Hot Stuff

shackles, marched them upstairs with Kitty, and locked the three of them in the closet.

“They’ll be okay here for a while, at least until I decide how to handle this,” Kellen said. “Let’s go back to the condo and see what we find there.”

Everyone trooped out to Kellen’s car and stood looking at the Mustang.

“We’re not all going to fit,” Kellen said.

“You go on ahead,” Julie said. “Pugg and I will find our way home.”

Chapter EIGHTEEN

Marty, Kellen, and Beast stepped out of the elevator with Cate, hurried down the hall, and waited while Cate punched in the code to unlock Marty’s front door.

“Okay,” Kellen said to Marty when they were all inside. “Where is the safe?”

“I don’t think I should tell you,” Marty said. “I appreciate the rescue, but I’d prefer not to reveal the safe.” He gave Kellen his best Doris Day smile. “However, I’d be more than happy to reward you when I feel it’s time to move some of the merchandise.”

“Here’s more bad news,” Kellen said to Marty. “I’m a private recovery agent, and you have property belonging to at least one of my clients. You can open the safe now, or you can open the safe when the police get here.”

“But I’m Robin Hood,” Marty said. “We were using the money for charitable purposes.” He flicked his eyes to the Warhol on the wall. “Almost all of it.”

“And what about the dead agent?” Kellen asked.

“It was an accident. He was in a panic, and he slipped and fell down the stairs, I swear on my mother’s grave.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Cate said.

“Well, actually she isn’t dead,” Marty said. “I was swearing pre-mortem.”

Kellen didn’t show much, and Cate suspected he wasn’t buying it. For that matter, she wasn’t sure she bought the whole package, but she did feel a tug of compassion for Marty. He looked pathetic in his raggedy clothes. He had a gash on his forehead, and a large bruise and abrasion on his right cheekbone. His right eye was partially swollen. And he truly did need a manicure.

“Are you going to turn me over to the police?” Marty asked.

“I haven’t decided,” Kellen said. “I’m not in the fugitive apprehension business, but I have an obligation as a citizen to come forward when I have information about a crime.”

“Suppose I open the safe and give you all the jewelry and promise not to ever steal again.”

“Evian really does need him at the bar,” Cate said. “And even though Kitty’s motives weren’t great, she still did a lot of good for the community.”

Kellen looked at Cate. “Aside from the fact that the agent accident could be pure baloney, if we don’t inform the police about Marty we could become accomplices to multiple crimes.”

“I just have a hard time thinking about Marty sitting in jail. And it seems a shame that he can’t go on entertaining people.”

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Kellen said to Marty. “I’m going to give you a twenty-four-hour head start. You can leave the country, or you can go to the police yourself and confess. If you go to the police with a decent lawyer, you can probably plea bargain and rat out Kitty Bergman, and get a very reduced sentence.”

“I’ll take it,” Marty said.

“Now show us the safe.”

“You’re going to love this. It’s in the utility room.”

Marty led the way, and Kellen and Cate and Beast followed.

“I was worried about Kitty,” Marty said. “And I knew she’d hired those two goons who would do anything. And I mean anything. So I had this safe installed just in case things got nasty, and the goons got nosey. It opens with a fifteen-digit code, and I have no head for numbers. I can barely remember my phone number. I didn’t want to write the code down because I was afraid they’d find the paper. So I had it injected into the dog when I took him for a walk before I bought him. I figured even if someone wanded him they’d just think it was an ID number. What I didn’t count on was Kitty’s ability to inflict pain and my inability to tolerate it. The first time they hit me I blurted it all out.”

The utility room was nothing more than a closet off the hall. It contained a water heater, a furnace, and two fuse boxes. No safe that Cate could see.

“Have you ever had to flip a circuit breaker?” Marty asked Cate.

“No.”

Marty opened the doors to the two fuse boxes. Both looked identical. The circuit breakers on the top box were labeled. Bath, kitchen, bedrooms, and living areas. The circuit breakers on the bottom box weren’t labeled. Marty flipped one of the switches quickly three times and the panel popped open to reveal a wall safe behind it.

“Nice,” Kellen said. “I’d actually wondered about the second fuse box.”

Kellen punched in the chip code and the safe clicked open.

“I’ve saved all my favorite pieces,” Marty said on a sigh, taking a blue velvet box from the safe. Truth is, some of these I’m not sure I ever could have voluntarily parted with.”

Kellen opened the box and unwrapped the jewelry. Four necklaces, two bracelets, a broach, two rings, and two pairs of earrings, all in their own blue velvet wraps.

“The necklace I’ve been looking for is here,” Kellen said. “And there are four more pieces that are on my list. If you decide to turn yourself in to the police, I’ll corroborate your story and testify against Kitty Bergman, but you have to agree to give Beast to Cate.”

“Of course Cate can have Beast if she wants him. And she’s welcome to stay in my condo for as long as she wants if I’m… sent away. I’ll go to the police first thing in the morning,” Marty said. “And in the meantime I’m going to lock my front door and not let anyone in… just in case Kitty has escaped from the closet.”

Cate and Kellen and Beast took the elevator to the lobby.

“What should we do about Kitty?” Cate asked. “We can’t just leave her in the closet all night.”

“I’m sure she’s out of the closet by now. She was locked in there with two big guys, and the door wasn’t that strong.”

Julie, Pugg and Sharon were in the lobby.

“We ran into Sharon coming home from the movies,” Julie said. “And we’re all here waiting to see what happened.”

“Everything’s fine,” Cate said. “Kellen found the necklace he’s been looking for, and Marty is upstairs, safe in his condo. He has some things to sort through and some decisions to make.”

Sharon gave her head a small shake. “You never know about people. Who would have thought Marty and Kitty would be in business together, stealing jewelry?”

“It’s like he’s the Pink Panther,” Julie said. “I loved those movies. I think my next book will be about Marty.”

A man pushed through the front door into the lobby and went to the bank of mailboxes. He took a key out of his pocket and opened the box labeled Mr. M.

All eyes were glued to the man.

“Omigosh, are you Mr. M.?” Julie asked.

“Yes. Michael Menzenbergenfelt. My name wouldn’t fit in the space.”

He was in his midforties. Dark hair, receding hairline, average build gone a little soft around the middle, average height, pleasant smile. And Cate knew he had nice ankles and was slightly flatfooted.

“We’ve been wonderin’ about you,” Julie said. “You’re the man of mystery around here. No one ever sees you.”

“I’m a writer. Historical fiction. Mostly set around Bonaparte. Between trying to make a deadline and traveling on book tour I’ve been keeping odd hours. I haven’t really been here that much.”

“Julie’s a writer, too,” Cate said.

“Are you published?” Michael asked.