Skeletons in the Closet (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Twelve

Garrett paced the room. He trusted Syto implicitly. If she said she caught HIM accessing that insurance file on regular basis, Garrett had to assume it would be HIS next target. Except this time, Garrett was determined to make it HIS last strike.

An international fashion show, he read. The convention centre would be packed solid. He only had a dozen agents working for him, and three of them were Davis' guards. He didn't want to add some strangers to his team at the last minute, but he could have used all his men.

"You know, sir, Davis could come and stay here. I'm a trained agent," Syto reminded him. "I can adequately insure his security."

"What if he decides to make a run for freedom," he hypothesized.

"From what you told me, sir, it sounds improbable, unless you lied, and Davis isn't as accommodating as you made him to be," she said, raising her brow in amusement.

He pondered her suggestion. He knew she would watch Davis like a hawk. Did he want to throw the innocent agent into her claw?

"You're curious about him, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," she admitted, blushing slightly.

"Very well."

Revising his plan in his head, he reviewed the itinerary. Armed security guards were insuring the transfer at the airport, driving across town to deliver the precious necklace to the director of the fashion show. The necklace would then parade all evening around the neck of a sixteen-year-old top model, who would be changing outfit every fifteen minutes, aided by more than a dozen backstage employees.

Perfect place to grab the jewellery and escape without being seen, he thought grimly.

***

Bobby stretched expecting his hand to encounter the soft and warm body of his wife. After completely rolling over in his attempt, he realised he was alone.

"Tara," he voiced, bolting into a sitting position.

He looked at the clock. 3:27am. Where was his wife? He searched the dark room, his eyes quickly adjusting. After grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the floor he exited the room. Lights were coming from the computer room. She couldn't still be working on it, could she? He remembered dragging her to bed last night. Surely he didn't imagine that. No he didn't, grinning as he recalled how he made her forget about the insurance file she just couldn't seem to be able to access. So, what made her leave the warmth and comfort of their bed?

"Luv, what are you up to?" he asked, coming behind her and gently massaging her shoulders.

For a moment, she leaned backward and closed her eyes. "Missed you," she murmured.

His arms were where she belonged.

"Me, too." While kissing her forehead, he caught a glimpse of the screen. "Did you get in? How?"

He looked more closely at a security report.

"Yap, I did," she boasted, the pride obvious in her voice. "Took me forever," she complained, turning her head in his direction. "I stopped trying to sneak in by the back door, and tried the front door. I went through the subsidiary company instead," she explained further seeing his confused expression.

"Whatever you said, luv," he said, beaming at his wife, his chin over her shoulder. "So what did you get?"

"A fashion show," she told him, making the screen bigger. "I was just beginning to read."

"And an expensive necklace," whistled Bobby, after reading a few paragraphs.

"Who came up with that crazy idea?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Getting a teenager in skimpy outfit to cross a room full of vultures while wearing a fortune around her neck."