Page 50 of Win a Date with a Detective

All he needed was a moment when nobody was watching.

And a convenient camera angle.

Three hours later, Vanessa’s fiancé is sitting across from Derek in an interview room.

I’m watching through the observation window. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying watching the man sweat.

Derek places the jeweler’s records on the table. “Would you like to explain these?”

The fiancé glances down. Then back up.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Interesting.”

Derek slides another document toward him. “Because your signature appears on the work order.”

Silence.

“And according to the jeweler, you personally collected the original diamond.”

The man’s face pales.

Derek continues. “Now, here’s where things get interesting. Your insurance company confirmed that you recently increased the coverage on the ring.”

The fiancé swallows.

“And yesterday, you reported that same ring stolen.”

“I didn’t steal anything!”

Derek leans back. “Then perhaps you’d like to explain where the original diamond is.”

The man says nothing. And I smile.

We’ve got him.

By late afternoon, we’ve recovered the original diamond.

Turns out Vanessa’s fiancé wasn’t particularly creative when it came to hiding stolen property.

A search authorized by a warrant turned up the diamond in a safe-deposit box.

Along with documents establishing that he was considerably less wealthy than he’d led Vanessa to believe.

The man had debts. Lots of them.

And apparently, he’d decided that defrauding an insurance company was preferable to admitting he couldn’t afford his extravagant lifestyle.

Unfortunately for him, he’d made one critical mistake.

He picked the wrong woman to frame.

And my girl had an excellent eye for detail.

I glance at my phone. There’s a message waiting for the woman of the hour.

RACHEL: Have you solved the case yet, Detective?