License to Thrill

urgency out of his voice.
    The woman remained silent for several seconds, her gaze straight ahead, her mouth twisting in thought. James caught Kat's gaze and, wondering if he should make an offer, lifted his eyebrows. But she answered with an almost imperceptible shake of her head.
    Another moment passed, and the woman seemed to be struggling with her decision. At last, she nodded and named a price—double the price of the male, but half of what James had been willing to pay.
    "Done," he said, relief and something akin to joy filling his chest. After the woman secured the cabinet, James also selected a silk shawl for his sister, glad when Kat seconded his choice of black and silver.
    "That was quite a coup," Kat said when the woman disappeared to pack the treasures.
    "I'm rather pleased," he admitted. "Thank you for your inspiration."
    Confusion flitted over her face and she shook her head. "You cinched the deal."
    "Ah, but you have given me a heightened awareness for beautiful things." Wispy baby hair, dislodged from her bun by the trolley ride, framed her face. Her eyes were luminous, making him want to get to the person hiding behind those spectacles. That woman in his arms this morning.
    She laughed. "If I have stirred your interest in launching a collection, then I'm pleased."
    James opened his mouth to tell her exactly which of his interests she had stirred, but the woman returned, carrying two plain brown boxes, a wide smile on her face. "It's the last time they will be separated. After this, I know you will keep them together."
    Nodding in assurance, James handed her a gold credit card and said, "I hope the owner isn't too distressed when he finds her missing."
    The woman wrinkled her nose and dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. "He's my husband, and he doesn't deserve her."
    He felt touched that the woman was willing to anger her spouse in order to see the "couple" together—and awed that the woman trusted him to honor the pair's bond.
    The woman walked around the counter and handed one box to James, one to Kat, then tucked the bag with the shawl beneath his arm. "Happiness to you both," she said as they left the store, and it struck him that she thought he and Kat were a couple too.
    He had never been part of a couple, and the label wrapped around him like a starched flannel robe straight from the clothier's—rather ill-fitting and uncomfortable, but tolerable because it had the potential of becoming a favored garment.
    Out on the sidewalk, Kat smirked in his direction. "That was a very expensive little trip."
    "But worth it," James proclaimed, happier than in recent memory. He felt a faint vibration at his waist. "And that must be Tenner," he said, nodding to his phone. For once the detective's timing was perfect.

Chapter Eleven

    GLORIA HANDELMAN was also a late riser, Kat noted wryly, considering the afternoon hour of three o'clock was nearly half spent when the woman answered the door in roomy striped pajamas. Kat would have recognized her, but the changes she'd made to herself were blatantly irreverent—perhaps part of a "coming out" statement?
    She was a thin, angular person, boyishly built and sporting cropped, peroxide-white hair. At least ten earrings studded the rims of both ears. When Tenner waved his badge, she yawned widely and held her temple as if she had a headache. Or a hangover.
    "You’d better not be selling Amway," she said, her thin, crooked eyebrows crumpled together.
    "Ms. Handelman, we have a search warrant for your apartment. I'm Detective Tenner from the city police department. This is Agent James Donovan and—"
    "Katherine?" The woman's eyes widened. "What the hell is going on?"
    Kat stepped forward. "There was a break-in at Jellico's Friday night."
    The woman's mouth twisted and she nodded. "Oh, yeah—the letter. Dad called and said Mom was inconsolable, then asked what the hell he was going to do about a birthday gift. I suggested getting her a woman, but he wasn't amused."
    Kat smiled awkwardly, trying to squash the image of this woman with her best friend. "Detective Tenner would like to ask you some questions—may we come in?"
    Officers Campbell and Raines didn't wait for an answer, but simply stepped into the apartment and split up. Gloria gave them a murderous look. "Know that anything you morons break is probably worth both your salaries for a year." She turned back to the door and squinted. "Detective, um, Tenner, is it? Do you know who my father