Read Online Secret Star by Nora Roberts - Free Book Online Page B

be involved, and he’d involved himself with this—and therefore with her. Grace’s part of the whole was small, but he needed to treather with the same objectivity that he treated every other piece of the case with.
    He looked up, his gaze drawn to the portrait that smiled down so invitingly.
    He’d have to be more machine than man to stay objective when it came to Grace Fontaine.
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    It was midafternoon before he could clear his desk enough to handle a follow-up interview. The diamonds were the key, and he wanted another look at them. He hadn’t been surprised when his phone conversation with Dr. Linstrum at the Smithsonian resulted in a testimonial to Bailey James’s integrity and skill. The diamonds she’d gone to such lengths to protect remained at Salvini, and in her care.
    When Seth pulled into the parking lot of the elegant corner building just outside D.C. that housed Salvini, he nodded to the uniformed cop guarding the main door. And felt a faint tug of sympathy. The heat was brutal.
    â€œLieutenant.” Despite a soggy uniform, the officer snapped to attention.
    â€œMs. James inside?”
    â€œYes, sir. The store’s closed to the public for the next week.” He indicated the darkened showroom through the thick glass doors with a jerk of the head. “We have a guard posted at every entrance, and Ms. James is on the lower level. It’s easier access through the rear, Lieutenant.”
    â€œFine. When’s your relief, Officer?”
    â€œI’ve got another hour.” The cop didn’t wipe his brow, but he wanted to. Seth Buchanan had a reputation for being a stickler. “Four-hour rotations, as per your orders, sir.”
    â€œBring a bottle of water with you next time.” Well aware that the uniform sagged the minute his back was turned, Seth rounded the building. After a brief conversation with the duty guard at the rear, he pressed the buzzer beside the reinforced steel door. “Lieutenant Buchanan,” he said when Bailey answered through the intercom. “I’d like a few minutes.”
    It took her some time to get to the door. Seth visualized her coming out of the workroom on the lower level, winding down the short corridor, passing the stairs where she’d hidden from a killer only days before.
    He’d been through the building himself twice, top to bottom. He knew that not everyone could have survived what she’d been through in there.
    The locks clicked, the door opened. “Lieutenant.” She smiled at the guard, silently apologizing for his miserable duty. “Please come in.”
    She looked neat and tidy, Seth thought, with her trim blouse and slacks, her blond hair scoopedback. Only the faint shadows under her eyes spoke of the strain she’d been under.
    â€œI spoke with Dr. Linstrum,” Seth began.
    â€œYes, I expect you did. I’m very grateful for his understanding.”
    â€œThe stones are back where they started.”
    She smiled a little. “Well, they’re back where they were a few days ago. Who knows if they’ll ever see Rome again. Can I get you something cold to drink?” She gestured toward a soft-drink machine standing brightly against a dark wall.
    â€œI’ll buy.” He plugged in coins. “I’d like to see the diamonds, and have a few words with you.”
    â€œAll right.” She pressed the button for her choice, and retrieved the can that clunked down the shoot. “They’re in the vault.” She continued to speak as she led the way. “I’ve arranged to have the security and alarm system beefed up. We’ve had cameras in the showroom for a number of years, but I’ll have them installed at the doors, as well, and for the upper and lower levels. All areas.”
    â€œThat’s wise.” He concluded that there was a practical streak of common sense beneath the fragile exterior. “You’ll run the