In Pursuit of a Princess
“Where are they stored?”
She gave him a thoughtful look, as if she was sizing him up. “In a Mardi Gras Krewe warehouse over in Algiers. But no one except my immediate staff knows that. They will be transported to the auction venue on the day of the event.”
“Which is?”
“Two weeks from now.”
“And you obviously have an alarm system to protect these masterpieces?”
“Of course. We have one at the warehouse and one here. It’s very discreet, but we had that installed when we moved in, after Theo gave me the Benoit. He also brought over some of his own treasured pieces. Between that and the guards, and now the police, I should think the Benoit is safe here until we get ready to move it. The sensor will go off if anyone dares touch the painting.”
“Nothing is ever really safe, Princess. Not when it involves money.”
“Not even me?”
“Especially not even you. You might be more valuable than you realize.” Dead or alive, he thought to himself.
She tilted her head again. “I’m only as valuable as the next public appearance or fundraiser. And now apparently because of my penchant for fine art.”
He stared down at her, amazed at how calm she seemed. “I think you should call off the fundraiser gala.”
“No,” she said. “I won’t allow whoever this is to scare me away. I’ll tell Malcolm to put extra security at the warehouse and here. Making money on art is one thing, but leaving this city in need is not on my agenda.”
“Even if your life is threatened?”
“I have security, and if this is the case, they will be alert and ready. Malcolm will bring in more people at the actual event, of course.”
Gabriel didn’t want to add to her burden, but he had to ask. “And what if someone close to you is in on this? Most art crimes occur because of an inside informant, someone who helps the thieves, makes things easy for them.”
She shook her head, but Gabriel caught a hint of apprehension in her eyes. “The Benoit is still here, and if anyone touches it, alarms will go off everywhere. I’m safe for now. I trust my entire team.”
“But that man last night made it all the way to an upstairs balcony. And no one heard or saw him until he’d almost entered the house.”
“Deidre is a light sleeper, thankfully.”
“What woke her?”
“She said she heard a noise out on the balcony. I’m sure the authorities have grilled her thoroughly. The poor girl was scared and confused, but she can’t go back to bed until they clear out of her room.”
“And you can’t be safe here. You need to think about that.”
Her eyes took on that princess mode. “As I told you, the Benoit will be protected and so will I. I won’t run from these people. I intend to see this through.”
Gabriel wondered about that and the staunch determination in her eyes. He turned to see what Deidre was doing, but the woman, usually so bustling and hyper he could hear her coming a mile away, had slipped unnoticed out of the kitchen. “You need to be completely sure about that, Princess.”
* * *
An hour later, Lara stood staring up at the Benoit, her thoughts a jumble of confusion that made her appreciate the dream aspects of the painting. Or rather, the lost dream that seemed to hang like a veiled curtain over the smiling, dancing people in the center.
When would her life ever settle down to a routine that might bring her a bit of contentment and harmony? After the gala, she reminded herself, her nerves jingling their own warning. The Benoit was the draw. Or at least she was counting on that.
Her cell rang. “Hello?”
A deep breathing. Well, that was original.
“Hello?” she repeated.
The connection went cold. And so did her heart. Him again? Did he think he’d win her over by breathing into the phone?
“Another wrong number?”
She whirled to find Gabriel standing just inside the door.
“You startled me. I thought you were with Malcolm.”
“We finished our discussion and I was allowed to get a couple of shots of the print you found. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He advanced into the room and brought the scents of spice and fresh soap with him. “If you’re receiving hang-up calls, you need to let Malcolm and the police know.”
She nodded, put her phone away, pushed her fears aside. “And you are here to watch and observe, not give me security advice.”
“I’m sorry again.” He glanced up at the painting. “But you’re right, of course.”
Lara shook her head. “Forgive me. I’m a little rattled. But I have to take this seriously since my entire staff could be in danger. I’d rather lose this painting than have something terrible happen to the people I love.”
“But you’re not willing to cancel this whole event?”
“I can’t at this late date. Too many variables.” And she didn’t know him well enough to explain those variables.
He came to stand beside her, and Lara immediately felt the warmth descending over her like a cloak of protection. “And the people who love you don’t want anything bad to happen to their princess.”
She turned, surprised at the generosity in that statement. “I thought you were cynical about such things.”
His smile was almost sad. “You guessed that about me already?”
“I read up on you. You’ve seen the worst the world has to offer, so I can certainly understand being cynical.”
He glanced at the painting, then back to her. “Ah, but I’ve also seen the best the world has to offer. So in spite of being somewhat cynical, I also have a strong sense of faith.”
“Really?” Lara was touched and surprised by his admission. “I’m relieved to hear that. My faith has guided me through the worst of times, too.”
He turned, his gaze solemn and full of secrets. “You’ll need that in the coming months, too. My gut tells me that these people trying to scare you are just getting started.” Then he leaned close, his hand touching her wrist. “And I’ve come to a decision about that.”
Lara held her breath while she watched the rich liquid brown of his eyes turn deadly serious. “You’re not backing out of your assignment, are you? I didn’t mean to be so rude—”
He got even closer, his mouth so close to her ear she felt her teardrop pearl earring dancing. “Oh, no, Princess, I’ve decided even though this is none of my business I’m staying close by your side until we find out who’s doing this.”
Lara swallowed her fear and shock. “You don’t need to—I mean, that’s not necessary. I have protection.”
“I’m not a security expert, but I’m good at observing people and I know human nature. I’ll be watching for anyone out of the ordinary.”
She glanced over at him then. “Are you implying that you truly believe what you stated earlier? That someone on my security detail or within my household could be involved in this?”
He whirled her around to face him. “I’m not implying, Lara. I’m pretty sure that Deidre planted both of those packages. Your assistant is trying to terrorize you. And me, being the curious-reporter type, well, I intend to catch her in the act next time she makes a move. That is, if I can find her.”
Lara wanted to slap him, but the dead-serious look in his dark eyes told her this was no joke. “You only came into my house last night and now you insult me by even suggesting such a thing as Deidre being involved?”
His next words sent a chill through Lara’s heart. “I just checked her room. Now that the police have left and your detail people are back at their duties, I wanted to talk to her alone.”
“And?”
“She’s not there and neither is her laptop or her tote bag. I checked her closet, too. It’s empty. Deidre has apparently left Kincade House.”
FOUR
Lara couldn’t believe this man’s audacity. She’d only met him last night and already he was bossing everyone around. Normally, she liked forceful personalities. But today had not been normal. “You snooped in Deidre’s room? Do you want me to end this assignment for you before we even begin?”
Gabriel checked the room, his expression full of concern and regret. “Look, Princess, I get these hunches about things.”
“So you just go on a hunch and assume that my assistant is involved in an attempted art theft?”
He held his hands on his hips. “I go on what I see, on things I can put together and figure out.” Tapping his temple with a finger, he added, “It’s called logic.”
Lara didn’t want to listen to him and the rebel in her fought against his logic. He’d waltzed in here like Mr. America, all gung ho and alpha male, and now he was acting like the CIA? Never mind that his words and his sincere determination made shivers of apprehension move down her scalp. Never mind that his presence here made everything different and difficult. What had she been thinking, allowing him to shadow her at a time when she needed a lot of privacy?
“You are in no position to assume that authority, Mr. Murdock. Do I need to call Malcolm in here to escort you out?”
“Is there a problem, Your Highness?”
They both whirled at the sound of Deidre’s voice.
Lara was as surprised as Gabriel. “Deidre, we were concerned about you. Where on earth did you go?”
She sent an accusing glare at Gabriel, then stepped toward her frazzled assistant. But when she came around the sofa, she saw Deidre’s suitcase near her sandaled feet.
Gabriel was right behind her. This time he gave her a telling stare. Obviously, he thought he was right.
But she knew he was wrong.
“Deidre, what’s going on?” Lara asked, wondering if she’d finally given in to that nervous breakdown the tabloids always claimed she was about to have.
Deidre started crying. “I wanted to leave, ma’am. I wanted to get out of this city.”
“And why would you want to do that?” Lara asked, another shiver going down her spine.
“I’ve made a mess of things,” Deidre replied. “I was almost to the corner, but Malcolm came and got me and forced me to return. He said even if you wanted me to leave, I couldn’t now. I’d compromise the...investigation.”
“The investigation?” Lara gave Gabriel a blaming glance, then went to Deidre. “Sit down and tell me what you mean.”
“Mr. Malcolm said there was a criminal investigation, since you’ve received two odd packages. He said it’s not safe to leave now. He told me if I left, I’d look guilty.”
“He’s correct,” Gabriel said, his eyes full of apology. “Deidre, it’s none of my business, but if you know something that can help you or the princess, you need to tell us now.”
“I don’t,” Deidre replied, pushing her dark glasses up on her nose, her gaze darting from Lara back to him. “I only know that I saw a man on the upstairs balcony last night. I didn’t even see the package.”
“That’s true,” Lara said, deciding she’d deal with Gabriel Murdock later. “I’m the one who alerted Malcolm and his team about the package.”
Deidre stopped sobbing and stilled, shock coloring her face. “You don’t think that I—”
“Of course not,” Lara replied, taking Deidre by the hand. She lifted her gaze toward Gabriel, daring him to voice what she knew he must be thinking. “But...Deidre, Mr. Murdock does have a point. Since no one witnessed the first delivery and Herbert is not answering his phone to verify what you told us last night and now you claim you saw a man—”
“I did see a man,” Deidre said, getting up to whirl around. “I don’t know anything else. I brought you the first package, but I found it. I didn’t plant it, if that’s what you’re implying. That’s the truth. I’d never do anything to harm you.”
Gabriel lifted his chin toward Lara. “May I say something else?”
Lara wanted to tell him no. She wanted to tell him to leave her house. But that little niggle of reality kept her from sending Gabriel away. That and the concern in his dark eyes.
“What?”
He gave her a nod of thanks. “Deidre, I’m the one who suspected you. Princess Lara was concerned for you, but I suggested that you might be involved. I apologize. It was very brave of you to come back and face her.”
“She’s brave because she has nothing to hide, right, Deidre?” Lara was determined to make him see that he was wrong. If she couldn’t trust Deidre, whom could she trust?
“I’m telling the truth,” Deidre replied. “Truly, ma’am, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
“We believe you, don’t we, Gabriel?”
He stared at her a long minute before nodding. “I don’t want to get involved in this, but I’m here and it’s hard to avoid. It’s the nature of being an investigative photojournalist. Too curious for my own good.”
Deidre’s dark gaze probed him. Then she turned to Lara. “May I please go to my room now? I’ll unpack and we can finish what’s left of today’s schedule.”
Lara got up and hugged Deidre. “You go, but don’t worry about today’s schedule. Take a long nap. I’ll make sure Malcolm posts a guard by your door.”
Deidre nodded and grabbed her small suitcase. Lara waited until she heard the girl’s footsteps on the stairs. She turned to Gabriel, but Malcolm popped in the door.
“Ma’am, I hope the girl explained her absence and her return.”
Lara nodded. “She did, Malcolm. Thank you for going after her.”
He nodded, then left as silently as he’d come. Odd that Malcolm hadn’t even questioned her acceptance of Deidre’s return. Usually, the man was full of questions. But then, this whole affair had taken on a strangeness that didn’t set well with Lara. Not a good way to start out her time here in New Orleans.
Lara took a deep, settling breath. “And as for you, Gabriel Murdock—”
Gabriel moved toward her like a panther stalking a dove. “You can’t be serious. Do you actually believe her?”
“Yes, I certainly do. She’s young and afraid and confused. I believe she got scared out of her wits and wanted to go home to her family in Europe. Sometimes, we all just want to go home.”
He stared down at her and nodded, his expression changing to something less forceful. “Am I still on this assignment, Princess?”
She thought about that long and hard, and then she nodded. “Of course. We’re all a little fatigued and on edge. I appreciate you being so diligent, but you need to remember you are not here to do any investigative journalism. You’re only here to do an in-depth study on me. A factual, enlightening study to showcase my work here in New Orleans. Do I make myself clear?”
He leaned close, the scent of something spicy and masculine surrounding him. “Very clear, Princess. I’ll report what I see and I’ll write what I know to be true. But you have to know—this threat is not over.” He hesitated, then rushed ahead. “And you also have to know that I won’t stand by and watch if I think something is about to happen to you.”
She grabbed at her pearls and inclined her head, hoping to distract herself from the way this man seemed to have a natural need to protect her. Maybe that was just the way he was wired, but his actions were somewhat confusing. “We’re all aware now. We’ll watch and wait, and I’m sure between Malcolm and the police, this will soon end.”
He moved toward his equipment bags. “Then let’s get started with your day.”
Lara cleared her mind and tried to focus on the many tasks at hand. But she couldn’t get past Gabriel’s suggestion that Deidre wasn’t being honest.
Especially when she’d noticed how strange her assistant had been acting lately. Was Deidre scared because of all the unsettling things happening around here? Or did the other woman actually know who was behind this?
* * *
Gabriel took another shot, from a different angle. The afternoon sun glistened off of Lake Pontchartrain and cast a golden shimmer around the woman in the stark white sundress.
Lara Kincade was in PR mode. This press conference would announce her intentions of building more Kincade houses in one of the disaster-stricken wards of New Orleans. With the lake behind her and most of the Louisiana press before her, Lara commanded the mike space with a regal elegance.
He wanted to capture that elegance.
So he snapped away with two different cameras and several lenses. He caught her smiling softly. He captured her with a hand lifted in the air, her diamond solitaire a signal that while she might be alone, she still held her marriage as sacred.
“And so, I’m happy to announce that I have a team of contractors and carpenters on standby to finish the work my husband started. I’m very excited and blessed to be able to be a part of this important recovery phase for the city of New Orleans.”
After a round of applause, Deidre—wide-awake and back in control—stepped to the mike. “And now Her Royal Highness will be happy to take your questions.”
Everyone started talking at once. Out of habit, Gabriel turned to snap a few pictures of the crowd. It never hurt to record anything that might become history. It never hurt to get faces that might become assets or foes later, either.
Or in this case, help him to protect the princess even more—the princess who didn’t want to be protected. The woman was a walking target, but she had a job to do. He had to admire her fortitude. But he was also grateful for Malcolm and his expert security team. And having pictures of the crowd could serve as backup later. If anything else happened.
Gabriel had a feeling something else would happen. And soon. With art worth millions hanging around, and a highly visible princess taking up residence in the city, New Orleans was abuzz with intent. Some of it good and some of it bad.
He watched Deidre, too. The girl who’d been so rattled this morning now seemed as polished and cultured as a fresh pearl. Not the same girl who’d cried and played coy earlier. She’d appeared after lunch and just in time for the press conference that Lara had refused to cancel. What was the story with that one, anyway? He could always do a background check on her later, on his own time.
But right now he had to keep at the subject at hand.
He snapped away, his methods unobtrusive, and managed to get some candid shots of both the princess and Deidre.
“How long do you plan to be in New Orleans, Princess Lara?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Are you staying in the Garden District?”
“I’m here and there.”
“Why do you think it’s so important to rebuild houses here?”
“Why wouldn’t it be important? We can’t have a fabulous city without people to contribute. And we can’t bring people back unless they have houses in which to live.”
“What about the Benoit?”
That caught Gabriel’s attention. He whirled to see who’d asked that question. Snapping away, he caught the man’s image in his pictures. Then he turned back to the princess. And saw her skin had gone pale.
“What about the Benoit?”
“We hear you’re having a gala in the Quarter, a private affair with a very high ticket price. Is that because you want to show off the Benoit?”
“I hope to have a nice evening with invited guests. It’s not about showing off. We picked that venue because it allows us to spill out into Jackson Square and it has a nice garden out back. But this event is about raising more money to help our cause.”
The man nodded but looked skeptical and a bit angry.
Bingo. Gabriel’s gut churned and he stopped taking pictures so he could study the reporter who’d asked that question. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, with dark, straight hair and stark, almost black eyes. Was he really a reporter? Or a plant? Part of a team?
Gabriel would have to get his editor to access face-recognition technology and run a search online to find out about the man’s credentials. And he could certainly enlarge the picture he’d snapped to see what the man’s press badge said.
“Thank you all for your time,” Lara said, clearly tired and a bit unnerved by the mention of the Benoit. “I so appreciate all of you coming today. But we have a very busy schedule.”
Only Reporter Man wasn’t finished. “What about the trouble at your Garden District home this morning?”
Lara looked shocked, but she lifted that noble chin and stared the man down. “I have no further comments.”
Deidre stepped up to give instructions on where and when the construction would start. They’d need the press there to make sure they got even more coverage. But they would not be answering any more questions right now. Before she left the stage, the girl glared at the intrusive reporter.
Lara stepped down from the podium and met Gabriel behind the portable stage. “Don’t even say it,” she whispered as she moved by him.
He hurried to catch up with her. “Say what?”
“You know exactly what.” She waited for the driver to open the door of the sleek black SUV. “That man asked about the Benoit. And he knows something is going on, obviously.”
“Yes.” Gabriel slid in beside her while Deidre got up front with the driver. “So?”
Lara gave him a quizzical glance. “I guess you wouldn’t know.”
“Know what?” Gabriel waited, wondering what else he didn’t know.
“I haven’t mentioned the Benoit to anyone. The press, I mean. The gala reception is supposed to be a private event and we haven’t published it a lot. Only the people on the guest list know that the Benoit will be on display during the party.”
Gabriel sat up. “Hmm. Now that does make things interesting. So how did that reporter know about the painting being back at Kincade House?”
“I have no idea,” she replied, her voice low. “But this does give me pause.”
“Good. You need to pause and think about the danger of this situation.”
“I’ve thought about that a lot, I can assure you. If I stayed hidden from danger, I’d never leave my bedroom.”
Gabriel could understand her need to keep working, to keep moving. He’d been on his own so long, he’d learned to never be afraid of anything, but right now he had a deep dread inside his heart. “So you’ll allow that something odd is going on. Someone is leaking information, Princess.”
He glanced up front. The driver headed across town and exited off one of the main thoroughfares. Deidre had her nose buried in her smartphone, her thumbs tapping, tapping some sort of message.
Lara’s gaze followed his. “Would you like to stay for dinner again tonight, Mr. Murdock?”
Gabriel couldn’t miss an opportunity to take more pictures and to keep a close eye on the princess. This mystery was growing by the minute. In spite of his better judgment, he had to find out what was going on. He had a story here. A real story. He’d walked away before and that had put him here. It was like déjà vu all over again.
He shot a glance toward the front. “I’d love that.”
“Good.” She looked up again. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”
He nodded, and wondered if the princess had finally seen the light and come to her senses. If so, maybe he could sit back and relax a little bit.
But in the next second, that notion changed. A boom hit the dusk and the SUV started spinning out of control.
“Tire just blew out,” the driver shouted. Deidre screamed and dropped her phone.
Gabriel grabbed Lara, his eyes locked with hers. “Hold on,” he said, pushing her down against the seat.
The impact of the crash set them both up and back down.
He was still holding Lara when the vehicle finally stopped spinning.
FIVE
The silence stretched for a few seconds; then everyone starting talking at once.
Deidre’s sob echoed over the driver’s shouts.
“Everyone okay?” the dazed man kept shouting.
“Good. I think we’re good,” Gabriel said, hoping that was the truth. He searched Lara’s face, his nose inches from hers. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, gulped a breath. “Yes, thank you.”
The rush of adrenaline tapered off while he studied her big, frightened eyes. Ignoring Deidre’s screams and the driver’s foul language, he asked, “Are you sure?”
He didn’t mind holding her in his arms, but he was worried that she’d been injured. Checking closely for blood or bruises, he swept her hair away from her eyes.