It didn’t matter. “She’s seventy years old.”
“She’s tough as nails.”
“The stress could kill her.”
Sydney stared at him levelly with those penetrating green eyes. “It’s not going to kill her.”
They were intelligent eyes, Cole acknowledged. Clear-thinking, logical eyes. He’d never doubted she was smart. Never doubted she was capable. And this was definitely her field of expertise.
Damn.
If he wanted to keep the police out of it, he needed to keep Sydney and Gwen in, which meant he needed to take their advice.
He hated it, but there it was.
“Okay,” he said. “Fine. We’ll talk to Grandma.”
“Tonight?” asked Sydney.
“Tomorrow,” said Cole. He wasn’t waking Grandma out of a sound sleep to give her bad news.
Gwen plucked her purse from the desktop. “In that case, I’d better get back to New York.”
Cole quickly crossed the room and held out his hand. “Thank you very, very much for coming on such short notice.” He was a lot more grateful to Gwen than he’d probably let on.
“Thanks for chartering the plane,” said Gwen with a shake.
“Whatever you need,” said Cole. “You just call me. Anything. Anytime.”
Gwen nodded. “For now, I’ll just be making phone calls. But I’ll keep you guys posted.” She glanced at her watch. “It’ll be morning in London by the time I get home.”
“You think the brooch is overseas?” asked Cole, his stomach hollowing out all over again. They were looking for a needle in a haystack.
“I’m going to check every possibility,” said Gwen.
Sydney moved between them to give Gwen a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Happy to help,” said Gwen, glancing sideways at Cole and giving him a final once-over. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
As Gwen left the office, Sydney sucked in a deep breath, blinking her exhaustion-filled eyes. But instead of complaining, she touched Cole’s shoulder. His muscle instantly contracted beneath his jacket.
“We’ll break it to her gently,” she said.
Cole felt the weight of forty generations pressing down on him. “I don’t see how we’ll manage that.”
Grandma greeted Sydney with a hug in the octagonal entryway. “Well? Did he do it? Did he pop the question?”
“Grandma,” Cole warned.
“I hope he had a ring.”
“He didn’t have a ring,” said Sydney.
Grandma glanced from one to the other. “But Katie said it was love at first sight. I’d hoped that was the point of this special trip.”
“We are getting married,” said Cole, although Sydney couldn’t imagine why he bothered keeping up the charade. Katie knew their secret, and the Thunderbolt might never be found. A quickie wedding sure didn’t matter anymore.
She hadn’t let the full impact of that sink in yet. The odds of finding the Thunderbolt in time for the show one month away were almost nonexistent. She’d have to call it off. She’d lose her job, and her reputation would be ruined. She’d be lucky to get a position as a tour guide.
“I knew it,” said Grandma, clasping her hands together. “I could tell by the way you looked at her.”
“Grandma.”
“Come in, come in.” She backed into the living room. “I’ll make tea. Tell me everything. What’s the date? Where’s the ceremony? Sydney, dear, you’ll have to give me a guest list.”
“We don’t need tea. And there is no date.”
“Of course we need tea. There are arrangements to make, plans to finalize. Thank goodness we already picked out the house.” She took a deep breath and her grin widened.
Sydney felt sick. This should have been a happy occasion. It should have been a celebration.
“Can we please sit down?” asked Cole in a grave tone.
“Of course.” Grandma gestured toward the burgundy couch. “You sit down. I’ll be right back.”
“Grandma.” Cole’s tone was sharp.
Sydney squeezed his arm, but he shook her off.
“What?” asked Grandma, blinking.
Sydney shifted between them and took Grandma’s hand, trying to diffuse the building tension.
“Grandma,” she said, looking into her blue eyes. She tried to let her tone give away the mood of the upcoming conversation. “We need to talk to you about something.”
Grandma glanced at Cole then back to Sydney. A sly grin grew on her face. “Will it be a…quick…wedding?”
“You’re not helping.” Cole ground the words out from behind Sydney.
“We have some…unsettling news,” said Sydney.
Grandma glanced from one to the other again. The expectant glimmer in her eyes dimmed slightly. “Oh?”
Sydney eased Grandma onto the couch. Cole crouched down in front of them and took a breath. “There’s no easy way to say this,” he began.
“Is someone sick?” asked Grandma, looking worried.
“No. Everybody’s fine. Grandma. It’s the Thunderbolt.”
She stilled. After a silent heartbeat, her eyes went wide and her lips paled a shade.
“We stopped at Joseph’s office,” Cole continued. “The real Thunderbolt is missing. The one that’s in the safe is a fake.”
Grandma’s hand went to her chest and her cheeks turned white as paper.
Cole jumped up. “Grandma?”
Sydney stood, too, mentally cursing herself for not taking Cole’s advice. The shock really was too much for Grandma.
“Grandma?” Cole repeated.
But she still didn’t answer.
“Let’s lay her down,” said Sydney, tossing a pillow to the far end of the couch. “Grandma? We should elevate your feet.”
Cole stood back while Sydney gently repositioned her.
“I’m calling Dr. Diers,” he said.
“Good idea,” Sydney agreed, mentally berating herself.
Why had she thought Grandma could take this? The woman’s heritage had been stolen. They should have looked for it themselves, exhausted all other possibilities. But, no, Sydney had gone for speed, and she might have harmed a wonderful woman in the process.
Grandma gripped Sydney’s hand, trembling slightly. “I don’t need a doctor.”
“Don’t try to talk,” Sydney whispered.
The old woman’s eyes fluttered closed. Her wrinkled skin looked frail and transparent. Her gray hair was thin, and there were age spots dotted over her forehead.
Cole hung up the phone. “Dr. Diers is on his way. How is she?”
Grandma’s breathing was shallow but steady.
“I don’t need a doctor,” she rasped.
Cole moved forward. “Well, you’re getting one anyway.”
“Waste of time,” said Grandma.
He crouched down and Sydney shifted out of the way. “Grandma,” he said in a gentle voice, taking her hand. “We’re going to find it.”
Her eyes opened and she stared at him in silence for a long moment. “I know you will.” And then tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
