“Sit.” She spat the word at Winter and pointed at the couch. I was happy he complied because I’d been worried that I might have to catch him from hitting the floor. His face was nearly as pale as his snow-white hair.
Madam Winters sipped from a bell-shaped whiskey glass as she shook her head and made another circuit around the room. “You claim someone from this hotel came to Beaulieu and took my jewelry.” Her words exploded, firecrackers in the quiet suite.
Winter nodded miserably and cast a long look at me, but I couldn’t rescue him. My stomach lurched anyway. “Yes, a courier.”
She slammed the rest of her drink, then handed off the glass to me. I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to do with the empty, so I set it on the coffee table while she slapped her hands to her hips. “Sugar, I don’t have dedicated staff for that sort of thing. Something this valuable, I would’ve come myself—” She slapped her chest and the impact was so loud Winter flinched. “—or sent my son, Darcy. There are a couple of men I would trust—” She gestured in my direction. “—but certainly not someone without a visible gun. Were you born last night?”
Winter cocked his head and his eyebrows furrowed. “Do you carry a gun, Madam Winters?”
“No,” she snapped and pointed at me. “But he does, and anyone else who would’ve come with me would’ve been armed to the teeth. This is New Gothenburg!”
His expression crumpled. “I deliver jewelry and go to the bank without armed men all the time. It didn’t seem strange to me.”
Her eyes widened, and I wasn’t sure if she was on the verge of lecturing him like a kid or ordering me to put a bullet in his head.
“Prove you’re not lying. This sounds like bullshit. I don’t believe you.” My gut twisted at the words as I spoke them out loud. The problem was that Winter was very sincere and Iwantedto believe him. I touched my scarred throat. I’d learned my lesson: a pretty face didn’t always mean someone had a good heart.
Madam Winters nodded, but I half wished she didn’t agree with me. “Yes.”
Winter sat there, mouth hanging open for a second, before he snapped his fingers and grinned. “I have a security system at the shop.”
Madam Winters smiled, and even if she wouldn’t admit it in a thousand years, I thought she was relieved. Before tonight I’d been under the impression that she liked Winter. She waved her hand. “Fine. Until this rotten mess is sorted out, I need a replacement. I still have an important client and an event to attend tomorrow evening. The two weeks before Christmas are very busy for me.”
“A replacement of the same value?” Winter folded forward until his face was nearly between his knees and cupped his cheeks. He stared at the floor as if it held all the answers.
“I still have events!” She leaned toward him, her hair cascading, a golden curtain on either side of her face. She waited until he looked at her, then straightened. “It’s only reasonable.”
He gasped and sat back like he was emerging from a pool, then blinked at her as his lips trembled upward in a smile. “I can get you something nice, but I’m sorry, those pieces were one of a kind. There are no extras laying around anywhere.”
She nodded and I didn’t like the way her mouth firmed into a hard line. “And you can find it or redo it. Meantime, I will take the substitute. And when the original is in my possession, I keep the replacement as a fee for my troubles. Sugar, it’s only fair.”
Winter closed his eyes and after a few long seconds he nodded. “It’ll be a hit to my personal finances, but I had a good season. I can do that if it means you’ll still trust me to work with me.” He opened his eyes and gave her a real smile.
I cleared my throat, and they both glanced in my direction with raised eyebrows. “Madam Winters, if he’s telling the truth, this bullshit isn’t his fault. Maybe if that’s the case, you just keep the jewelry you paid for and punish the real culprits? I would be happy to help.” I opened my suit jacket to remind her that I was, in fact, armed.
Winter gasped.
Madam Winters gave me one of her genuine smiles, full of honey, and Winter looked like he was ready to faint again.
She nodded. “Do you know, sugar, sometimes I make rash decisions when I’m angry,” she said in a stage-whisper as she paced a step closer to Winter.
Winter cupped his hands under his chin. “I promise, I did make the pieces. And I did send them. And I swear I can prove it! I even made a ring to go with the collection and was going to ask if you wanted it.”
Her smile widened. “A ring? That would be perfect!”
“Right?” He let out a nervous little laugh.
I cleared my throat, and she nodded at me.
“Fine. If you can locate the people responsible, I won’t keep the replacement, and they’ll be in a world of hurt, courtesy of RJ.” She gestured at me, her blood-red nails flashing in the low light. “Otherwise, I demand compensation. I’m not losing out here,” she said, and her tone was so cold it could freeze an entire room.
Winter leaped to his feet. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You will have something to complement your outfit. Is the dress still green?”
“Scarlet,” she said quietly.
He nodded and his entire body seemed to vibrate on the spot.
Madam Winters turned her attention to me, then the little lady stormed in my direction. I had a lot of respect for her and also hated her a bit. From the pieces of her life I’d learned about, I knew none of it was easy, but there was a difference between fairness and the eye-for-an-eye justice she demanded, and the madam could be brutal.
