Page 107 of Gem Warfare

My shoulders slumped. He was right, of course, the onlywitnesses to Cass Temple’s appearance saw her outside. And the jewels were there. Plus, she had been tracking Gideon… hadn’t she?

Finally, when I turned away, I looked directly into Solomon’s eyes.

“What the hell happened here?” he asked.

“I’ll explain on the way home,” I said and reached for his hand.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Hmmm.” Mr. Lavelle, the small, stern man that had arrived with Rachenstein’s entourage, made the noise again and breathed deeply through his nose. His lips were tight, his forehead wrinkled, and one eye was partially closed while the other was entirely obscured by a small, black lens. He turned the stone over, repeating, “Hmmmm!”

At the back of the conference room, deep within MPD, I hardly dared breathe. I’d waited several tense days for this. Garrett glanced over his shoulder, catching my eye, and raised his eyebrows.

We’d been in a tense wait for confirmation these past several minutes after Rachenstein’s representatives filed in with an entourage made up of their jewel expert, a representative from the royal family, and four armed bodyguards. More security personnel waited downstairs with the limousine that had brought them. Much to my disappointment, there wasn’t one titled member of the royal family.

Finally, Mr. Lavelle set down the ruby, then his lens, and looked up. “Madame Rousseau?” he called, beckoning to the representative. She stepped closer, her glossy, black hair swinging around her chin, stooping to listen as he whispered into her ear, her expression not changing at all.

When he finished, Madame Rousseau said something I couldn’t hear and motioned to his equipment. He packed away his items into a small, leather bag and scraped back his chair, standing.

“Mr. Lavelle says this is not the Queen’s Ruby,” she said, her words precise and hinting of a slight English accent.

“Our experts say otherwise,” said Chief Davis, a tall, broad man in uniform boasting several stripes. Garrett’s chief rarelymade an appearance but apparently, priceless jewels and royalty dragged him out from his spacious office. Or not, as it now seemed.

Stunned silence filled the room.

“I’m afraid our expert is most clear. This isnotthe Queen’s Ruby. It is a very good imitation but it is without value. However, all is not lost,” said Madame Rousseau, holding her hands up to halt the sudden eruption of confused voices. “We are quite sure the emeralds and sapphires are from our collection. You may, of course, double check but we are quite certain and we have brought with us the necessary documents to have the jewels repatriated to Rachenstein immediately.”

“And the diamonds?” asked Garrett.

“They are mostly real but they are not ours,” she said. “We will not claim them.”

“Mostly?” choked Garrett in bewilderment.

“Come through to my office,” said Chief Davis. “We can talk more in there.” He flashed an angry look at Garrett.

“First, Rachenstein would like to express thanks to the officer who recovered the items. Lieutenant Graves, we understand you were in charge?” Madame Rousseau’s gaze swept over the small assembly, searching for my brother.

Garrett stood. “I was. It was a team effort involving several officers, members of the public, and our consultant, Lexi Graves-Solomon.” He gestured to me and her gaze roamed over me. I popped my hand up in a half wave and wondered if I should curtsy out of politeness. Or for the sheer fun of it. When would I ever get another chance to curtsy to a royalty-adjacent person again?!

“Then I should like to thank you both for your efforts in recovering the jewels so precious to Rachenstein. They have great importance to our country’s heritage and you have partially solved what had been a great mystery.” She smiled,at last, seeming to break some of the tension in the room. “Furthermore, the king and queen have instructed me to issue a commendation and thanks. We will arrange for a personal letter to be sent to both of you, and those also involved. I am sure you are aware that the full reward cannot be paid out under these circumstances but a partial one is in order. Please be assured how grateful we are to you both, Lieutenant Graves and Ms. Graves-Solomon.”

“Let’s refine those details in my office,” said Chief Davis. Another officer had already opened the door, and the chief indicated for Madame Rousseau and her entourage to proceed from the room. “We’ll need to return the jewels to the evidence locker.”

“We will take possession of the emeralds and sapphires,” said Madame Rousseau, indicating with a nod of her head to Mr. Lavelle. He selected each jewel with a gloved hand, adding each to its own small, velvet pouch.

“That won’t be…”

“Rachenstein’s diplomatic envoy and the state senator are on their way,” she added warningly.

The chief nodded. “Understood,” he said. “Let’s work out those finer details.”

Instead of leaving the room directly, she moved across to Garrett, said something briefly, and shook his hand, then crossed the room to me, shaking mine too. “Good work,” said Madame Rousseau. “Rachenstein is grateful.” Then she was gone, Mr. Lavelle, the bodyguards, and rank and file following close behind her.

“Wow,” I said when the room was empty of everyone except Garrett and me. Outside the door remained a duo of uniforms, our entourage for the unclaimed stones. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“The fake ruby or the grateful thanks of an entire Europeannation?”

“Both. I’m not sure which I’m most stunned by.”

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