Janet Evanovich - Hot Stuff

Beast had been standing behind Kellen. He gave a low growl, pushed Kellen aside, and lunged at Kitty. He clamped his teeth onto Kitty’s purse strap, ripping it off her shoulder and sending the gun flying.

“That’s a Chanel bag!” Kitty cried. “For heaven’s sake, someone do something. He’s slobbering on vintage Chanel.”

Beast shook the bag until he was convinced it was dead and then he turned on Kitty. He gave a loud woof , put his two front paws on her chest, knocked her over, and sat on her.

“Help,” Kitty said.

“What a good ol’ dawg,” Julie said. “My neighbor Jimmy Spence had a guard dog once, and anyone talked cross-eyed to Jimmy that dog would rip you to shreds and then he’d knock you down and hump on you. It wasn’t pretty.”

“See, Kitty. Things could be worse. Beast could be a humper,” Cate said.

Kellen looked at Cate. “Are you okay?”

“Yep. Are you?”

“No. I’m a mess. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Pugg called and said you were kidnapped and my heart stopped.”

“I would have rescued you myself,” Pugg said to Cate, “but I was temporarily unconscious.”

“Poor little Pugg,” Julie said. “Soon’s we get this cleaned up I’m gonna take you home and make you real comfy. You’re my hero.”

Pugg looked like he would begin purring at any moment.

Kellen got the handcuff key from one of the men and took the cuffs off Cate.

“The numbers from Beast’s microchip open a safe in the condo,” Cate said to Kellen.

“I searched everywhere,” Kellen said. “I didn’t see a safe.”

“It’s there,” Marty said. “You just didn’t recognize it.”

“Is there a closet in this house that can be locked from the outside and not opened from the inside?” Kellen asked Marty.

“There’s an owner’s closet upstairs.”

Kellen checked the two men and Kitty for extra keys and cell phones, cuffed the two men together with Cate’s 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.”

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.”