The Perfect Solitaire. Carmen Green

Hugh go in and work on installing our cameras in the stores.”

      “What does Trap Team do?”

      “Whatever is necessary to get the job done. They’re specialists at catching liars and cheaters.”

      Zoe nodded. “I can see how that may be beneficial.” After her morning conversation with Faye, Zoe felt the need to be thorough and not leave any ambiguity regarding her position on what happened between them. “I hope you understand, Ben.”

      “What?” He walked over to the station and pulled off a sheet of paper, read it and handed it to her.

      “My reasons for everything.”

      “I said I did and I do. Here’s your receipt. We need to get started. Go back to your store and I’ll see you there in about an hour. Don’t acknowledge me when I come in. I’d like to see how far I can get away with things. Are the rules regarding employee conduct and store policies on the flash drive, as well?”

      “Yes, it’s all there.” He was all business and that made her want him to slow things down a bit and talk things through. Zoe recognized she couldn’t have it both ways.

      “Good. We’ll see if I can spot anything unusual going on. I may have some of the team with me or I may be alone. Try not to be on the floor if that’s not where you’d normally be.”

      “Okay. Anything else?”

      “You’ll have to give me a complete schedule of every place you’re going to be every second of your day until this is solved. No secrets. No surprises. You and I are going to be tighter than conjoined twins.”

      “That close?” she asked with a small laugh.

      “Like skin and deodorant.”

      Zoe rubbed her neck. “Do you suspect anyone, Zoe? That could save us a lot of time.”

      “A former manager, Tori Brunelle. She wanted more money than I was willing to pay, and before she left, things started disappearing. I let her go and changed the locks, but I believe she still has influence over some of the staff. I’ve even replaced some of them, but you never know how people know one another.”

      “I’ll add her to the list of the current staff to do checks on. Anybody else?”

      “Not that I can think of.” Zoe shouldered her bag and walked to the door. “Ben, we have to keep this confidential because if my sister gets wind that we had a thing, well, my family gets nosy.”

      “They won’t hear about us from me. You and I will have a code if you’re in trouble. I’ll be the doctor calling with your test results. You’ll tell me it’s a bad time to talk. If there’s one bad guy, say the baby is kicking a lot today. Two bad guys, the twins. Three, the triplets. Do you understand, Zoe?”

      She nodded. “Is all this necessary?”

      Ben spread his hands. “You never know what you’re going to need to know.”

      The door opened, and the male receptionist that initially greeted her poked his head inside. “Excuse me, Ben, Ms. McKnight? The police were on the phone for you, but we got disconnected.”

      “Why?”

      “I had your sister first, but she hung up to talk to them. She said your cell phone dialed the store and she could hear your meeting. She was trying to call and tell you that your store just got robbed. When she couldn’t reach you, she called the police. Then they called us.”

      Panicked, Zoe jumped up. “She has to cancel them. There can’t be a report.”

      Zoe pushed the button on her Treo handheld for the store, but nobody answered. She dialed Faye’s cell but got no answer. “I’ve got to stop her. I told her to go home and help my father, but no. She had to help me.” She grabbed her portfolio and started for the door.

      “I’m going with you.” They hurried up front and the receptionist handed Ben his jacket, taking the folder from Ben’s hand.

      “You can’t.” Zoe trotted toward the exit. “Nobody is supposed to know about you.”

      “Are you arguing already?”

      “No. I’m not. No.” She took a deep breath. “Can you guarantee me that you’re going to get these bloodsucking scumbags?” Zoe dug into her purse for her car keys. “Promise, or I’m buying a bigger clip for my .45.”

      Ben offered his hand to Zoe as they headed out of the building. “I promise. But you go in first and let me make my own entrance. I need to see things from my own perspective.”

      “I’ll see you there.”

      Chapter 4

      Zoe entered the upscale mall at the lower-level south entrance, passing through the food court. The blending of Thai, Chinese and fast food odors usually made her hungry but today roiled her stomach. The casual lunch crowd formed jagged lines. She decided to take the escalator rather than the stairs so that she could quickly assess.

      She’d chosen the second-floor corner for her boutique because she’d wanted to be able to say park at the south entrance, come through the food court, and we’re at the top of the escalator. People would be able to find her easily. The strategy had worked well. Sales had quadrupled since she’d opened three years ago and like she’d told Rob, tripled over the last months.

      Zoe’s unique designs had brought a renewed sense of excitement to a business that was now saturated with trolley-cart vendors that sold inferior products at lower prices. Today’s incident wasn’t helping as customers were turned away by two cops who stood outside the doorway.

      Bold onlookers still craned to see inside, but there wasn’t anything going on. Nobody was in custody and Zoe’s heart sank. That would have made her day.

      Ireland, one of Zoe’s managers, was irritated, gesturing in big sweeping motions as she talked, and when the officer seemed to ask her to settle down, her neck went back, and she gave him a piece of her mind.

      As Zoe walked toward the store, she noticed that none of the cases were broken, and while she was thankful, fury burned her. How had they gotten her this time?

      Zoe turned, and Ben was behind her. “I thought you were going to stay incognito,” she said, startled to see him. The reassurance she felt was hard to hide. She’d reached out and gripped his arm and was about to pull her hand back when he touched her hand in a reassuring way. “I’d planned to, but I changed my mind.”

      “Why? We had an agreement.”

      “Hugh’s on his way to do the camera work and I want to hear everything you hear, Zoe. I don’t want you to have to relay anything to me. I’m going to try to work within your two-week time frame, so let me do my job.”

      Zoe had a brief flashback to the moment when Ben picked her up in his arms and she had the best orgasm of her life. She’d been weightless and there had been nothing to support her but him. She’d had to put all of her trust in him. “Trust me,” he said.

      “I’ll do my best.” She approached the uniformed officers. “This is my store. I’m Zoe McKnight, the owner. I’d like to go in.”

      “You got ID?”

      Irritated, Zoe withstood the visual inspection of herself and her ID, her patience slipping toward anger that the cop wouldn’t let her in until Ireland acknowledged her. The statuesque blonde stalked over. “What the hell do you have her standing here for? She owns the damned place!”

      Ben walked in and moved unobtrusively to the side while the cop corralled Zoe and Ireland in the center of the store.

      “We were scared,” Ireland said, “but I kicked ass and got the jewelry back.”

      Zoe shook her off. “You did what?”

      “I chased down the tall guy and got the jewelry back.