Free Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

question. Just what are you doing running around at this hour of the night?"
    "I couldn't sleep," she muttered. She glanced at the gleaming stainless steel door on the right. "What if he got into the glass vault?"
    Cyrus glanced at the code box beside the vault door. "Relax. It's still locked."
    "You're right." Her eyes narrowed as she studied the unblinking green lights. "But whoever he was, he obviously knew his way around the house. This may not have been his first visit."
    "I'd say that's a certainty."
    "For all we know, he's been raiding the glass vault on a nightly basis since Daventry's death. When we open that door we may discover that there's not a single piece left inside. Damn, we should have checked it when we first arrived this evening."
    "Take it easy. Leonard Hastings was here to keep an eye on things, remember?"
    "Yes, but there's no sign of him tonight."
    For some reason he felt compelled to try to soothe the rising anxiety he could hear in her voice. "We'll take a look in a few minutes."
    He was not overly concerned with the contents of the glass vault. Logic and common sense told him that Daventry would not have stored an object as dangerous and as valuable as the Hades cup in a collection that was frequently shown to visitors and guests. If the cup was here at Glass House, it would be well concealed.
    "We'll need to get all the house locks reprogrammed first thing tomorrow." Eugenia sounded as if she were jotting down notes. "I wonder if Leonard Hastings knows how to do it, or if we'll have to send for a computer locksmith from the mainland."
    "I know this brand. I can reprogram them."
    "You can?" She sounded surprised and somewhat dubious.
    "You know, a lesser man might be easily crushed by your lack of respect for his professional skills."
    "Something tells me you don't crush very easily." She paused, frowning. "I just had another thought. Whoever was down here tonight had to know that the house was occupied. Both of our cars are parked in the drive."
    "I don't think we're dealing with a very smart burglar here."
    "It's a big house. Maybe he assumed it would be safe to enter it, even knowing it was occupied. Burglars break into inhabited homes every day of the week."
    "Little did he know that you'd be prowling around in the middle of the night waiting to pounce on him."
    Her chin came up swiftly. "I was not prowling."
    "What would you call it? You sure as hell weren't sleepwalking." He came to a halt in front of a door that stood ajar. Cold night air poured through the crack. He could see the shadows of the unlit pantry at the top of the narrow flight of stairs. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me why you were taking a midnight tour of the house?"
    "There's nothing to explain. I just wasn't sleepy, that's all." She examined the door. "So this is how he entered and left."
    "Looks like it."
    She gave him a worried glance. "He knows the house security codes, Cyrus."
    "Yeah."
    "Who would have access to them?"
    "Could be anyone, I guess, but there is one real obvious suspect."
    She searched his face with a quizzical expression. "For heaven's sake, who?"
    "Leonard Hastings."
    She blinked a couple of times. "Good thinking. Of course, he would know the codes. You're right, he's definitely a suspect."
    "I can't tell you how much your good opinion means to me."
    "Very funny. You know, the fact that he wasn't here to let us into the house is very strange. Downright suspicious, in fact. I wonder if he planned to steal the Daventry glass before we arrived and didn't quite finish the job."
    "Let's not leap to any more conclusions. Hang on while I take a look around."
    He went up the steps and pulled the pantry door fully open. Another door, the one that opened onto the veranda, was flung wide. He contemplated the darkness and the dense forest that loomed just beyond the edge of the clearing. Rain dripped steadily from the eaves.
    "Be careful," Eugenia called as she climbed the basement stairs behind him.
    "You're a