Slow Burn (47 page)

The appearance of the waitress with their
drinks interrupted her. Vince scribbled his name and room number on
the bill. “Put it on my account.”

“How much is my drink?” Jade asked Vince once
the woman left. She pulled out her wallet from her purse.

His gaze shifted from her hands to her face.
“Put that away. You’re my guest.”

“No, I’m not. I stopped here for information,
hardly the same thing.” She snapped open her wallet and yanked out
a ten-dollar bill. She slid it across the table toward his
glass.

“Jade.” She looked up. His voice was mild,
yet the glint in his eyes indicated irritation. “Don’t.”

He looked so intimidating that she slipped
the bill back in her wallet before she could stop herself. She got
angry at herself. “You have issues, you know that. A woman can pay
for anything she wants without a man getting all sulky over
it.”

“I don’t sulk.”

“Yeah, right.”

The corners of his mouth curled and his
dimples flashed. The smile was beautiful, like a ray of sunlight
after a stormy day. Why didn’t she notice his lower lip was fuller
than the top?

She shook her head and swallowed. “I, um,
tell me about your missing statue.”

He nodded. “About two weeks ago, my father
gave a private party at his home. Sometime during the evening, he
brought out his collection of antiques to share with his guests,
among them your mother. One of the pieces was a statue that’s been
in the family for generations.”

She slipped her wallet back in her purse and
focused on his words. She thought she knew most of her mother’s
friends, yet the name Knight didn’t ring a bell.

Vince sipped his drink and set it down. “Soon
after that, the guests moved back to the living room. When my
father went back to put his collection away, he discovered the
statue was missing.”

Jade raised her eyebrows. “Why is my mother
your suspect?”

“She went back into the den before the statue
disappeared.” He took another sip of his drink and cradled his
glass, a frown between his brows. “I know this may come as a shock
to you but her behavior the entire evening was suspicious.”

“So you say. Were you there?” The challenge
in her voice was unmistakable.

“No.”

“Ever met my mother?”

“No, but—”

“Then you can’t say with certainty how she’d
acted. Who saw her go back into the den?” She didn’t care what
Vince’s father or the other guests said. Her mother wasn’t a thief.
“Who told you about her behavior?”

“The other guests. She announced to the
entire room that she’d misplaced a diamond bracelet in the den and
left the room.”

“A blue diamond bracelet?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

She shrugged. “It has a faulty catch. My
father bought her that bracelet the year he died and she loathes
parting with it. She should have had it fixed years ago but she
keeps putting it off.” She shot him a defiant look. “If she said
she’d lost it, that’s just what happened.”

“Not when no one saw her wear it in the first
place or after she came back from the den.”

He knocked the wind out of her sail with that
one. Jade reached for her drink and took a long sip as she raked
her brain for something plausible to say. There must be an
explanation.

“You said you’ve spoken with everyone who was
at the party. Don’t you find it strange that they’re all saying the
same thing?” She was grasping at straws but she didn’t care. Her
mother was innocent. As for Vince, his poker face didn’t give his
thoughts away. “They’re fingering her because she isn’t here to
defend herself.” Amusement flickered in Vince’s eyes, causing her
to bristle. “You find this funny?”

He drained his drink and set his glass aside.
“No, I don’t. I find your loyalty admirable.”

She waved his comment away. “What do you
expect me to do? Agree with everything you say? She’s my mother,
for chrissake. I know her. Stealing is something she’d never do.”
Yet her behavior before she left on the cruise had been strange, a
voice mocked in her head. “My mother carries delicate, tiny purses
when she’s about town. Where could she have hidden this statue? How
could she have gotten it out of the house?” Why was she even
bothering to question him? He appeared to have made up his mind.
“Who was on the guest list? I would like to talk to them.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“To verify what you’ve told me.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

She started to laugh, but stopped when their
gazes connected. Air lodged in her throat and her stomach started
high-energy aerobics.

“I, uh.” She cleared her throat and covered
it with laugher. “No. Not when you’re convinced my mother is guilty
of something she hasn’t done. Of course, you could be feeding me a
line for all I know but….” Vince pulled out a beautiful black
statue from his duffel bag. “That’s beautiful.”

“Tell me if you’ve ever seen this
before.”

She reached for it just as he was passing it
to her. His finger slid between hers and nestled at the sensitive
base between her two fingers. Both of them froze. She couldn’t tell
what he was thinking, but he didn’t pull away either. The
connection was erotic, stimulating. It unleashed a storm of
emotions inside her. She wanted to say something witty, but her
mind drew blank.

When he pulled away and nudged the stone
statue closer to her, Jade snapped into focus. The figurine came to
her rescue. It was awe-inspiring, the handiwork meticulous and
flawless. She recognized the feathered serpent deity right
away—
Kukulcan
, an ancient Mayan god. He stood upright like a
human, had the face of a snake and wings on his back. His features
were well-carved, lizard-like eyes outlined, and detail paid to
clothing and jewelry. Ancient text was scribbled on the base.

When was the last time she saw such a
well-preserved ancient Mayan artifact? Not since the year she spent
touring museums around the world. Most Mayan ruins were raided by
robbers, the priceless artifacts sold to the highest bidders and
private collectors. Even the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with its
extensive collection of ancient relics couldn’t lay claim to such a
find.

Jade ran a finger over the surface and
studied the grime. Too smooth, the patina thicker than normal.
Maybe it wasn’t well preserved. Given time, she could do stylistic
and historical analyses on the figurine and one of her physical
chemist colleagues could support her conclusion with chemical
analysis. But, Vince didn’t need her professional opinion.

She had interrupted her mother on the phone
and Mayan was mentioned. Could there be a connection? Jade bit her
lower lip, pushed the statue toward Vince and shook her head.

“No, I’ve never seen such a statue before,”
she said.

“But?”

“It’s nothing. Beautiful piece. Really.”

“What is it?” Vince leaned forward, drawing
her gaze to his face.

“Well, uh, I hope it isn’t one of your
father’s treasured antiques.”

“Why?”

“It is a forgery. A good one, but still a
forgery.”