Page 125 of Caper Crush
We all enter Annabelle’s apartment.
“So what’s the deal? Why are you back? And Tony and Takashi?” Annabelle asks. “Did they arrest Edmund?”
“We want to look at the photos that Edmund gave you after Uncle Tony’s party.” I hurry toward her office.
“I love them,” she says. “You saw them in my office. Edmund helped me hang them.”
“Does he know your office is locked now?” William asks.
“He did ask me why I had locked the door, and I thought that was odd because I didn’t remember telling him that I had locked the door. And then he asked how I knew that David wouldn’t figure out where I hid the key, since he knows me so well,” Annabelle says. “And he kept saying that he bet he could figure it out. It was weird.”
She unlocks the door, and we all crowd into her office.
I take the photo of the two of them as kids hanging out in the tree house off its hook and place it on the desk. It doesn’t have the paper backing of a professionally framed work. It has only the little, metal sliding pieces. I unlock it and remove the whiteboard back. And there it is.
The Kimimoto.
Its bright colors pop out like a happy hello, like confetti bursting out of a popper.
Uncle Tony cries. I squeeze my eyes together. I can’t cry now.
“We found it.” He sinks into Annabelle’s office chair. Takashi hugs him.
“The police checked there that Sunday they interviewed me, and nothing was there. Was he trying to frame me?” Annabelle asks. “Why would he put it there?”
“I think he didn’t want it at his place in case his apartment was searched. He probably thought he could always access it at your house. Plus, he wanted to reference our childhood together somehow,” I say. “Maybe it was a test for you? Did he want to see if you would check behind the painting for a note?”
“We’re a little old for that,” Annabelle says dryly.
We text Officer Johnson that we found the Kimimoto.
My phone rings. It’s Jade. “I called the Vertex Art Exhibit, and you’re back in. Especially given all the publicity. People will line up to see a stolen painting.”
I shriek and hug William.
Chapter thirty-four
Weraceupthestairs to my apartment. We left Uncle Tony and Takashi to have their own private celebration. As I fish for my key, William hugs me from behind and trails kisses along my neck. Feathery shivers of delight shudder throughout my body. I tilt my head to give him better access, holding on to the doorknob.
“I can’t concentrate on finding the key if you do that.” I lean against him.
“Mmm,” he says.
I turn and wrap my arms around his neck. He smells of fresh air and clean laundry. His warm hands cradle my face. I press myself into him—into the heat and comfort of his chest. I want to meld myself with him. We kiss, nibbling, slanting our lips, nipping, mingling our breaths. He tastes of peppermint. I untangle my hands to reach down to hug his back. His hand strokes my cheek, leaving a sensation of sparking fires. He tangles one of his hands with mine and backs me up against the door. We’re chest to chest.
“Miranda, is that you?” Tessa asks from behind the door. “Peter’s here.”
We break apart quickly.
“We should have gone to my place,” William mutters.
Tessa opens the door.
“Congratulations! I bought champagne!” Tessa says.
I grab William’s hand and pull him into the apartment behind me.
Peter comes over and hugs me hello. I drop William’s hand. Peter smells of some spicy male cologne. He didn’t used to wear cologne.
