Hidden Gems by Carrie Alexander

Author:Carrie Alexander
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Category, Man-Woman Relationships, Women Lawyers, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, White Star, Adult, General, Love Stories
ISBN: 1552544028
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

ALLARD WATCHED from a corner table as the four women got ready to leave the bistro. They didn’t give him a glance. He had put on a suit and blended in with the crowd, remaining watchful and still except for the cell phone he’d lifted to his ear in imitation of the businessmen all around.

He’d been seated close enough to hear everything. He’d picked up a few interesting tips, verifying what he’d already deduced—though the blond “roommate” was no longer in the picture, the boyfriend on the fifth floor definitely was.

When they’d begun talking about the amulet, Allard’s neutral expression had almost cracked. He was sweating from every pore before their words had sunk in and he’d realized that the women knew very little. For once, Lady Luck was on his side, Marissa still had no idea what she possessed.

While that confirmation had pleased him, he could not let down his guard. Not yet.

“But soon,” he said into the dead telephone while he watched Marissa through the window. The women kissed cheeks, making their goodbyes. “Very soon.”

Despite the pressure being applied by his employer, he’d taken his time planning the next recovery attempt. The days of surveillance and discreet inquiries were about to pay off.

Allard tossed aside the cell phone. He signaled the waiter for the check. Marissa was hailing a cab, but there was no need to follow her back to work. He had a more lucrative destination in mind.

The Village. Marissa’s brownstone.

But not her apartment, with its new locks and bolts. Oh, no.

Twenty minutes later, he was at the brownstone, on time for his appointment to view an apartment. The super buzzed him in. When Allard heard the man clumping upstairs from the basement, keys jingling, he stepped behind the door.

The super walked by, looking in vain for the apartment hunter who’d called and offered a large cash payment as key money. Allard disappeared into the gloom of a sublevel maintenance room, where the super spent most of his day behind a battered steel desk, eating doughnuts and gambling online.

The passkeys for all the apartments were hung on a labeled pegboard. Allard liberated the keys to 3C and made a quick wax impression. As the super’s footsteps descended from above, he returned the keys, pocketed the small tin of wax and stepped deeper into the labyrinthine basement.

The darkness enfolded him.

He closed his eyes, listening for the super’s grumbling complaints about being stood up. The desk chair squeaked. A TV clicked on, tuned to a horse race.

Allard waited for the man to become absorbed. Then he silently slipped past, smug with how easy it was to acquire a copy of Marissa Suarez’s brand new keys.

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