around and went back. In that short amount of time they’d been in and out of the store.”
“How’d they get in?”
“I’m not sure, but the front gate was unlocked when I got there. I’m positive I locked it before I left. It’s the last thing I do.”
“Who has keys?” Ben asked.
“The three opening and closing managers. I do. My father. That’s a total of five people.”
Ben’s look was skeptical. “Your father?”
“That’s right. Captain Anthony McKnight of the Fulton County PD. As far as I’m concerned, his gun is as good as any to shoot a bad guy. But he’s currently on disability.”
“Of course,” Rob said. “I know your father. When I was a detective, we worked on a joint task force for a case. I visited him when he was hit by the driver who didn’t stop on I285. Quite a heroic officer to put his life before his rookies. I hope he’s getting better.”
Zoe smiled. “Wow, Rob. I had no idea. Dad has had so many visitors, it’s hard to keep up. He’s on the mend, thanks for asking. I’ve got my dad’s keys on me. I picked them up last week because I knew I was going to have an appointment with you and I thought you might ask for them.” Zoe kept her focus on Rob. “Can you help me?”
“We can. I want to reassure you that you’re in the right place. Whoever is doing this is going to be sorry. Ben will be the lead investigator on your case. He’s good. In fact, my brother is the best.”
“I see.” She slid the wild curl that refused to be tamed behind her ear and ignored it when it popped out again. “Is there anyone else?”
Ben laughed and closed Zoe’s folder. “You heard the lady, Rob. Is there anyone better than me?”
“That wasn’t her question.”
“No, it wasn’t. This isn’t personal, Ben,” she told him, knowing she was lying.
“Why would you want second best?” Ben’s demand was so gentle she nearly apologized for being foolish.
The probing question was both personal and professional and she couldn’t deal with answering him now. Not in front of Rob who didn’t need to be dragged through the murk of her failed one-night stand.
Eventually, the memories of their encounter would fade like all memories did.
“I don’t want second best. But if we’re going to work together, I want a guarantee. Two weeks is what you have to get this mystery solved.”
“That’s not how we work, Zoe. It’s unrealistic to put a time frame on something of this nature,” Rob told her in a kind but frank manner. “This has been going on for over four weeks. We may break this case in a week or a month, but we can’t work with that time frame until we can do an in-depth assessment.”
“Deal.” Ben sounded both strong and confident. “But, if at any time your safety is endangered, or we find evidence of something big, we reserve the right to adjust the time frame.”
“Ben,” his brother warned. “That might be a little unrealistic, but I’ll defer to your judgment.”
“We’ll start with two weeks, and let Zoe decide if she wants to walk away at the end of that time.”
Silence gripped the room.
“That’s fair,” Rob agreed.
“We’re talking petty crimes here,” Zoe objected. “Probably the work of the smash-and-grab ATM thieves who have graduated to jewelry. I don’t want this blown out of proportion, Ben.”
“I wouldn’t count sixty-five thousand dollars a petty crime. Zoe’s Diamonds on Peachtree was hit for a little over ten thousand, and the Galleria store was for fifty-five thousand dollars over the last two months.”
Her heart pounded. “I see you did your research.”
“In preparation of our meeting, we did some checking and found out that not only was a three-carat pair of earrings, platinum cufflinks and a gold and diamond tennis bracelet stolen from your store, plus—”
“Yes, I know, but—”
“Let me finish. They haven’t turned up in any pawn shop, either, so they were stolen for personal use and can be on ice for a long time before someone decides the public has forgotten about them. Other items were stolen from another jewelry store seven miles from the mall.
“A platinum-and-white-diamond tiara worth eighteen thousand dollars. Gold cuff bracelets are worth five, and unset diamonds wholesale for fifteen. You didn’t see this in the news because they aren’t insured. The owner didn’t want people coming around thinking his store was fair game.”
The notion sent shivers down Zoe’s spine. “That’s crazy. Why weren’t they locked in a safe?” She didn’t realize she’d sat forward until she heard Ben speak in a confidential tone.
“They were. The manager had just left and the silent alarm was tripped. She went back and was seriously injured. Her arm was broken.”
“Oh. Well, hell.”
“Yes, let’s continue.”
“I assume they got away.”
“Correct. It was never reported. The tiara wasn’t insured and never recovered, I’m afraid.”
Cold fear struck Zoe in the chest. “All of my jewelry is insured, except I haven’t reported all the break-ins because I don’t want my premiums to skyrocket and I don’t want to lose my investment. I figured I could take the hit once. But this has happened three times. Hiring this firm is my Hail Mary.”
“Then we take no chances. You do what I ask and we work together. Okay?”
“Okay, but you have to understand, I have a business to run and this feels so overwhelming. I want to be able to have fun with my customers, and do shows, and loan out jewelry. That’s how Zoe’s got its name.”
Ben hated bargainers, but he went along with it to appease Zoe and his brother. He’d deal with each incident as it arose. “Fine, but loaning jewelry to celebrities or politicians must be preapproved and only after a background check.”
“Okay,” she finally agreed.
“Well, it sounds like we’ll be working together. Welcome to Hood Investigations. We’re going to solve this problem, Zoe.” Rob stood, and shook her hand.
“Thank you. I appreciate your time.”
“You’re welcome. My next appointment will be here in a few moments. I’ll leave you in Ben’s capable hands.”
She looked into her untouched water, her cheeks remembering the capability of Ben’s hands. “Of course. Take care, Rob.”
The door closed, and Ben set down a fresh cup of water for her and a cup of coffee for himself.
“Oh,
