Read Online Unveiled Treasures by Kayla Janz - Free Book Online Page B

at the kitchen floor. The flooring came up easier than she expected. She finished stripping the floor and sat back on her heels. Her back ached and her manicure was shot. It was hard, tedious work but she could see the results would be well worth it when she was done.
    * * * *
    Todd and Mike were going over their report in the office. “The stolen merchandise found in Rachel’s garage was boxes of antiques and paintings, but no necklace. The Riley insurance claim lists a very expensive piece we didn’t recover,” Todd said.
    “Do you think it could still be there?” asked Mike. “I mean we searched the entire place and surrounding area. We found how he was getting in and out without being seen, pretty smart of whoever to use the abandoned fire trails.”
    “Don’t you find it a little odd that all the robberies happened when the cabins were empty? This guy would have been seen casing the houses to know this. So how did he find out? The Hardy cabin was thought to be abandoned, has been for years, until recently. That one caught him off-guard. Or did it? How do we know Ms. Rachel Hardy isn’t involved in this situation? Let’s run a check on the maintenance people, caretakers and rental offices for the properties in question. Then we can cross reference that with some inquiries on Ms. Hardy. Maybe we can find a common thread.”
    “Sure thing, Todd, but I’ve been running some theories of my own and we were headed down the same path, until you drew Rachel into the picture,” Mike said, propping a booted foot up on his desk.
    Mike Logan was Todd’s best friend, had been since they were kids. It didn’t surprise him their ideas would run down the same lines. Todd studied him from across the desk. Mike was a little shorter than he was, medium-build, kept his dark brown hair clipped short and had chocolate brown eyes flecked with gold. He was handsome, he supposed. He knew that boyish grin of his kept the ladies coming back for more.
    Mike continued to talk after burning his mouth on hot coffee. “All the houses hit with the exception of three, are summer rentals. The management company has ten employees currently. I’m going to start questioning people this morning. The other three houses were private, Johannesburg’s, Coffman’s and Riley’s. There was a lot of high-end stuff snagged from there but you already knew that.”
    “Go on,” said Todd, listening intently.
    “Well the necklace is bugging me. I’ve done some research on it. It’s a one of a kind. The Irish Star dates back to the early 1700’s. It’s not going to be easy to dump.”
    “So, are you thinking our perp was looking for this item specifically, or just happened on it during the jobs?”
    “I think he was looking for specific items, or an item in this case, and everything else was done to make it look more…random break-in-ish. What I don’t get is why would this author lady call us and report finding everything in her garage if she was involved?”
    “Love the technical jargon there, Mikey,” Todd said then laughed. “But you may be on to something. I’m going back out to Rachel’s and look around some more. Maybe we missed something last night. As far as her involvement, I’m not sure. It just seems too nice and tidy for me. Maybe she is innocent of this mess but I for one want to be sure.”
    “Are you sure that’s the only reason you want to go out there?” Mike said suggestively.
    “What are you getting at, Mike?”
    “Oh, just an investigator’s eye catches things…like the long looks or the way you made a point to touch her last night. It’s so romantic.” He sighed, batting his eyelashes for good measure.
    Todd tried to suppress a grin. “You’re going a little overboard on the dramatics, buddy. But yeah, if I can mix a little pleasure with business, I’m game. I’m also going to be working. I’m the suspicious one, remember? If she’s not involved, then she won’t mind my visit. You hold down the fort