The priceless gem rotated counter-clockwise every ten seconds, one-quarter turn at a time, showing the awestruck viewers every angle of its stunning beauty. Every forty seconds, the diamond returned to its original position.
A throng of people surrounded the marble display case, gawking at the famous diamond through exceptionally thick, yet clear glass. The carefully placed lighting sparkled through every one of the blue diamond’s 74 facets.
~~~
The extraordinary Hope Diamond had been stolen.
Delusional
By Scott Spotson
with Sue Publicover
This story certainly got my attention! The Hope Diamond Stolen! As soon as I read what
happened, I immediately thought of Parker--you know, the thief, or one of the thieves from Leverage... I enjoy the whole team on this TV program. Like Parker, the thief who stole the Hope was caught on camera--a few seconds! They couldn't figure out how she got in, how she made the switch and where, after she slid behind a building column, they never were able to find her actually leaving the building!
But in fact, this thief routinely had been performing such heists, but had never even gotten close to being caught!
Her husband certainly didn't know! But then, he was a senior Manager at his company, Clearwell, and was having an affair with one of his employees... At least that's what his wife assumed... His wife was very rich and did not want her husband to work, rather to stay home and travel and do other interesting things rather than dull work...
Patricia also worked at Clearwell--hard-working, dedicated. She had noticed Paul but considered him off-limits since he was married and also a boss, even though not her immediate supervisor...
Patricia didn't feel secure in relationships. She had been in two, both of which had left bad memories and a desire not to fall in a similar trap.
Nevertheless, when Paul suggested he run with Patricia during her routine lunch-hour exercise, she agreed...
But in fact, this thief routinely had been performing such heists, but had never even gotten close to being caught!
Her husband certainly didn't know! But then, he was a senior Manager at his company, Clearwell, and was having an affair with one of his employees... At least that's what his wife assumed... His wife was very rich and did not want her husband to work, rather to stay home and travel and do other interesting things rather than dull work...
Patricia also worked at Clearwell--hard-working, dedicated. She had noticed Paul but considered him off-limits since he was married and also a boss, even though not her immediate supervisor...
Patricia didn't feel secure in relationships. She had been in two, both of which had left bad memories and a desire not to fall in a similar trap.
Nevertheless, when Paul suggested he run with Patricia during her routine lunch-hour exercise, she agreed...
Patricia stared at him briefly, as she had never seem him hesitant before. “Sure, Paul, I can show you one, but you wouldn’t be holding me back. I mean, I just run for fun.”
Grinning, Paul pointed at her just as he held the door of the men’s locker room. “Make it really easy. I’m getting old.” Waving at her, Paul disappeared into the men’s locker room. Patricia walked into the women’s locker room, feeling a rush of adrenaline that made her heart race. She definitely felt the flicker of flirtation coming from Paul. Yes, he was always easygoing. She’d often observed his interactions in the office—friendly, sincere, likable. His body posture seemed eager, yet relaxed... And Paul was a dynamic manager who was respected in the marketing department; he clearly showed he welcomed responsibility and could rise to a challenge...
~~~
The room went quiet. All eyes turned to Special Agent Swift. Swift clasped his hands. “We’ve all seen the footage of the woman we think was involved with the theft of the Hope Diamond from the Smithsonian and we’ve been perplexed as to how she got in and out of the gallery without any apparent entry or exit. Then there was what seemed to be the same woman with the same motive at the theft of the Van Gogh painting from the Art Institute in Chicago.”
~~~
The book switches back and forth between the robberies and the beginning relationship between Paul and Patricia. The latter, however, is the predominant portion of the book, so think about it more as a romantic suspense as opposed to a police procedural. In fact, the police, FBI and everybody else interested in the thefts were stuck in the mud, you might say... Until...
Fortunately, Patricia had hired a private investigator because things were beginning to happen... Ray had been following here and saw the amazing first attempt on Patricia's life! She had been waiting for the train and, while Ray was watching from a hidden location, he saw a woman who was staring at Patricia. He saw her raise her arm and and bring it down quickly, as if throwing an invisible ball toward Patricia... She then walked behind a post and Ray was waiting for her to leave...but he never saw her again...
The next thing he knew Patricia was surrounded and being pushed toward the end of the platform!
Ray peered out from behind the post. His eyes soon focused on a slim woman, dressed in a black leather knee-length jacket, black slacks, and crimson red stiletto heels. Her long red hair flowed in waves over her shoulders. Ray walked to the side to get a better view of this woman without drawing attention to himself. He wandered over to a bench by the wall and sat down, pretending he was texting on his phone. He glanced over and noticed an intense expression on the woman’s face. She appeared to be staring in Patricia’s direction and soon walked toward where Ray had last spotted Patricia.
...On her way, despite her lack of attention to her surroundings, Patricia became vaguely aware of a few people closing in on her path. Startled, she looked up at her fellow passersby. There were three women and a man, all standing by her intended walking trajectory, but otherwise not seemingly associated together... Despite the coordinated glares from the four strangers, Patricia brushed aside her initial anxiety, remembering what Dr. Zohar had said about taking control. She told herself that the eye contact in a place like a train station was normal; that after seeing her walk by, they would avert their gazes and go back to their business. Instead, her skin prickled with a sense of dread. All four strangers were now flashing expressions of disgust and hatred at Patricia, gazing intensely at her. In tandem, they pointed at her. They closed in, their steps in controlled harmony, like soldiers following a drill...
~~~
The obvious question is, since Ray was following the disappearing woman, did he reach Patricia in time? But an even better question would be, how did Ray live when he was knocked off the Tower Bridge!
Even when Ray and Patricia had gathered enough, they felt, to take it to the police and FBI, they had continued to maintain a hands-off attitude...
So, as Ray and Patricia continue to do their own investigation, more and more weird appearances, crazy interactions with people around them and much more keep readers entertained. This one isn't too big of a mystery but solving it is not the issue... Seeing what happens is! Fascinating, unbelievable, confusing, frustrating...anything can happen as long as you keep reading... Enjoy!
GABixlerReviews
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