. Amateurs are overconfident and make mistakes, which puts people at risk. They make me much more nervous.”
    “What’s your plan?”
    “We’re working on it.”
    “Does that mean you’re not going to fill me in on what you’re working on?” I said, knowing full well what the answer would be.
    “You are correct. Presley,