Grace Among Thieves Read Free Page A

to know that I’m fully aware.”
    I leaned on the railing next to him, the walkie-talkie in my skirt pocket making a muffled thump against the low wall. “You lost me. Aware of what?”
    “Don’t play dumb.” His gaze swept the room, neatly avoiding eye contact. “You know I’m talking about the recent thefts.”
    “Ah,” I said. Several items of great value had gone missing: a jewel-encrusted brush, mirror, and comb set from Bennett’s mother’s former dressing room; two signed first-edition books from the main library; and a small gold picture frame. What bothered me most was that the frame had held a photo of Bennett as a toddler. That was the real crime. A piece of Bennett’s history was gone. Probably forever.
    He went on, “I’m painfully aware that our losses began shortly after Hillary came to visit. And yet you haven’t mentioned your suspicions.”
    “I never—”
    “You never said anything,” he finished. “But you thought it.” He glanced at me sideways, eyebrow raised. “Didn’t you?”
    My turn to squirm.
    “Stop trying to come up with a politically correct response, Gracie.”
    I smiled. “You know me too well.”
    “Hillary’s financial troubles are getting worse,” he went on, “and it would be just like her to ‘borrow’ an item or two and think nothing of it.”
    I’d been afraid of that, but I couldn’t help trying to put a Pollyanna spin on this difficult situation. “Corbin and his crew have been here as long as Hillary has. They started filming the interior shots the same day she arrived.”
    “There’s one major difference.” I knew what it was, but I let him continue. “Terrence has had security accompanying the film crew every step of the way.” His voice rose as he threw his hand outward. “As opposed to Hillary, who has the run of the place.”
    She must have heard her name because her attention snapped back up to us, her eyes narrowing. I waved again, in a “We’ll be there in a moment” gesture.
    After the most recent item went missing, Terrence and I had decided to limit filming to non-visitor hours. Corbin hadn’t been thrilled, but we hadn’t suffered any losses under the new schedule. I hesitated to mention this because Hillary had been a constant presence throughout the process. When the timing shifted to six in the morning, Hillary stopped hanging around the film crew. And the thefts had ceased.
    I waited, but Bennett didn’t seem at all ready to leave his perch.
    I studied his profile. “What else is bothering you?”
    The lines in his face tightened. “It’s not only the stealing,” he said. “Yes, I’m upset about that, and yes, I want it stopped. But the truth is, I can afford these losses. What I can’t abide is the fact that she can do this to me. When she wants money, she calls me Daddy, and when my back is turned, she steals.”
    “You’re assuming she’s guilty.”
    He didn’t turn. “Who else could it be?”
    “I’ll do my best to find out.” Patting his arm, I straightened. “Let’s get down there.”
    He still didn’t budge. “There’s something else I wanted to talk about.”
    Uh-oh.
I returned to leaning on the railing. “About Hillary?”
    Bennett inhaled deeply through his nose. “About Jack.”
    My stomach dropped and I felt my face flush. “Our landscape architect?”
    Again Bennett shot me a sideways glance. “No need to be coy with me. He’s far more to you than simply a consultant.” He shifted to look me straight in the eye. “At least he
was
. He hasn’t been around much lately. In fact, Davey tells me that Jack—”
    “Speaking of Davey, how is he working out?”
    “Bringing him on was a good decision,” Bennett said, graciously allowing the change of subject. “Most of my other assistants are getting up there in years. They don’t have the energy to get things done the way Davey does.” Warming to the topic, his face relaxed. “In some ways, he’s become my own personal concierge.