“Why did you only remove those items?”
“Those were my instructions.”
“Who instructed you?”
“James Mulligan—someone I knew by reputation—and she went by Genevieve Delecroix, and spoke flawless French and Italian. But as I’m not an idiot, and no matter how much money someone waves at me, I don’t go in blind, I took time to find out who she was. Magdelana Percell. He’s a broker—retired—a kind of liaison between people who want something that’s not theirs and people who can get it.”
She paused, reached for the soft drink Stephen had brought her in lieu of coffee. “Can I go to the start, work forward?”
“All right.”
“Mulligan contacted me, offered to fly me to Italy—Sorrento—to discuss a major job with a major payoff. Either way I’d get a few days in Italy on his dime. It was his villa—I checked that, too. Really lovely spot, and that’s where I met her.”
“Magdelana Percell.”
“Yes. She was clearly in charge. That’s my opinion, but I’m a good judge. He’s smitten, you know? But regardless, they offered the job. An in-and-out, no muss, no fuss. I probably wouldn’t have taken it, but then they told me the target. It’s legendary. Whoever took it the first time? A genius. I was sort of disappointed I wouldn’t have to be, but the prospect of holding all that? I couldn’t say no.”
“Why wouldn’t you have to be a genius?”
“They already had the security system, the location of the vault. They had the damn combination.”
She blew out a breath. “You know how they say don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?”
“Why do they say that? Who wants to look in a horse’s mouth?”
“I don’t know, but I should have. It was too good to be true. They offered me twenty, and I pushed for fifty and got it. Fifty million dollars and a chance to hold the Royal Suite. Fifteen when I take the job, another fifteen when I open the vault, send them a photo, and the rest on authentication. I make a good living, but nothing like fifty for one job, and one I barely have to prep for.”
She rubbed her hands on the thighs of her jeans. “Palms are sweaty.” She blew out air. “Anyway. I went from the villa to New York, to look things over. The security system? Old, needed updates. I bought some fancy flowers, boosted a delivery truck, and got access to the grounds, got a look at the entrance and the butler guy. Everything was just the way they’d said it would be.”
She shrugged, drank some more. “So I hung out with Steve.” Her eyes widened. “He didn’t know. None of it. About this, about what I do. He didn’t know, or Rob or Rachel and her family. I swear.”
“I’m not interested in jamming them up.”
“Okay, good. I went home, did my prep, waited for the go. I really didn’t need much time. Honestly, I could probably have gotten in before I left New York, but I like to take time, practice, consider contingencies, Plans B, C, and D.”
“Give me an example of Plan B.”
“Run like hell. Lieutenant—everybody—I steal things. That makes me a bad guy, but I’ve never hurt anyone. I don’t carry a weapon, and nothing I take is worth more than a person. Not to me. Not ever.”
Closing her eyes, she took a breath.
“I got the go, so they flew me back to New York. I was set to proceed, Saturday night.”
“Friday,” Eve corrected.
“No, see, I was supposed to move on Saturday, but they bumped it upa day to Friday night, last minute. I was kind of irked because there was a big gala at the hotel I was going to crash, but a job’s a job.”
“Who bumped it up?”
“She did, Magdelana. So I went in a night early.”
“At what time did you jam the security?”
“Twelve-seventeen. Then you take a solid minute to be sure, then through the gates. I had the window open in a couple minutes, maybe less. Then you take a minute again, you listen, you feel. When I knew I was clear, I opened the panel, as instructed, opened the vault. An old beauty. I’d have liked to crack it my way, but as instructed. And holy Jesus, all that inside. Just beyond.”
For a moment, in memory, Eve supposed, her eyes shined like stars.
“I might’ve swayed for a minute because wow. I probably drooled some. Then I held that necklace in my hands.”
