The Professional Read Free

frequency than he was.
    Rather than linger over that little nugget of disappointing information, Jeb decided he’d better call in. Charlie Martin, resident hacker for Ranger Security and new mother, had promised to have some information for him this afternoon.
    Considering he was basically working blind, he’d take anything he could get.
    * * *
    B RIAN P AYNE REVIEWED the information in front of him and wished he could give his newest agent more to go on. “Sorry, Jeb. There’s just not a lot here. Whoever is doing this has been at it for at least three years, chooses their items and victims wisely and, oftentimes, it’s months before anyone even notices that their jewelry is missing. The only reason that Rose Marie noticed that the brooch was gone was because she’d been trying to make her will more equitable.” No doubt a fact her heirs greatly appreciated, Payne thought.
    Jeb laughed. “Maybe she should have a talk with some of my family,” he said. “I’m anticipating all sorts of conditions to my inheritance when the time finally comes.”
    No doubt, Payne thought. Jeb’s family had lots of old railroad money they’d parlayed into an even more lucrative real estate business. The fact that he and his twin had opted for a military career as opposed to the family business hadn’t really bothered their parents, who’d only wanted their kids’ happiness, but had angered their grandmother to no end. Twila Anderson’s temper was legendary and her memory long. If she proved to be as spiteful, Jeb and his brother could find themselves cut out more thoroughly than they might imagine.
    Not that either one of them would care. Payne was familiar enough with wealth to recognize greed and Jeb Anderson didn’t have the look of it.
    At the moment he merely looked haunted, but given the circumstances—those eerily close to his own—he completely understood the expression.
    “Once my cover is completely in place with Foy, I plan on going over and talking to Rose Marie,” Jeb continued. “As well as the others, of course. I need to know who has had any sort of access to their things. I also want to review who has lived and worked in the community for that length of time. See if I can find any sort of correlation there.”
    “That should be something Charlie can help you with,” Payne told him. He studied Charlie’s notes again and hummed under his breath. “Actually, she tagged a potential suspect based on a complaint she found in an online review of the community. Apparently, a Sophie O’Brien, who supplies one of the shops there on site with handmade soaps and lotions, was accused of taking a piece of jewelry from a resident. The family complained to the director, but nothing was ever done to their satisfaction.”
    “That sounds like as good a starting place as any,” Jeb said. “I’ll definitely check her out.”
    “Can you think of anything else I can get for you?”
    “Some bleach for my eyes would be nice,” Jeb drawled, chuckling. “Foy was wearing a Speedo when I arrived and the image is clinging determinedly to my retinas.”
    Payne laughed. “I guess modesty goes by the wayside at his age.”
    “He also tried to sell me some Viagra. I don’t think modesty has anything to do with it. I think it’s more like advertising.”
    Payne smiled. “Is it working?”
    “He just left with a woman on his lap,” Jeb told him, sounding equally bemused and impressed. “So, as incredible as it sounds, yes, I suspect it is.”
    “I don’t know whether to be encouraged or appalled,” Payne remarked, taking a pull from the drink on his desk.
    “Me either and I’ve seen him.”
    Still chuckling, Payne told him to keep him posted and to let him know if he needed anything, then ended the call. A few more leaves lost their hold on the Bradford pear tree outside his window and drifted to the ground, revealing just a little more of the downtown Atlanta landscape. He spied a couple of utility workers