Thief of Always by Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou

Author:Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou [Baldwin, Kim & Alexiou, Xenia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Lesbian, Romance, General
ISBN: 9781602820494
Google: yBBJ7tmApgAC
Amazon: 160282049X
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2009-02-01T23:00:00+00:00

ChApTeR fifTeen

Haarlem

Wednesday, February 13 The Saint Francis Institution didn’t open to visitors until nine a.m., so Kris lingered over coffee in the kitchen after Angie headed upstairs saying she needed to shower. The sun was coming up and the sky beyond her window was a faint pink color. The same subtle tone reflected off the metal trim of the garden shed, drawing her gaze. She was puzzled to notice the garden cart sitting only a few feet from the door. She didn’t recall it being there the previous evening, but she had her mind on other things. Jeroen occasionally used ladders and carts that were stored in the shed, and the fact that he often left the door unlocked as he worked made her even more confident that she’d done the right thing by removing the diamond. The trapdoor wasn’t obvious, but if anyone were snooping about they would probably find it.

As soon as Jeroen had started talking about knocking down a wall of the secret room, she’d decided it would be prudent to house the stone elsewhere, at least for the time being. She’d felt secure about leaving the gem in the priest’s room when there was no access from within the house, but the vault would be exposed for who knew how long during the renovations, and although she trusted the people she invited into her home, she was also careful. She’d placed the stone in the pocket of a blazer in her closet, certainly not the safest overnight hiding place, but other options had seemed even more obvious—under the mattress or inside an ornamental vase. She would be relieved when she could transfer it to a bank deposit box after visiting her mother.

Kris went upstairs and retrieved the diamond. She briefly considered hiding it on her person but there was nowhere in her clothing that a lump the size of a cherry wouldn’t be noticeable. Checking her watch, she placed the stone in the inner pocket of her purse before returning to her coffee. It was nearly eight. She always had to mentally prepare herself for her infrequent visits to the Saint Francis Institution, for she never knew what to expect of her mother. One day, Wilhelmina would be quiet and distant, barely acknowledging her presence; and the next she would be ranting endlessly about her treatment by the staff, all indignant and superior, begging Kris to take her home where she belonged.

The latest doctor’s report had not been good and the staff had been alerted to watch her closely for another suicide attempt. She’d tried twice during her two years at the institution. Kris had no doubt that her mother’s determination to end her life was genuine. Wilhelmina had slit her wrists in the bathtub on an otherwise uneventful day at home. Kris’s father had broken the door and saved her life. Not long after she was admitted to the institution, guards had intercepted her attempting to jump off the roof. She’d also been found stockpiling drugs.

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