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“I’ll know her room number by the end of tonight and will text it. I’ll see you on Tybee at eight o’clock tonight. I’m going over early to scout around before the party starts. Remember, Jenna, don’t approach me at the party. We can’t risk Ms. Wells putting us together so soon. You barely missed her scrutiny in Europe five years ago. She will eventually put it together, us together, but we might have some time before she does. The only thing she could prove is we knew each other —nothing more. But if she sees us here together, she will assume we have rekindled our relationship and maybe our old ways. So, as difficult as it might be, don’t look as though you are lusting after me.”
Jenna laughed. “I’ll try to keep my gaze off you at the party, but it will be so very difficult. You look so good in a tux, Dan.”
“Yes, that is true, and that makes it even harder for Ms. Wells to stop watching me, too, so that’s a plus.”
“Your ego knows no limits.”
“Seriously, Jenna, you can’t get caught in her room tomorrow, so, be careful. If you think you can’t handle it…”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it. How do you know she will meet with you for breakfast, and what on earth do you plan to say after all this time? Relying on that charm and good looks thing, are you?”
“I don’t think Gail Wells found me that charming, all things considered. I’m going to play the victim and assure her I am here by invitation and remind her I’m living in New York with a clean record. Of course, she will know this, but at least, this will let her know I’m aware she is here. I can keep her occupied so you can do your thing. We need to know what she knows, and what she is up to now. If you can find out, maybe hack her computer and read her emails, it would give us the upper hand.”
“Okay, Dan, I trust you to know what you’re doing. Or should I say what I will be doing. Got to go exercise my breaking and entering skills now; see you later.” Jenna ended the call and realized she was smiling. She was happy, which was totally nuts.
Since there was time to kill before getting dressed, Jenna distracted herself by looking at a picture of Tybee and the building where the next two parties were to be held. Each party had a different theme and focus, and a different guest list, with the final party, the Black-and-White Masked Ball, being the grand finale. Looking at the layout of the facility on Tybee Island, Jenna knew the thief would have a plan to get away fast, and there were few options back to Savannah. She was betting the thief was not a local. This meant he or she would have to do some scouting around, but she’d bet it was already done, and maybe weeks ago.
Jenna hoped a shower would quiet her nerves, but it didn’t help much. She gathered the clothes she planned to wear, made sure everything was okay, and sat to do her makeup.
Tonight’s party was a smaller affair for the major corporate financial donors to the senator’s campaign and his pet projects. The dinner party would be much more intimate than the last and final one, the big event, the Black-and-White Masked Ball. That one would again be open to some celebrities, and families of some of the guests, mostly big money donors and local politicians. The dinner was by special invitation only and was limited to about one hundred, but the after-dinner party invitations were from a separate list and would increase the crowd. Lots of wealthy people with lots of jewelry on display. An art auction would be the wrap-up event. She took a deep breath and a last look in the mirror and headed downstairs to see if her limo was waiting.
While waiting on her car, Jenna tried to find a photo of Gail Wells but had no luck. She was not on her company’s website, but Jenna could see the logic. They would not want an investigator’s face to become too well-known. She felt she would know her when she saw her.
Jenna got into the limo for her trip over to Tybee Island for the second party, and she was surprised but happy she didn’t have to share the car. The senator’s staff provided several cars for the guests, but there was no guarantee others wouldn’t be sharing the limo from the hotel to Tybee.
To combat a case of nerves, Jenna made herself focus on the most important things to cover in detail for her magazine readers. But the old excitement of her days with Dan kept interfering. Dan taught her to think strategically and to put herself in the place of their enemy. She learned more about the world of thieves and cons in the art and jewelry trade than she ever wanted to know. Though it served her well for the time, she walked away from it all more than a little jaded. People and their secrets—you just never knew.
She forced her thoughts back to the present and considered how she might use her phone to better capture highlights and make notes to use for her article. Her text alert pinged as her car pulled out of city traffic and into traffic headed across to Tybee Island.
A text from Dan read:
—Room 212. Luck. Careful—
Somehow, he already knew her room was 212 and she agreed to have breakfast with him. Nothing Dan did could surprise her now. Dan promised he’d try to keep her occupied for an hour. That was the plan, if he could keep her there, and she was certain he could. She hoped her computer hacking skills weren’t too rusty.
The trip to Tybee, though not fast this evening due to traffic, was still pleasant, and she was reminded again of the beauty of the area and how much she had missed it. She missed the river, the smell of it, the ocean nearby, and the soft evening breezes. She also missed hearing that special Southern accent, unique to the area, and so much a part of the city. She watched a loaded ferry off to the side glide by full of what she assumed were partygoers off to Tybee. She chose the limo because she was all too familiar with the heat and humidity on the ferry.
As the view often did, it brought back all of the old childhood memories of her many summers here. Jenna looked at the ferry again, and as always, remembered her grandmother.
They would go over to Tybee early on Saturday mornings during her summer visits. Her grandmother with her sketch pad, and Jenna with a bucket to collect shells. They ended the outing with a picnic lunch before it got too hot, and then would ferry back into town.
How she wished she could talk all of this over with her grandmother.
Chapter Seven
As the limo made its way down the winding road onto the state’s property, Jenna could see other limos waiting at the dock for the ferry passengers to take them to their party destination. The senator had gone all-out to impress his guests. She noticed two other limos leaving as they got to the main entrance. Happy to see she wouldn’t be the first guest; she got out of the car and spent a few minutes looking around before she entered the house.
What used to be an actual house was now more of a functioning building for state affairs. It was an old mansion, one of two structures repurposed and added on to over the years. Georgia’s way of preserving its history while also making it pay for itself. The building and adjacent land was owned by the state and used mostly for official functions for politicians. This was a much different setting than the senator’s private residence which was within walking distance of the state’s historical house. Also known as prime real estate.
The senator’s house was a true Southern mansion, complete with columns and a winding front porch with white rocking chairs all around. The senator snapped up the adjoining land the second he knew it was going up for sale, which was due to his connections. Jenna saw more security people than the night before, and she wondered if the senator was also more worried about security than he seemed.
Since the senator’s home was so close, Jenna knew security would be set up there, as well. Maybe that would be a deterrent to the thief. As another limo pulled up, Jenna moved on and went inside, wondering where Dan might be. The music was soft, the bar was open and free, and the menu was to be traditional fare for the Savannah area. Someone knew the recipe for a successful event.
Jenna opted for a glass of white wine from the bar and scanned the room. She didn’t see Dan or anyone who looked like they might be Gail Wells, but the room was beginning to fill up. She moved on, found a quieter and more private place away from the door and bar, and used the time to record a few notes on her phone about party details. She took a few pictures to help her recall the setting later when she would be writing about it. Her readers loved hearing about what the women wore and what was on the menu. The Southern “gentry” was still a mystery to a lot of her New York readers. Some still pictured women like Scarlett O’Hara apparently. This always amused Jenna because so many were actually like Scarlett—made of steel, accomplished, determined, and smart. It was only the clothes and hair styles that changed.
Most of the guests were Southern, so the menu was coastal Southern food and always a big hit with the guests. Jenna chatted with a woman who complimented her dress and earrings as she walked past on her way to the bar. She kept her gaze on the main entrance, hoping to see Dan, but two men, who seemed to be dateless, approached her, and she was distracted for a few minutes.
Eventually, the music changed, and then went quiet. After a short lull, someone picked up a microphone and asked the guests to move into the dining area and look for their place cards. Jenna lagged behind as long as she could, still looking for Dan and anyone who might fit Gail Wells’ description, but eventually she was forced to go to her table.
