The Sapphire Heist (A Jewel Novel Book 2) (10 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Salty peanuts.

Honey.

Almonds.

She seethed, detesting them all. Because they sure seemed to prove that something was fishy.

“I’ll have the Asian chicken salad,” she said to the waiter at Tristan’s, fixing on a phony smile. “Please hold the
peanuts
.”

“And the Cobb salad for me,” Eli added with a smile.

Her stepfather had no clue she’d had the nuts in her hand. After cursing silently to the moon and back, she’d dropped them into the plastic tube with a
plink
,
plink
,
plink
. Then tucked the tube in place behind the frame, taped it down, and secured the brown paper in place. She’d washed her hands, erasing the traces of nuts.

Sure, if Eli removed the frame from the wall, he might notice someone had been poking around in the paper, but she didn’t care anymore. She hadn’t stolen anything. Nothing could happen to her, and there were enough people after his jewels that she didn’t think any fingers would point to her as the culprit.

Culprit of what? Of checking out a tube of nuts nestled inside a picture frame? She was no law-enforcement expert, but that hardly seemed a crime. Besides, she had half a mind to throw in the towel at this point. Eli was too smart, too clever, and too damn determined to win. Obviously, he knew someone was after his diamonds. Why else would he put freaking nuts in a frame? Just for kicks? Or as a taunt? She was willing to bet he’d hidden nuts there as a decoy. He’d probably purposely planted clues all over town as to the fake location of the diamonds.

While she didn’t think he was trying to fool her, per se, he was certainly trying to fool everyone else by dropping hints that he had diamonds in the frames of his art.

She scoffed to herself.

That was part of his plan. Throw everyone off the scent with false clues. But just to toy with them, he hid worthless nuts in the frame instead. Turning it into a gag gift. He was one step ahead of everyone. He always had been. He tricked, and then he tricked back, like he’d done with her mom when he’d fooled around. Today she’d been the one to sit on the whoopee cushion.

Now it was lunchtime, and this was supposedly why she’d arrived early—to dine with him. She tried desperately to shove aside her frustration. After they ordered, she asked how business was at Sapphire, biting back her lingering anger over how he’d funded the club—with her mother’s money. But still, Sapphire was an easier topic of conversation than
where are your damn diamonds?

Business was great, he said.

Of course.

She inquired about Isla’s gallery.

Everything was fantastic there, he told her.

Naturally.

“And are you able to expand it like you wanted? Isla mentioned something about annexing the shop next door?”

He downed some of his champagne, then nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, as a matter of fact I just got word before you came in. The deal is on, and I called Isla to share the good news while you were on the phone with your friend.”

Ah, so that’s what the deal was that would
thrill
her. No surprise there. Once again, Eli was getting everything he wanted. The woman, the art, the jewels, the club, the goddamn never-ending string of unbroken luck.

She clenched her fists as he spoke. But after listening to him go on and on about how the sky rained gold coins and rainbows in the wonderful old Land of Eli, she couldn’t take it. She was getting nowhere with her private-eye act, and being in his pocket had done little to help her pull off the reverse jewel heist.

Time for an entirely new tactic.

Honesty.

“Eli,” she said, snapping her napkin from the table and spreading it in her lap.

“Yes, my dear?”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” she began, and was ready to dive into questions about his hedge fund. She hadn’t scripted this moment, but she didn’t need to. Because she was going to speak from the heart and ask point-blank if he’d skimmed money off the top. She was done dancing around the topic. She was finished with deciphering clues. She didn’t have the damn diamonds to make her point, but she had words.

He held up a hand, like a stop sign. “No, my dear. I need to talk to you. I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day at brunch.”

“You have?” she asked, taken aback.

“Indeed. I’ve done some soul searching and you’re right. I wasn’t fair to Shelly.”

Her chin clanged to the ground like a cartoon character. Eli didn’t apologize for anything. This was front-page news. “In the divorce? You weren’t fair in the divorce you mean?” she asked, needing to be very specific. She didn’t want an ounce of confusion about this moment.

He shrugged an admission as he lifted his champagne flute. “That. Yes. But also while I was married to her. I wasn’t fair then, either.”

“What?” She rubbed her finger against her ear. Was she hearing things?

He sighed heavily. “Look. I’ve made some mistakes. I was, for lack of a better word, a bit of a schmuck.”

“A bit?” Her voice rose. To the ceiling. Perhaps to Mars, even.

“OK, more than a bit,” he conceded as a waiter brought gourmet burgers to a nearby table. “I could have done many things differently. Isla has been helping me to see that. She’s helping me to be a better man. To make up for my past mistakes and to move on with a clean slate.”

“So, like, making up for cheating on Mom multiple times?” Steph countered.

“Now, Steph, my dear,” he said in a firm voice, setting down the glass.

But before he could continue, the salt-and-pepper-haired Tristan scurried over, beaming as he reached the table. He dropped a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “How is everything so far? Is my waitstaff treating you well?”

“They’re the best on the island, Tristan. Always have been,” Eli said, flashing his trademark smile.

“Ah, you flatter me, but I’ll take it.” Tristan wagged a finger at Eli. “I’ll be sure to send you one of my new chocolate concoctions for dessert,” he said, then gestured to the maître d’ stand before Eli could reply. “Must go.”

“Chocolate concoctions?” Steph asked.

“He fancies himself a chocolatier,” Eli said dismissively.

“There are far worse things to be.”

He flashed a grin. “So true.”

With Tristan out of sight, Steph returned to the conversation, “Are you going to apologize to Mom now? Maybe try to settle matters a bit more fairly?”

“Let’s not get into those matters. I said I was sorry, and I fully intend to let Shelly know that I’m working hard on becoming a better man and turning over a new leaf. And I will do everything I can to see if I can make things more equitable.”

Steph raised an eyebrow and shot an approving nod. “Like paying alimony? Changing the terms of the settlement?”

He nodded, but then made a rolling gesture with his hands. “Let’s not spend our time delving into the specifics of dirty little money matters. Suffice it to say, I’m making changes, and Isla is by my side every step of the way. Some of the money from the sale of the Lynx art has gone to charity,” he said, and though she’d previously wondered if Isla was somehow laundering diamond money through the charity, the thought now occurred to her that his new giving side might truly be part of this makeover. The possibility tugged at her heart. “We’re hosting a small gathering at her gallery in a few days to raise more money for the African charity. You should come to it if you’re still in town.”

“I’ll try.”

“This is all part of my commitment to reinvention,” he said, gesturing to himself, as if he were presenting the new mold of stepdad.

She thoroughly approved of Eli 2.0.

“You’re trying to become a new man,” she said, wonder coloring her tone. A happy, contented sensation bloomed inside her chest. All along, everyone had thought he was irredeemable. Her mom, Andrew, Jake—they were steadfast that Eli was all bad. But this was why she came to the Caymans early. This was her hope. That he was changing. That he was willing to move beyond his mistakes. It bolstered her to take another step. To try harder to be the one to help him make amends. “Does this whole coming clean approach extend to your company?”

He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Eli,” she said in a soft but chiding tone as she went out on a limb here. She glanced from left to right, leaned in closer, and lowered her voice. “I’m twenty-eight. I’m active online. I hear what people say about your company and why you left.”

She’d heard no such thing online, but it seemed a plausible enough thing to read about, and perhaps it would help her get to the truth.

“What did you hear?”

Her voice dipped even lower. “They say you, ya know”—she made a motion with her hands, like she was sweeping—“skimmed a little off the top.”

His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “They say that?” He sounded incredulous. “Oh, ho ho. They say wrong. Why do you think I left the Eli Fund? I loved that company, but I could not tolerate Andrew’s chicanery any longer.”

Now it was her turn to furrow her brow. “Andrew? What do you mean?”

He beckoned for her to come closer, and she practically rested her torso across the plates and silverware because she was dying to hear this new spin.

“He stole money from the shareholders,” Eli whispered, and if a person could be comprised solely of one emotion, one feeling, one sensation, it had happened to Steph. She was stitched through with shock. In seconds, her mind began to spin with new twists and turns.
Was Andrew setting up Jake? Was Andrew setting me up? He’d always seemed like a good guy, but was he the one who’d stolen the money? Had he tried to pin the stolen funds on Eli? What if Andrew had taken the money? What if the diamonds were just Eli’s diamonds, and Andrew’s evidence was doctored?

Her stomach rose and fell like a roller coaster.

“He did?” she asked, her throat dry.

Eli nodded. “That’s what I believe to be true.”

“Why do you believe that? Why would he do that?”

“He wanted to impress your mother.”

“Why?”

Eli shot her a look that said,
You can’t be serious
. “Steph. You really don’t know?”

She shook her head.

“Andrew has been in love with her forever. He’s known her since college. They’re old friends. But he wants to be more. So what does he do when she’s single? He nicks a little off the top because he thinks he can buy her love.”

“You’re saying he skimmed money off the company to impress my mom?”

“I’m saying that
if
there was money missing from the Eli Fund, fingers should be pointed at him, not at yours truly. That’s all,” he said, then shook his head in disbelief. “And I highly suspect it’s to feed this lifelong obsession he’s had with Shelly. He thought he would be the one to comfort her after your father died.”

She winced. She didn’t like hearing anyone talk this way about her father. “Please don’t bring my dad into this,” she whispered, her voice threatening to break.

“I’m sorry, dear. But you asked why I believed that. And the reality is Andrew has been carrying a torch for Shelly for years.”

Steph cringed. “But he’s married and has children,” she said, but then again, so was Eli when he dipped his stick elsewhere.

He nodded. “Indeed. All the more reason, as you can see, why I don’t trust the man. All the more reason why I got out of that company.”

After the waiter set down the salads, Eli dug into his and pronounced it delicious. “I could eat salad every day and be happy,” he said with a broad smile. “And I used to just be a steak man.”

A memory resurfaced of dinners growing up, and Eli manning the barbecue. He loved grilling; he’d hated salads. But he’d changed, evidently. Fine. That was over something seemingly small, like one’s regular choice of meat or veggies for lunch. But he was changing in other ways, too, like giving more money to charity. Was it possible that he’d seen the light? That his love for Isla and vice versa had transformed him?

Their affection for each other seemed truly genuine. Maybe love could change a cad, a thief, a bastard. Maybe there were no stolen diamonds to retrieve. Only diamonds he well and truly owned.

Steph ate her chicken salad, wondering whether her stepfather’s personal makeover changed her next steps.

When the chocolate dessert concoction arrived, Eli seemed to savor the first sip. Then he wrinkled his nose. “Nuts,” he said in disgust.

“There are nuts in it?”

“I hate nuts,” he said.

“Funny,” she said drily. “We have that in common.”

Sometime during lunch, the sky heated up. The blissful island air turned hot, as her weather app had predicted, and the sun sweltered. Steph tugged at the cotton of her sundress as she walked to Eli’s car.

“Every now and then we get these brief heat waves,” he said with a shrug as he opened the door for her. She slid inside, and when he joined her, he cranked up the air-conditioning. The cool jets were welcome, and Steph sighed in appreciation.

“Best car AC ever,” she said.

Eli patted the dashboard. “It is. It’s like the perfect blast of chilly air, but never too much.”