White Collar - as an unofficial novel - part 5

Meet Kimberly Rice

Neal sat on his rooftop patio with a map of Europe together with books and papers on the little garden table. He tried, not for the first time, to crack the mystery about the Music Box's whereabouts. He had drawn lines and X-es with a red marker pen over most of north-eastern Europe. More than once he had drawn them, making them cloggy and thick, like it would make them more valid.

It was morning and he was getting late for work. He knew he should be leaving but it was as if he had fallen into what Peter would call the Kate trap. Whatever had to do with Kate came first.

"Byron always got like that when he couldn't crack a hustle," June's familiar voice said beside him. He looked up and saw her standing beside the table, lovely as a mother should be. He smiled. "Relaxing always helps."

"Sorry, June. I'm not really in the mood to relax."

"Not even if you have a very lovely visitor?"

June had that coy smile and Neal looked behind her towards his front door.

"Alex."

June left as Neal rose and Alex pushed the door closed behind her. There she was, in tight leather pants and jacket, smiling, and made him for a second to forget any thoughts about Kate.

"Got your message. I'm here," she said with a tone that could chisel stone. "What do you want, Neal?"

"I want the music box," Neal replied.

"I think you have a memory problem. Because I said that as long as you're a fed, I'm not telling you where it is," Alex said, arms crossed. "You're still with them, right?" Neal made an innocent smile and a little shrug in a vain hope that she would think of it as a 'maybe' rather than a 'yes'. She did not.

"Then there's nothing to talk about," she concluded and walked towards the door. As she passed him he grabbed her arm.

"I'll make it worth your while. You need me to get it."

"No, I don't." Alex was like Peter in that way. Neal did not get what he wanted with his seductive tone with her. But they had a history he did not have with Peter. Alex and he had been lovers and that seductive tone struck other chords in her than it would ever do in Peter.

"Then why don't you have it already?" Neal asked. "I'll steal it and give it to you."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"I don't believe you. You'll just hand it over?"

"Yeah. When I'm done with it."

Alex grinned.

"Knew there was a catch." She walked back into the room though, and not through the door. "What's this really about?"

"You get the box in the end. That's my offer."

"Okay," Alex nodded. "If you figure out how to get the anklet off."

"I'm not wearing this as a fashion accessory," he objected.

Alex walked up close and Neal became aware that he was not the only one using the history between them to his own advantage.

"Well, when the time comes I need to know that you can get off your leash. Otherwise, you're a liability," she said in that low seductive voice that could turn chocolate into syrup. "I'll come back tomorrow at six. Lose the blinking jewelry and you'll get what you need."

He watched her leave. She was beautiful and intelligent. A dangerous combination he thought with a smile when he realized he was thinking about how to leave the anklet behind because she said so. He looked at his watch and realized he would be late. But it was not like in school. This was a real job and people were late from time to time. He probably overstated how much anybody would care if he came a little late. After all, he had been out for almost six months.