Chapter 3 - The Second Time
The guard swallowed.
“No one, sir.”
Julian stared at him.
“You pulled one cardigan off a rack holding twelve uniforms and went straight to one pocket.”
“I checked the name tag.”
“There is no name tag,” Mara said.
The guard looked down.
There wasn’t.
Brent stepped in quickly. “He probably recognized the garment.”
Mara laughed once, without humor.
“I changed into it two hours ago.”
Julian’s gaze sharpened.
Celeste touched his arm. “Why are we interrogating security? The necklace was in her clothes.”
“Because evidence that appears too easily usually deserves a second look.”
The words hit Mara harder than she expected.
Eleven years ago, no one had said that.
Not the agency.
Not the police officer hired by the jewelry company.
Not the manager who canceled her contracts by lunch.
Celeste stepped back.
“Are you defending her?”
“I’m asking questions.”
“She was accused of theft before.”
Silence dropped over the room.
Mara closed her eyes for one beat.
There it was.
The knife Celeste had been waiting to use.
Julian looked at Mara. “Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Celeste rushed into the opening.
“We were models at the same agency. A bracelet disappeared during a campaign shoot. They found it in her bag.”
“She put it there,” Mara said.
Celeste’s face twisted in practiced disbelief.
“Eleven years later and you’re still saying that?”
“Because eleven years later, you just did it again.”
Several guests gasped.
Julian raised his voice just enough to cut through them.
“Everyone except family and security leaves the dining room.”
Celeste turned. “Julian—”
“Now.”
The guests filed toward the salon, whispering.
Sophie stayed where she was.
Julian’s sister Rachel crouched beside her. “Come on, honey.”
Sophie shook her head and pointed at Celeste.
“She went into the hallway before the lights went off.”
Celeste stared at the child.
“What?”
Sophie shrank slightly but kept talking.
“I saw you by the kitchen door.”
“I was checking the flowers.”
“There aren’t flowers by the kitchen door.”
Rachel’s eyebrows lifted.
Julian looked at Brent. “Pull the cameras.”
Brent hesitated.
It was tiny.
Most people would have missed it.
Mara did not.
Julian did not either.
“What?” he asked.
Brent rubbed his jaw.
“The west-hall cameras dropped during the power interruption.”
“For how long?”
“About three minutes.”
Julian’s expression changed.
“My system has mirrored backup.”
Brent went still.
Celeste said quickly, “This is ridiculous. We have the necklace.”
Julian turned toward the security office.
“No. We have a planted object and a missing three minutes.”
Mara’s pulse jumped.
He took two steps, then looked back at her.
“Come with me.”
Celeste’s voice sharpened.
“Why her?”
May you like
Julian opened the door.
“Because this is apparently the second time someone has tried to make her look like a thief.”
