Chapter 1.
Previously…
Trust awoke in her Upper East Side apartment, relieved to be free but aware that her freedom came with conditions. Just yesterday, the FBI had signed an agreement with her, but still, she remained vigilant, taking everything one day at a time. Stretching in bed, she savored the comfort of her soft sheets—a stark contrast to the harsh realities she'd faced weeks ago when a twenty-five to life sentence loomed over her. Her thoughts drifted, as they so often did these days, to Ryan Castle, the man responsible for her arrest. Ryan had not only stolen her latest diamond heist but had also turned state's witness against her, which resulted in his own charges being dropped.
Without the proceeds from those diamonds, her plans to fund the women’s shelter were in jeopardy, threatening dire consequences for her Haven of Hope charity. With the FBI's close surveillance, finding another way to secure funds seemed impossible.
Despite her recent agreement with the FBI, Trust was still unclear about their expectations. For now, her priority was getting money to pay the builders who were working on the women’s shelter. With a sense of resolve, she threw off her covers and, halfway to the bathroom, grabbed her cell phone to call the hospital under the guise of being Ryan’s sister.
Privacy regulations thwarted her attempt to gather more information, but they had confirmed that Ryan was indeed still hospitalized.
After a leisurely shower and changing into jeans and a pastel pink blouse, she enjoyed the small luxury of blow-drying her hair—something she couldn't do in prison. At her makeup table, she applied heavy foundation to cover her prison-weathered skin and sharp, cat-eye eyeliner to accentuate her dark eyes, finishing with a touch of neutral lip color.
Gazing at her reflection, she was thankful to look nothing like the mug shot that had once plastered national headlines. With the sunny day lifting her spirits and no time for breakfast, she quickly downed an espresso, slipped her feet into shoes, and grabbed her handbag. As she opened her door, Special Agent Jack Fletcher stood there, hand poised to knock.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Trust looked up at the handsome FBI agent as she steadied her breathing. "I’m just headed out for breakfast," she told him, unable to disclose that she was off to see Ryan Castle.
“It’ll have to wait.” He brushed past her into the apartment.
“Come in,” she said dryly, following him and shutting the door with her foot.
"Thanks, don't mind if I do." He stopped in the center of the room, and turned to face her. “Coffee?”
“I’ve just had one, thanks.”
He flashed a grin, revealing perfect white teeth. “I meant, would you make me one?”
“Oh. Sure.”
He sniffed. “I can smell Arabica with a hint of vanilla.”
“That’s my favorite blend.” She placed her bag on the couch and moved to the kitchen area of her open-plan apartment.
“I know my coffee.” He leaned on the marble island countertop. “Nice marble.”
“Calacatta.” She went about making the coffee.
“Hmm. Crime does pay, huh?”
A chill shot through her. What was he getting at?
Despite their supposed alliance, she couldn’t let her guard down. Before she could fabricate an excuse about her lavish apartment—her usual story for the IRS—he spoke again.
“I’ve got a job for you. It’s time to help us out.”
Relief washed over her. “What’s the job?”
“It’s urgent. There’s been a murder linked to a robbery.”
Her brow furrowed. “A murder?”
“Yes. Your unique insights could be invaluable.”
She handed him a cup of black coffee. “I don’t have milk or sugar.”
“That’s fine. I prefer it black.” He sipped appreciatively. “We need to act fast. The first days after a murder are crucial. I thought of you immediately.”
Trust leaned in. “I didn’t realize you’d need me this soon.”
“We need your criminal perspective.”
She bristled at being labeled a criminal. This whole situation was interrupting her plans to see Ryan Castle, but she saw no alternative. “Okay. Let’s go.”
The quicker she dealt with this, the sooner she could find Ryan and confront him. If luck was on her side, she’d be holding the diamonds tonight.
* * *
Trust stared at Jack Fletcher. He’d just hit her with a bombshell—her first case with the FBI. She knew it would be coming at some point but didn’t know she’d have to start work so soon after signing the agreement.
He drained the last of his coffee and then walked over and placed the cup in the sink beside hers. “It’s all right to leave it here?”
“That’s fine. Shall we go?” She grabbed her bag, and he moved over to open the front door.
When they were heading down in the elevator, his cell phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket. “Jack Fletcher.” Then he hesitated and looked at her. She knew this call was about her. Had the FBI changed their minds? Gone back on their deal? Trust hated not being in control. That was the reason she had always worked alone wherever possible.
He ended the call and looked over at her. “Ryan Castle has disappeared from the hospital. Do you know anything about that?”
Her mouth opened in shock; she’d only just called the hospital to get his room number. “He’s gone? How’s that possible?”
“I’m not sure. We had a guard on his door.”
“He’s going after those diamonds. Shouldn’t you hand this murder case to someone else and we’ll go find the diamonds? Um, I mean Castle?”
“No.” Jack drew his eyebrows together and stared at her as the elevator doors opened. He put his hand across the doors to keep them open, and she stepped out. When he caught up to her, he pulled her to one side of the foyer. “I just told you we’re investigating a murder with a robbery. Forget Castle for a moment.”
Frustration whirled through her head. With Ryan gone, how was she going to get anything back from him? Now she wasn’t captive in prison, she was Jack’s personal captive. She rubbed her head. She had to pull it together or Jack would think she wasn’t any use to them. “I’m sorry. This has come as a shock. I mean, why would he leave the hospital? He was shot and he was in the intensive care unit. How is he even walking?”
When people entered the building, Jack whispered, “We’ll talk in the car.”
He ushered her out of the foyer, and they walked two blocks to his car while he made a call. When they reached his car, he ended the call and opened the passenger door for her.
She slid into the seat and buckled up.
Once they were on the move, he glanced in her direction. “I want you to put your feelings for your boyfriend out of your mind. He’s our problem now. You’re best to forget about him. He won’t get far.”
“Are you kidding? I’m thinking about the diamonds. Don’t think I’m heartless. He’s obviously fine if he was able to escape.” Trust was annoyed about the comments Jack was making. “He’s not my boyfriend. Find him and you’ll find those diamonds. I don’t have them. He has. I want the diamonds found so I can prove that to you.”
“I believe you.” He gave her a sidelong glance and she knew that he wasn’t fully convinced about anything.
“I’ve been telling you the truth all along. He left me to drown in that car after he grabbed them. I even saw him running along the shoreline with the bag the diamonds were in.”
“When we got him, there were no diamonds and no bag. He swore himself black and blue you had the diamonds. We had the car brought up and when there was nothing there, we sent divers down to search and there was nothing.”
“He’s obviously lying. You didn’t need to send divers anywhere. He must’ve stashed the diamonds at the riverbank and since then he would’ve gone back and gotten them.”
“That’s a likely scenario.”
“Yes, good. Thank you for believing me, so what’s happening? I know I keep asking about it but why aren’t we on that case trying to find him?”
She saw him nearly grimace and his fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. “There are issues going on that you don’t need to be aware of. I’ll tell you a little. There are other countries involved with your crimes and they want justice. The fact that you’re now helping us isn’t going to appease them.”
“There’s no proof I did anything in any other country. I wasn’t even convicted of anything in this country.”
“I know that, because you agreed to assist us before it got to that point.” He took his eyes off the road for a moment when he stopped for a red light. Staring at her, he said, “You and I know exactly what you’ve done.”
Did he know everything? Something told her he did. She turned and looked out the window. “Where are we going?”
The car started moving again. “A man by the name of Glen Welch was murdered. He was found in his study in front of an empty safe. The safe had been full of jewelry. We don’t have an exact estimate of the value yet, but it’s in the millions.”
“And you think I know something about it?”
“Don’t worry, we know you had no involvement.”
“Well, that’s a good start. Where are we going exactly?”
“The Hamptons.”
“That’s quite a distance away from your jurisdiction, isn’t it?”
“I don’t have a jurisdiction. You could say it’s all over the country. State-to-state.” He drove to a drive-through hamburger place. “How does a burger sound for breakfast?”
“Yes, please.” How would she find Ryan now? He’d be long gone by the time she got back to the city.
He ordered burgers and more coffee for both of them before they drove on.
“And why did they call you in?” Trust asked.
“The stolen jewelry is attracting a lot of media attention. They’ve had three helicopters flying over this morning already. We’ve had to turn five news channels away. It’s a high-profile case with high profile people. Glen Welch was one of the city’s best-known lawyers to the rich and famous. You haven’t heard of him?”
“His name is familiar which isn’t unusual if he had millions of dollars worth of jewelry. Wait, I think Glen Welch is the one who bought up all the iconic movie star jewelry at the auctions.”
“That’s the one. We’ve got a long drive.” Jack turned the music on, drowning out any possible conversation.
Trust spent her time emailing her sister from her phone, so the time in the car wouldn’t be a complete waste. Her sister Serenity was currently back home living in the Amish community, but she always kept a secret cell phone.
Sometime later, Jack announced, “It’s just up here at the end.”
Trust saw news vans lining the street and one cameraman was out of the car filming the Welch house from the street. As they got closer, Trust slid down in the seat until they drove past them and then through the large gates that were flanked by two uniformed policemen.
As they drove up the long driveway, Trust admired the gardens and the perfectly trimmed hedges that divided them. “The gardens are breathtaking. They must have a few full-time groundskeepers.”
“The upkeep must be horrendous.” He parked in front of the house behind two white vans.
As men in white evidence-collection suits came out of the house, Trust stared up at the white mansion. “Who did you say died?”
“Glen Welch. Josephine, his wife, first owned this estate with her first husband, Earl Butterworth, but then he died and she remained living in the house.”
“Oh, so Glen, was her second husband?”
“Correct.”
Trust stared at the grand double doors and the wide stairs that led up to them. It was the kind of place that would have servants. “I can see why she wouldn’t want to leave when she married husband number two. Strange that he’d want to live in his new wife’s dead husband’s home.”
“It is a little,” Fletcher commented. “But maybe he wasn’t the sentimental type.”
Someone putting yellow and black crime scene tape around the building distracted her.
“So, Glen Welch was shot you said?” Trust asked.
“Yes. They’ve taken the body, but everything else remains. It’s a wonder these people weren’t a target of yours.”
She shook her head. “Yes, they had pieces worthy of stealing, but I’d never steal someone’s private collection.” She looked up at the house. “And not from their home.”
“A thief with a conscience. Interesting.”
“I like to call them standards. A personal code of ethics if you will. Talking about ethics, are you sure you have people looking for Ryan Castle?” Her stomach churned. She felt like an athlete ready to run a race, and Jack was holding her back.
“There are people on it. Relax. Today, we’re focusing on this.” He stared at her until she nodded in agreement. “Josephine Welch was on holiday in Bermuda with her adult daughter from her first marriage when the murder occurred. She’s on her way back now so I expect to talk with her tomorrow.”
“Okay. So I guess she didn’t kill him unless she paid someone else to do it.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. “Mrs. Welch’s lawyer has given us a list of all that was stolen from the safe. They took everything apart from Mrs. Welch’s engagement ring and whatever else she had with her at the time.”
“I’ll soon know if they were professionals. Not too professional to have been detected by Welch when they were in the middle of the job if that’s what truly happened.”
“We don’t know for sure yet if he surprised the robbers or whether something else played out.” They walked toward the front door, and he said, “Now are you getting the idea why we need your criminal mind on the case?” He motioned her to move forward to the house.
“I hope I’ll be able to help.”
As they walked to the house, he whispered, “Don’t talk to anyone and if anyone asks, you’re my assistant.”
Trust nodded. “Got it.”
