Page 42 of The San Marco Heist

I added to my mental to-do list: Hire someone to actually do the housecleaning at the party. This poor woman didn’t need to suffer for us.

She stepped backward, opening the door farther. “I’m supposed to be out of here in forty-five minutes. The party will only be on the main and lower floor, and outside. I’ll take you on a quick tour, if that works for you?”

Jayce said, “We can see ourselves around.”

“I don’t think that’ll work.” The woman grimaced. “I shouldn’t be letting you in, as it is. But this way I can show you which rooms will be open to the guests and which ones won’t, so you won’t be wasting any of your time.”

I threw my gaze heavenward, expressing relief, while also checking the roofline for cameras. “Thank you!”

She stepped out of the way and waved us in.

The grand hall was enormous. White marble, more white Corinthian columns, and a split staircase with a railing that looked like it was spun from gold. Deep-brown marble inlays traced the edge of the floor, matching the wooden double doors off either side. The hall was open to all three floors, with railed balconies overlooking.

“My name is Bethany.” As she closed the door behind us, she took off one glove and swept her hand across the space. “All the guests will come in through here and be funneled into any of the rooms on this floor. There’s going to be a rope across the stairs, so that’s only for family and overnight guests. To the right we have a water closet at the front, then the library, and then the drawing room. We can peek in each of those quickly.”

Nothing would be hidden in the grand hall, but the other rooms were up for grabs. Jayce was chomping at the bit to explore, but if we were getting a tour, we had to stay with Bethany.

The library had tall windows on two sides, with upholstered window seats in each. Four matching chairs sat around an ornate table with bankers lamps and a globe. The books in this room were for show. Long stretches of matching black and gold tomes, either legal texts or ancient encyclopedias. Small statues, gold urns, and marble busts decorated the open spaces on the shelves.

There was only one painting in the room, our most likely bet for a hiding place. But why keep an ancient medieval ring in a safe in this room?

That wouldn’t make sense.

Bethany led us through the drawing room with its three separate seating areas and piano, the dining room with its table for twelve, and the family room and kitchen. It was all the same opulence, yet somehow homey. With each room, I made notes on my clipboard, sketches and random statements that were for cover, not for actual research.

Jayce peered into the pantry. “There’s a door that goes out the back of the pantry. Where does it lead?”

Bethany squeezed around her and closed the door. “Second kitchen, laundry, and boot room. The guests won’t be going back there.”

The drone video had shown us a glimpse of the kitchen, but not those other rooms. They were candidates for the safe room and possibly storage areas. Based on the sketches we had of the floor plan, it also led into the garage.

“You’ve seen all the rooms up here. Do you need to go outside, or can we nip down to the lower floor?”

I said, “Our team has all the details on the exterior, so we just need interior spaces. Lower floor’s perfect.”

We followed her through the snooker room, back to the grand hall, and down the main stairs. The house was designed for entertaining. How often did the Albrechts hold parties here?

The stairs led us out into a reception area with a round couch in deep purple, between a glassed-in gym and a wine room. A media room sat directly below the library, with oversized lounge chairs and a large screen for viewing. Underneath the drawing room, dining room, family room and kitchen, was an indoor bowling lane.

“There’s a bar kitchen over there, and they’ll have finger food out during the reception. The cigar cupboard is upstairs and that will be limited to the snooker room, but there will probably be a lot of food around here.”

Part of me wanted to go back to the architect’s office and try for the plans again. Downstairs, there were too many places to hide things. Upstairs, it was all family space and windows. The upper floors were much the same, open to the grand hall and windows in every room. Hopefully, the drone’s laser measurements and any video from today would be enough for Brie and Will’s processing software to help us figure out where the Chalcis Ring might be.

Bethany led us back to the reception area at the bottom of the staircase and into what I could only call the water area. A fifty-foot keyhole pool with a skylight into the patio above it dominated the space.

“Depending on how late the party goes, the steam room, sauna, and the jacuzzi may get used.” She led us along the tiled pool deck to another room with glass walls on either side.

Malcolm let out a low whistle and practically plastered himself against the glass. “Please tell me we’ll be cleaning over there.”

The room itself was nothing special. A lounge with a couple of couches, more shelves with various statuary, and a wide-screen television. A doorframe opened to a circular staircase heading upward. But through the glass on the far side, we could see into the lower floor garage. It was more showroom than storage, with three vehicles on display, and no exits.

Bethany chuckled and pulled open the first door to the lounge. “No, Mr. Albrecht has a special team who comes in for this. They’ve already prepped the cars for the party.”

“Will the guests be allowed in there?” Malcolm’s breathless whisper wasn’t part of the act.

I didn’t know cars, but I knew luxury. I recognized the Ferrari GT, similar to the one Emmett had driven us in last weekend, a Rolls-Royce two-door sedan, and a Velatti roadster. “How does he get them down here?”

Bethany opened the other door, granting us access. The floor was white marble, like most of the house, with the same dark-brown marble trim around the edge. But beneath the Velatti—which sat directly next to the lounge—the brown inlay circled it. She pointed to the ceiling, where there was another round shape. “Car elevator. He rarely drives any of these and keeps them down here for parties. He maintains them in pristine condition so he can share his love of cars with his guests.”

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