Free Hidden Agemda (Kate Diamond Adventure) by Leighann Dobbs Page B

over, crushing her in a bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay—we saw you being chased through the binoculars.”
    Kate wriggled out of her father’s grasp.  
    “Sal got shot … well, darted! We need a tourniquet, bandages maybe even hot water!” Kate ran over to Sal. “You better lay down.” She waved her hand at one of the teak lounge chairs on the deck of the boat.
    Teak lounge chairs?
    Kate did a quick survey of the deck, noticing it looked more like a pleasure ship than a research vessel. Her parents and several of the Golden Capers retirees stood around.  
    Did they have drinks in their hands?
    Kate’s brows flew together as she noticed her mother was handing her a martini. She looked over at Sal.  
    Why was everyone just standing around and not tending to him?
    “Sal needs help. Why are you all just standing ar—?”
    “This?” Sal cut off her words, holding up his thumb with the dart still sticking out of it. “It’s nothing to worry about.”  
    Kate’s eyes went wide as he reached over with his other hand and removed the entire thumb, dart and all.
    “You have a prosthetic thumb?”
    Everyone laughed and Kate felt relief, then anger. Relief that Sal wasn’t hurt, anger that everyone was laughing at her.
    “Yeah, I lost my thumb back in Berlin when we did the Covsner job.” Sal’s eyes got a faraway look. “You remember that one, Vic?”
    “I sure do,” Vic said.
    “Yeah, those were the days,” Benny added.
    “Why darts?” Gertie, one of the Golden Capers retirees who had been an expert safe cracker back in the day, held Sal’s thumb up in front of her face.
    “That’s a good question.” Kate looked back at the glacier, which was now empty. Who were those men on the snowmobiles?
    “They were probably afraid that gunshots might cause the iceberg to break up or start an avalanche,” Benny offered.
    “Were those Crowder’s men chasing you?” Vic asked,
    I’m not sure.” Kate pursed her lips together. “I never saw that many men at the ice hotel … but who else could it have been?”
    “Well, you’re safe now, dear.” Carlotta helped Kate wriggle out of the backpack. “Is the ruby inside?”
    “Yes.” Kate sipped the martini, enjoying the sting in the back of her throat.  
    “I’ve been dying to get a look at it.” Carlotta pushed a pile of empty drink glasses aside and set the bag on a glass-topped table. “May I?”
    “Sure.” Kate collapsed into a chair, coming down from the rush of adrenalin and starting to feel a sense of elation and pride that she’d pulled the job off and was on her way back to the museum with the ruby.
    She sipped her drink as she watched her mother take the ruby out of the backpack and place it carefully on the table, walking around the table in a circle to look at it from all sides.  
    Kate’s stomach started to sink as she noticed Carlotta’s forehead crease slightly. Carlotta bent down level with the table to stare at the ruby, then tilted her head this way and that to see it from all angles. Kate didn’t like the way her mother’s lips were drawing tighter and tighter together.
    Finally, Carlotta looked up at Kate—the look in her eye causing Kate’s heart to sink.
    “This isn’t a real ruby … it’s a fake.”

Chapter Ten

    “What do you mean it’s a fake?” Kate stood in the middle of Gideon’s lab, with her fists planted on her hips as she watched him inspect the Millennia Ruby with a magnifying glass refractometer.
    He looked at her, his owlishly large green eyes apologetic. “Sorry, but this rock is not an actual gemstone.” He held the magnifying glass to the rock and motioned for her to look through it. “See how the bubbles and striations are uniform? How it has curved lines?”
    Kate nodded.
    “Well, that indicates this is glass. Real gemstones and crystals don’t have uniform bubbles or swirls.”
    Kate stood back, crossing her arms against her chest. “So Max sent me on a wild goose chase, risking my