Lancelot (The Theriot Family 3)

“I need to make sure everything in the city archive is intact.”

I was all for that because I needed to find what Remington’s contact left as quickly as possible. I was hopeful the intruder hadn’t found anything since he’d obviously started there before going upstairs. If the information was as well hidden as Remington insisted, then I doubted it had been located.

“Is anything out of place?” I asked as I followed Julian through the door.

Julian shook his head. “No. I don’t think anyone’s been in here.”

I checked the door more carefully. There was no sign of attempted entry. “If someone tried the code and failed, would an alarm go off?”

Julian shook his head. “I wish, but we just hope people think it will.”

They definitely needed better security. “I need to see the newspapers now.”

“I don’t like this,” Julian said. “I don’t like any of this.”

“I need to know what information was left in order to protect you. You do understand you’re in danger, right?”

“Yes, but how do I know you’re not as big of a danger to me as whoever was up on the second floor?”

“I’m very much a danger,” I said smiling at him, “but I’ll never hurt you.”

“Okay, I believe you probably wouldn’t shoot me, but—”

“There’s no maybe about it. You’re safe with me.”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. “You’re not really on my side.”

“The side of protecting the library? I’m all for that. And so is my brother.”

He huffed.

“Julian, I meant what I said to you. I’m going to take care of the funding problem, and I’m going to make sure you and all your colleagues are safe.”

“What else are you going to do?”

“Not telling you the details is part of keeping you safe.”

He rolled his eyes, but he headed down an aisle and returned a few moments later with a large stack of newspapers. “These are the months you requested.”

“You’d think the guy could’ve been more specific.”

He frowned. “What guy?”

“The contact who told my brother to come here and look at these papers.”

“What exactly are you looking for?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Julian leaned over me, fidgeting as I opened one of the papers. “Be careful.”

“I’ll be as gentle with it as I can.”

As it turned out, I didn’t need to carefully leaf through page after page like I expected. When I got to the newspaper that contained what I was looking for, all I had to do was unfold it once, and it fell right out. Except it wasn’t a USB drive or a cryptic handwritten note like I’d expected. It was the stolen necklace.

11

Julian

I stared at the necklace that now lay on the table in front of Lance. “Oh my God. Is that…” It looked just like the necklace that was stolen from the Musée des Trésors, but it had to be a reproduction. There was no way the necklace was here.

“I think it is,” Lance said.

“We need to call the police.” Lance had his hand around my wrist before I could get my phone from my pocket.

“No police.”

“Lance, that necklace is worth thirty million dollars.”

He picked it up and examined it, studying each of the gems carefully. He held a few of them against his face.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“They’re cool against my skin, so they’re quite possibly real. It could be an expensive reproduction, but it’s not costume jewelry.”

“How did you…”

“Do you have a jeweler’s loop?”

“I’ve got a strong magnifier and a microscope.”

“Bring them over here.” His tone was still as demanding as ever, but I could tell he was shaken.

“That’s not what you expected to find, is it?”

“No. I just expected information about the theft. If I’d expected the necklace itself, I would’ve made sure you were distracted while I looked for it. Fuck. I knew something wasn’t right about this.”

I started to ask what he meant, but obviously part of the problem was that he was in possession of a treasured necklace stolen from a museum. I should go call the police instead of getting him the microscope.

Would I really turn Lance in?

He could leave before the police arrived, but what if I were implicated? No, that was absurd. I’d not been anywhere near the museum, and yet… How would I explain the necklace being at the library?

I’d assumed Lance was up to something nefarious, but I’d never thought it would be on this scale. The theft was big news. I worried that feds in black suits would burst in at any moment, shine a spotlight in our eyes, and arrest us both.

“We have to call this in.”

Lance shook his head. “No, that’s a hell of a lot more dangerous.”

“Why?”

“The people who stole this will want revenge. If they learn who has it, then you, me, and the rest of my family are in big trouble.”

I stared at him, not knowing what to say.