Page 18 of Once a Hero
Beatrice had told the SFPD exactly was she presumed happened. That Raynelle thought the sniper was going after her. After all, she had hired Raynelle to protect her, having received several death threats in the last year. The proof that the sniper was going for Beatrice again was that Jake’s ears were shot inches away from Beatrice’s face.
It meant she was either getting closer to finding the Amber Room, or she was about to cross paths with Molyneux and somebody wanted her out of the way.
“But you end up always saying the same thing,” Kenichi reminded her.
Beatrice nodded. “We have to press on.”
“The sooner Molyneux is gone, the better the world will be.”
“Thank God we don’t have to get to her ourselves. We just need to lead the authorities to her. Then again, that’s easier said than done. How many times have they failed to follow up?”
“Maybe this timeyourJake might succeed.”
Beatrice ignored his jest. “Did you say you think he knows where the one-amber brooch is?”
“I suspect so.”
“Because?”
“Philomena knew where all three brooches are. That’s why we tracked her, remember? So she showed up at the café with two brooches—one on her lapel and one in her hand.”
“She gave the three-amber brooch to Jake, and Raynelle picked it up for us somehow.” Beatrice wished they could have entered the café to find the one-amber brooch, though that was a shot in the dark. “We suspect that the one-amber brooch was either still in the restaurant or maybe Philomena took it off her lapel and put it in her purse.”
“All of which would be at the SFPD evidence locker.”
“Or the morgue.”
“If they suspect foul play, her belongings wouldn’t be in the morgue,” Kenichi corrected her.
Beatrice sat down. “I have spent too much time and money on this to quit now.”
A knock on the door startled them both.
A Sig Sauer appeared out of nowhere in Kenichi’s hand. He motioned for Beatrice to get to the back room. Beatrice did so without a word.
Soon, she heard Kenichi call her name. “It’s Ray.”
When Beatrice came out of the room, Kenichi was saying, “Where did you go?”
“To clear my head.” Raynelle washed her hands in the kitchen sink and then found something to drink. “What’s been happening while I was away?”
“Did you get any sleep?” Beatrice asked.
“No.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll talk later?” Beatrice suspected that poor bodyguard of hers had gone through enough for the night. “I think we’ll have more information this afternoon or evening.”
“A whole lot more information, I hope.” Kenichi got busy on his laptop. “I’m still collecting data on Philomena. Someone killed her, obviously.”
“Or she committed suicide. Drank poison or something?”
Kenichi gave Beatrice a look. “You’re so old school.”
“What? It’s possible.”
“The more likely scenario is for someone to murder her because she had at least two of the brooches we need to find a map that would lead us to the whereabouts of the Amber Room.”
“If we find the rest of the panels, it would be the first time they see light since 1943,” Raynelle said.
