“I don’t know, we haven’t talked outside the presence of the police.”
“But you doubt it,” Griffen said.
“Maybe…I’m trying to keep an open mind.” Her egg finished, she rinsed her hands in the sink. Her mind was racing, impulsivity rearing its head. She looked around at her friend. “Griffen, why don’t I have a party?”
“A party? Mollie, what the hell—”
“Tomorrow night. Are you free? I can hire you to cater. We’ll make it spontaneous and fun, real informal. It’s supposed to be nice weather. We can have it out by the pool.”
Griffen was eyeing her dubiously. “What, are you trying to set a trap for the real jewel thief?”
“I would if I could—if he’s not already in the hospital with his jaw broken. No, I just want to assert some control over my life. A spontaneous cocktail party could be my statement about the attack on me the other night, my relationship with Leonardo, my intentions here in south Florida. I’m my own person, and I make my own decisions.”
“And you won’t be driven off by a nasty phone call and a nasty thief.”
She nodded. “Right.”
Griffen mused a moment, the sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window, the curtains billowing in a pleasant breeze. “It could be a fun, gutsy thing to do. I expect it doesn’t hurt to assert your independence with a guy like Jeremiah Tabak, either.” She clapped her hands together, grinning. “I’m getting to like this nutty idea better and better.”
“Is tomorrow night too soon?”
“Of course, but that’s what makes it perfect. It won’t conflict with any of the big parties this week, and Leonardo doesn’t do parties, so people are already curious about this place. We can capitalize on that. And, of course, they’re yakking about you a mile a minute, and now we’ve got this jewel thief in the hospital and a sexy investigative reporter…” She drummed the counter with her red nails, musing. “Oh, this definitely could work!”
“People will come?”
“Everyone will come.” She slid smoothly to her feet, tucked thick curls behind her ear. “I’ll put together a menu and guest list and stop back by this afternoon. We’ll have to move on this thing if we’re going to pull it off. Deegan can help—I’ll see if I can track him down. Guess it’s a good thing we came in separate cars.”
After Griffen left, Mollie wandered aimlessly around the apartment before she came to grips with what she had to do. Take a shower, get dressed, put out any fires that needed putting out in her office, and check back in at the hospital. Maybe the police would have more information. Maybe Jeremiah would. Either way, hanging around inside Leonardo’s gates would only drive her crazy.
Jeremiah drove out to the stretch of relatively isolated beach and marsh where Croc was found, then to the police station to see the necklace and talk to the officers first on the scene, not that they had much to offer. Croc still wasn’t in any condition to give a statement, but he’d managed, apparently, to indicate that he hadn’t recognized his attacker and couldn’t provide a detailed description. The police had no reason to believe there was more than one attacker.
Mollie had already gone home. Frank had driven her himself, and he was still steamed at Jeremiah. “You’re holding back on me, aren’t you, Tabak?”
Jeremiah debated, then gave him the rest. “Mollie Lavender is what got me into this thing.” He tried to sound detached, professional. “Croc found out she’s been at every event we know the thief hit.”
“How’d he know?”
“How does he know anything? He must have been snooping around, had access to guest lists—I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me.”
Frank appraised him with cop skepticism. “It’s a bitch having that kind of missing link. What about you and this Lavender woman?”
“What about us?”
“You came up from Miami in the same car.”
“That we did.”
The conversation ended there because Frank had all he needed without Jeremiah explaining the nitty-gritty of his and Mollie’s relationship. Hell, he didn’t know it himself. He’d fallen for her ten years ago, and he was falling for her again. Simple.
“Any luck on running down Croc’s real name?” Jeremiah asked.
“No, but when we find out, we’ll track you down right away, Tabak, and let you know, especially seeing how forthcoming you’ve been with us.”
“Hey, I made Mollie call you about her threatening phone call.”